Age of Iron Lesson Plan

How has Mrs. Curren's relationship with death changed since the beginning of the novel? Does she resolve her anxieties or simply accept them?

By Chapter 4, Mrs. Curren is much more at peace with death than she was when she first received the diagnosis. Throughout much of the novel, death was referred to as a sort of enemy, kept at bay by writing to her daughter and by a desire to make her life meaningful. Now, as she feels herself nearing the end, she no longer sees death as a foe. She believes in her daughter's love and tells her there is "no need to be sorry for me." Instead, she focuses on Vercueil, whom she will be leaving behind. Perhaps the clearest indication of a...