Dearly loved and sadly missed : analyse des épitaphes inscrites sur les tombes des soldats britanniques tombés en Belgique durant la Première Guerre mondiale
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- During the First World War, the British Empire did not allow the repatriation of the dead. The Imperial War Graves Commission was responsible for building cemeteries. On the single headstones chosen by the Commission, the bereaved could carve an epitaph of 66 characters. How will their public nature influence the expression of an intimate sense of grief? The inscriptions are largely personal, even 20% of the epitaphs quote a Bible verse. Moreover, half of the inscriptions are confessional, a relationship with God is emphasised. Two thirds of the inscriptions are written by women, mainly mothers and wives. Post-war gender stereotypes, such as female sensitivity and male virility, do not appear in the inscriptions. The epitaphs mostly emphasise hope, tenderness, memories and exaltation of the deceased.