Gogol "Dead Souls" springs to mind.
A young man of no fortune was trying to impress prospective fathers-in-law by showing how many serfs ("souls") he had on his non-existent estates.
He discovered that there was an administrative delay between a serf's death and his actual de-registration, so for a period the serf officially existed. He found he could buy dead souls from landowners for next to nothing - they were now worthless, but invaluable to the man in his quest for a suitable wife.
More prosaically, I expect you can claim some benefit for burying a dead baby for which you have responsibility. Although this woman's motives appear to be entirely honourable, laudable even.
|
|
An extremely sad story. Perhaps the actions of Bernardo Gallardo to restore dignity to the short lives of these children might go a little way to changing society's views. A remarkable woman.
|
Words fail me - Cliff Pope
