Memory and Emotion in Obituaries of the Adventist Magazine in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: This work seeks to describe how the Covid-19 pandemic was present in the funeral narratives published by Revista Adventista (a centenary periodical of national circulation) during the health crisis, influencing the constitution of these memories.

Method: The study was developed from the documentary analysis of the death notes published in the Memory section, a space traditionally dedicated to obituaries. Only the death notices that mentioned Covid-19 as the cause of death were selected. Therefore, of the 376 published in the period from June 2020 to September 2021, 124 met this criterion.

Results: It was possible to perceive that the health crisis contributed to the expansion of the tradition of publishing obituaries. In addition to increasing the number of pages reserved for death notes, the magazine created an online memorial dedicated exclusively to the memory of the victims of the pandemic. This allowed the bereaved families to pay their respects and record the memories of their loved ones in a context of denial of the right to mourning, restrictions on funeral rites and quick burials.

Conclusion: The pandemic scenario seems to have influenced the constitution of the memories themselves, considering the fact that some of these obituary narratives highlighted the positive attitudes of these people despite the chaotic scenario. In addition, the publication of the death notices of the victims of the pandemic also seems to have taken on the meaning of recording what the health crisis itself was and its impact on Adventism.