Funeral Scene in Seize the Day

The author of the novel Seize the Day has told about a funeral scene at the end of the novel. We have found that while the protagonist of the novel Wilhelm was looking for the deceitful man Dr. Tamkin, he found himself in a funeral procession. Wilhelm was moved forward by the pressure of the crowd. He did not find Tamkin rather he was carried from the street into the chapel. The pressure ended inside. It was dark and cool inside the chapel. Wilhelm gave a sigh when he heard the organ notes that stirred and breathed from the pipes and he saw people in the pews. 

Men in formal clothes and black homburgs strode softly back and forth on the cork floor, up and down the centre aisle. The white of the stained glass was like mother of-pearl, with the blue of a great star fluid, like velvet ribbon. Within a few minutes Wilhelm forgot about Tamkin. He stood along the wall with others and looked toward the coffin and the slow line that was moving past it, gazing at the face of the dead. Slowly, foot by foot he neared the coffin, paused for his turn and gazed down. He caught his breath when he looked at the corpse and his face swelled. His eyes shone hugely with instant tears. The dead man was gray haired. He had two large waves of gray hair at the front. His face was long. 

He had a bony nose. His brows were raised as though he had sunk into the final thought. By the meditative look Wilhelm was so struck that he could not go away. In spite of the tinge of horror, and then heartsickness that he felt he could not go. He stepped out of the line and remained beside the coffin. His eyes were tearful. He studied the man through his still tears. The line of visitors moved with veiled looks past the satin coffin toward the standing bank of lilies, lilacs, and roses, With great stifling sorrow Wilhelm nodded. Standing a little apart from the coffin, he began to cry. He was overwhelmed with emotion. He could not compose himself. Nobody in the chapel but himself was sobbing. He was unknown to all the people in the chapel. 

They thought Wilhelm to be close relative to the dead man. This funeral scene is significant because the funeral procession leads to Wilhelm’s spiritual rebirth. Water as a symbol of rebirth has been used in the last line, “... the heavy sea-like music came upto his ears”. Here the music has been compared to water which poured into him. Again water is there in sobs and cries into which he sank, and which paved the way for the consummation of his “heart's ultimate need”. It symbolizes, according to many critics, Wilhelm’s spiritual rebirth or resuscitation of his spirit for struggling in life.