Literary notes about euthanasia (AI summary)
The term "euthanasia" in literature is used in a broad and often metaphorical sense, extending well beyond its modern medical connotation of ending life to alleviate suffering. For instance, Bram Stoker uses it in dual ways—both as a literal act and as a comforting metaphor ([1], [2]). Friedrich Nietzsche and George Santayana, on the other hand, apply the term symbolically to denote the decline or “ending” of early religious or finite modes of being ([3], [4], [5]), thereby enriching its philosophical texture. James Joyce provides a stark, almost literal depiction in his narrative ([6]), while John Arbuthnot reflects on it as a compassionate human response in personal letters ([7]). Meanwhile, Jesse F. Bone’s futuristic imagery melds dystopian connotations with the term’s enduring ambivalence ([8]).
- For myself I could hold it in my account with God to find such an euthanasia for you, even at this moment if it were best.
— from Dracula by Bram Stoker - “Euthanasia” is an excellent and a comforting word!
— from Dracula by Bram Stoker - [pg 093] and honest sentiments will finally prevail: this is the euthanasia of Christianity.
— from The Dawn of Day by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - Though to acquire or impart form is delightful in art, in thought, in generation, in government, yet a euthanasia of finitude is also known.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - Its euthanasia.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - In a Greek watercloset he breathed his last: euthanasia .
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - "A recovery," he wrote to Swift, "is in my case and in my age impossible; the kindest wish of my friends is euthanasia."
— from The History of John Bull by John Arbuthnot - Kennon shuddered, thinking of the euthanasia chambers on Otpen One.
— from The Lani People by Jesse F. Bone
