For me, at least, this is one of the grimmest chapters in the entire account. I first read it over thirty years ago, and in revisiting the work now it is the one series of passages I remembered best and sought out first. The author begins by resuming his account of the plight of families whose houses were shut up, illustrated by the graphic story of a young woman who died within hours of falling ill and how her mother went mad with grief before dying herself. He then goes on to describe the pit, “this dreadful gulf,” he calls it, dug in Aldgate for the burial of the parishioners, and in one of the most shocking scenes in the novel, describes his visit to the pit and the burial of the dead. Take your time with this episode; there’s a lot to absorb.
[“Great gulfs” for the burial of the poor continue to this day. See, for instance, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/nyregion/coronavirus-deaths-hart-island-burial.html]
Credits:
Podcast produced by Sam Brelsfoard.
Music from Funeral Sentences of Henry Purcell (1659-1695), performed by the Choir of Clare College at the University of Cambridge, Timothy Brown conducting. Used by permission.
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