The movie Harold and Maude deals heavily with the theme of death and funerals. In fact that is where Harold and Maude meet, at a funeral.Harold has a very strange obsession with death. He constantly recreates different ways to die. It seems to be a hobby of his. I have now seen this movie twice and it still puzzles me why he does so. However, while studying death and caring for the dead I have come to more of an understanding.
Harold seems to be at peace with life. His mother is very snobby and traditional. She follows typical "high-class" cliches of the time period. Harold is a contrast to her personality. For a car he wanted a hearse. On this surface this seems very strange. However, the symbolism of why Harold acts in such a way says a lot about his confrontation of the inevitability of death. His very strange hobby of acting out fake detahs may also say something about his conciousness about death. He is not scared of it and he does not try to shy away from it. He is accepting of death and his families high class lifestyle and material obsession seems to be a cover up to cope with the fact that they to are mortal.
Maude's significance comes in the form of her "free-mindedness." She is very impulsive and "in touch" with nature. Her personality is the exact opposite and we see Harold attracted to this more and more throughout the film. Hence, my analysis of the dynamic of Harold's family and why he tends to rebel in the way he does. His acceptance and appreciation of death go hand in hand with Maude appreciation of life and therefore they attract each other. Life and death are both realities that we all deal with whether we are ready or not. Maybe death shouldn't be seen as such a tragedy since it is inevitable.
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