The Deceased Friend’s Last Choice

This flow traces what the book reveals about the Deceased Friend’s suicide while preserving the Narrator’s recognition that its causes cannot be settled.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Known Depression

A Known Depression A recurring vulnerability The Deceased Friend had suffered depression and often discussed suicide as a possible choice. His friends knew the subject was part of his thinking, but familiarity made them underestimate the danger. Misleading comparisons Others were more visibly unhappy or more openly suicidal, and he had once said students would stop him. The people around him mistook relative stability for protection.

A Difficult Year

A Difficult Year A prolonged depression For six months the Deceased Friend could barely get out of bed, stopped writing, and was unable to walk comfortably after injuring his back. He quit teaching, losing a structure that had once mattered to him. A recovery that misled others By summer his back had healed and his writing, social life, and exercise had resumed. His wife saw him thriving, a change that later made his suicide seem even more inexplicable.

The Final Interview

The Final Interview A bleak prediction In an interview, the Deceased Friend predicts a coming wave of suicides among writers. He also describes estrangement from readers and discouragement about the literary culture around him. Embarrassment afterward He later says he was embarrassed by the prediction and had been drinking. The interview offers context for his despair, but neither he nor the Narrator presents it as a complete explanation.

The Dog’s Future

The Dog’s Future A practical arrangement The Deceased Friend tells his wife that the Narrator could care for Apollo because she lives alone, works mostly at home, and loves animals. He never confirms the arrangement directly with the Narrator. An unanswered implication Afterward, the Narrator wonders whether he was planning ahead for his dog or avoiding a conversation that might expose his intention. The arrangement is a trace of care, not a key that unlocks the death.

No Final Explanation

No Final Explanation The missing farewell The Deceased Friend leaves no suicide note, and the Narrator repeatedly asks why he acted when he had recently seemed better. Accounts of depression and professional despair cannot supply his private final reasoning. Respecting the mystery The Narrator recalls a widow who chose to leave her husband his silence. She gradually recognizes that explanation cannot be demanded from the dead, even when the unanswered questions remain painful.

Long before the death

The year before the death

Near the start of the year of his death

In the period shortly before the death

After the death