--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gracious dying is a huge, macabre and…" description: "\"Gracious dying is a huge, macabre and expensive joke on the American public.\" — Jessica Mitford" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/jessica-mitford-21991_death_gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-exp_2006876.jpg" --- # Gracious dying is a huge, macabre and expensive joke on… ![“Gracious dying is a huge, macabre and expensive joke on the American public.” quote by Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/jessica-mitford-21991_death_gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-exp_2006876.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/jessica-mitford-21991_death_gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-exp_2006876.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/jessica-mitford-21991_death_gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-exp_2006876.jpg) > “Gracious dying is a huge, macabre and expensive joke on the American public.” [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques how the funeral industry exploits grief for profit, turning death into a costly spectacle. **In simple terms:** Funeral industry profits from grief. Key Takeaway Question consumer choices about death. Themes death consumerism ethics Mood sober critical Type social commentary analytical When to use this quote - planning funerals - advocating reform - educating about alternatives Key Concepts capitalism mortality social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does profit motive affect mourning? - What alternatives exist to costly funerals? A Different Perspective May overlook cultural traditions that value elaborate rites. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ## Related quotes > [All labours draw hame at even, And can to others say, "Thanks to the gracious God of heaven, Whilk sent this summer day."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hume/all-labours-draw-hame-at-even-and-can-to-others-say-thanks-to-the/) Alexander Hume > [Jesus, I don't want to be a secret keeper with my faith. I want to be a bold and gracious truth proclaimer. For You.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/jesus-i-don-t-want-to-be-a-secret-keeper-with-my-faith-i-want-to-be-a/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [John F.Kennedy gave probably the greatest inauguration speech ever that first time, but I guarantee you when he first walked out there he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/john-f-kennedy-gave-probably-the-greatest-inauguration-speech-ever/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Prayer is a specific divine appointment, an ordinance of Heaven, whereby God purposes to carry out His gracious designs on earth and to execute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/prayer-is-a-specific-divine-appointment-an-ordinance-of-heaven/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [On the neck of the young man sparkles no gem so gracious as enterprise. Youth condemns; maturity condones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/on-the-neck-of-the-young-man-sparkles-no-gem-so-gracious-as/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [What matters is not your outward appearance. . . but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle gracious kind that God delights in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-peter/what-matters-is-not-your-outward-appearance-but-your-inner/) [Saint Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-peter/) > [It's always good to get feedback from people. I've been fortunate that all the fans, and especially fans of 'Teen Wolf,' have been really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinqua-walls/it-s-always-good-to-get-feedback-from-people-i-ve-been-fortunate-that/) [Sinqua Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinqua-walls/) > [“We all have something to give, in different gracious forms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-all-have-something-to-give-in-different-gracious-forms/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [... in a capitalist society a man is expected to be an aggressive, uncompromising, factual, lusty, intelligent provider of goods,and the woman, a retiring,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-cade-bambara/in-a-capitalist-society-a-man-is-expected-to-be-an-aggressive/) [Toni Cade Bambara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-cade-bambara/) > [Your graciousness is what carries you. It isn't how old you are, how young you are, how beautiful you are, or how short your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/your-graciousness-is-what-carries-you-it-isn-t-how-old-you-are-how/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) > [And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salmon-p-chase/and-upon-this-act-sincerely-believed-to-be-an-act-of-justice/) [Salmon P. Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salmon-p-chase/) > [There are a few people out there with whom you fit just so, and, amazingly, you keep fitting just so even after you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-f-winner/there-are-a-few-people-out-there-with-whom-you-fit-just-so-and/) [Lauren F. Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-f-winner/) > [God's grace is not infinite. God is infinite, and God is gracious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/god-s-grace-is-not-infinite-god-is-infinite-and-god-is-gracious/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Show me a good and gracious loser and I'll show you a failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knute-rockne/show-me-a-good-and-gracious-loser-and-i-ll-show-you-a-failure/) [Knute Rockne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knute-rockne/) > [I don't sense that I am someone's hero, though I'm happy when people like my work. I've learned how to be gracious about it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-sense-that-i-am-someone-s-hero-though-i-m-happy-when-people/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) ## More by Jessica Mitford > [I discovered that Human Nature was not, as I had always supposed, a fixed and unalterable entity, that wars are not caused by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/i-discovered-that-human-nature-was-not-as-i-had-always-supposed-a/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral parlor and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would-be-to-see-how-his-counterpart/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/you-may-not-be-able-to-change-the-world-but-at-least-you-can/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Picking other people's brains is an art worth cultivating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/picking-other-people-s-brains-is-an-art-worth-cultivating/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [A thirteen-year-old is a kaleidoscope of different personalities, if not in most ways a mere figment of her own imagination. At that age, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/a-thirteen-year-old-is-a-kaleidoscope-of-different-personalities-if/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [In childbirth, as in other human endeavors, fashions start with the rich, are then adopted by the aspirant middle class with an assist from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/in-childbirth-as-in-other-human-endeavors-fashions-start-with-the/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Now there is a society where the funeral industry got completely out of control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/now-there-is-a-society-where-the-funeral-industry-got-completely-out/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Objectivity? I've always had an objective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/objectivity-i-ve-always-had-an-objective/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Funeralese has had its ups and downs. The word 'morticians,' first used in Embalmers Monthly for February, 1895, was barred by the Chicago Tribune…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/funeralese-has-had-its-ups-and-downs-the-word-morticians-first-used/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Objectivity? I always have an objective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/objectivity-i-always-have-an-objective/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [the whole point of muck-raking, apart from all the jokes, is to try to do something about what you've been writing about. You may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/the-whole-point-of-muck-raking-apart-from-all-the-jokes-is-to-try-to/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Things on the whole are faster in America; people don't stand for election, they run for office. If a person says he's sick, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/things-on-the-whole-are-faster-in-america-people-don-t-stand-for/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Things on the whole are much faster in America; people don't 'stand for election', they 'run for office.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/things-on-the-whole-are-much-faster-in-america-people-don-t-stand-for/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Prison walls are meant not only to keep convicts in, but to keep the would-be investigator out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/prison-walls-are-meant-not-only-to-keep-convicts-in-but-to-keep-the/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [It is somehow reassuring to discover that the word travel is derived from travail, denoting the pains of childbirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/it-is-somehow-reassuring-to-discover-that-the-word-travel-is-derived/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) [Explore all 28 Jessica Mitford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Gracious dying is a huge, macabre and expensive joke on the American public.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jessica Mitford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-expensive-joke-on-the-american/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-expensive-joke-on-the-american/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/jessica-mitford-21991_death_gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-exp_2006876.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/jessica-mitford-21991_death_gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-exp_2006876.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/jessica-mitford-21991_death_gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-exp_2006876.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Gracious dying is a huge, macabre and expensive joke on the American public.” — Jessica Mitford", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jessica Mitford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Gracious dying is a huge, macabre...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-expensive-joke-on-the-american/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/gracious-dying-is-a-huge-macabre-and-expensive-joke-on-the-american/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```