There is a balanced connection between the living and the dead as demonstrated in the The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World. The corpse discovered by children draws curiosity from the start. The children’s attraction was drawn by the sight of an enemy ship that never was. They finally realize that the approaching body has no signs of enemy ship due to no flag.
Despite the dead man being hidden in seaweed, they take their time to clean the body and it is at this moment that they discover it is a human corpse. The dead man could have probably drowned. However, children being who they are, they play with the corpse until one of them reports the matter in the village. The villagers do not have the simplest clue of who this man could be but they take care of the and start admiring the body. This admiration is extraordinary; more so, given that the body is of a dead person.
The women, as expected admire the body the most. They claim the the person is strongly built and is too tall for their houses to accommodate it. After the word spread around to the nearest villages, the women who bring flowers also appreciate the handsome dead man. The fact they they women in the neighboring village at attracted to the dead man’s body clearly shows the balance between the dead and the living.
Death a catalyst for human connection is also shown in the story. This is because the village women envisage the dead man to be handsomer, strongly built, and calm. They no longer see their men as handsome as the body and only wish their men too could be the same. It is amazing how they interpret the signs to come well the corpse is buried in the deep waters where no sea diver could reach, and predators would not reach due to suffocation. The memory of the man would not be compared with the turbulence of the sea waters. He would be assumed to dwell in the calmness of sea water as he represents most respectful person in the society.
