Drawing from tradional folk tales, 'The Death Shroud' explores a mother's grief from both Western and Eastern perspectives, of grief as an individual affliction opposed to a shared human experience.
Across many early European folk tales, there is an overwhelming narrative that grief for a child is a mother's personal burden. Repeatedly, the stories tell of a mother's sadness literally weighing down the child's soul, preventing it from reaching heaven. Thus silencing the mother's pain, rather than acknowledging or soothing it.
Buddhist fables are a stark and beautiful contrast. Many tales told of a grieving mother finding Buddah, who advises her to seek a single mustard seed from a person who has never grieved the loss of a loved one. The mother finds that no one can provide this seed, as each person she asks has experienced a grief of their own. The mother finds solace in knowing she is not alone in her grief, and comfort in forming connections with others who understand.