And yet death was not something you could ignore. It had its weight. It was a dead man lying upstairs, not a man who was sick. It seemed to her she had better not form the practice of ignoring death. If she tried it, death would find a way to answer back-it would take another of her loved ones, to remind her to respect it.
In "Lonesome Dove," the impact of death is profound and inescapable for the characters. The protagonist reflects on the distinction between a sick man and a dead man, emphasizing that death carries a heavy burden. The weight of loss is palpable, as the presence of a deceased person in the house serves as a constant reminder of mortality.
This contemplation leads her to realize that ignoring death would be a grave...