In Lincoln in the Bardo, the majority of the characters are unable to go beyond an iron fence that marks the edge of their realm. Because they are otherwise unconstrained—capable of drifting through objects and even living people—this fence signals to readers that the Bardo-dwellers still have to face certain limitations. In the same way that they can’t rejoin the living world, they can’t float beyond the iron fence, which produces a nauseating effect when they approach it. Interestingly enough, though, the souls of black people in the Bardo remain uninfluenced by the fence’s “noxious” qualities. In the Bardo, black souls unfortunately encounter the same kind of racism that plagued their lives as slaves in the real world, but their ability to roam beyond the iron fence symbolizes one tangible way that they finally are allowed to enjoy a modicum of freedom. While the white souls can’t even approach the fence without recoiling, the black Bardo-dwellers can drift by unharmed by its sickening qualities. In turn, the fence comes to represent the fact that different people contend with different kinds of limitations, both in the Bardo and in the living world.
The Iron Fence Quotes in Lincoln in the Bardo
I want ed so much to hold a dear Babe.
I know very wel I do not look as prety as I onseh. And over time, I admit, I have come to know serten words I did not formerly
Fuk cok shit reem ravage assfuk
[…] I did not get any. Thing.
Was gone too soon
To get
Only forteen.
Yrs of aje
Plese do come again sir it has been a pleasure to make your
But fuk yr anshient frends (do not bring them agin) who kome to ogle and mok me and ask me to swindle no that is not the werd slender slander that wich I am doing. Wich is no more than what they are doing. Is it not so? What I am doing, if I only cary on fathefully, will, I am sure, bring about that longed-for return to
Green grass kind looks.
The Iron Fence Symbol Timeline in Lincoln in the Bardo
