The body in grief

From theatre plays in ancient Greece to modern paintings, grief has been depicted as involving a specific bodily posture, a drooping head and a use of the hands to cover the eyes, mouth and forehead. In this article, I explore what role the body plays in the emotion of grief. It is argued that bereavement both makes an impression on the body, which in turn displays an expression of the emotion of grief. The dynamics of impression–expression are used to articulate a theory of grief as an emotion, which is at once cognitive (involving recognition of a situation) and communicative (expressing something to others). Appraisal theories of emotion come closest to acknowledge this dynamic, but needs a greater awareness of the role of the body. The appraisal process is not purely intellectual, but a wholly embodied affair, which is particularly evident in grief.