It is believed that the discourse on death is necessary in modern society since mental disorders such
as depression , suicidal tendencies, and loss of the meaning in life and social issues such as high
juvenile suicide rate and rapidly aging society are rampant. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to
analyze Yalom’s concept of death, confrontation with death, and to find the meaning of death and
possibilities of overcoming death.
Yalom argues that death is ‘the experience that reminds of the meaning of life’ rather than put us in
despair and pain. This implies that possibilities of overcoming death depend on how people confront
death. In this study, three possibilities of overcoming death are presented : confronting death,
understanding anxiety of death, and understanding existential freedom.
To support these possibilities of overcoming death, I examined confrontation with death and the
process of overcoming death in Thomas Bernhard's autobiographical novel "breath"and analyzed how the
author himself perceived and overcame death. Three possibilities of overcoming death were presented
organically and sequentially in his book. Bernhard made a confession that he was also faced with a
painful experience like death and gained another opportunity to live a new life by enduring death
anxiety. He also admitted that death could be the catalyst for life by letting people experience complete
freedom. Therefore, in this study, it is suggested that people ruminate on the meaning of death since it
enriches people’s life.