To Grieve or Not to Grieve: Death in The Confessions Anonymous College

In Books IV and IX of the Confessions, Augustine grapples with the deaths of his friend and his mother, Monica. Augustine demonstrates that his grief toward his friend stems from loving him like he is immortal and reveals how he finds comfort in his sadness. Unlike his grief toward his friend, Augustine struggles to express his despair following his mother’s death but eventually finds comfort in God. Following the deaths of his loved ones, Augustine illuminates his understanding of love, revealing how he possesses a unified life with Monica and the same soul as his friend. While Augustine openly expresses his grief towards his friend's death and finds comfort in his sadness, he struggles to display his sadness towards Monica's death and, eventually, confides in God. Despite using different outlets for grief, Augustine illuminates the similarities of his relationship with his mother and friend, revealing that his love for them involves the unity of one's soul or life into a single entity.

Not only does Augustine reveal that his grief stems from loving his friend as if he is immortal, but he also shows how he finds comfort in his sadness. When reflecting on the death of his friend, Augustine claims he "wept very bitterly...that I...