Lincoln in the Bardo

Historical records paint a bleak picture of the Civil War at this time. On the day Willie is buried, the longest list of war casualties to date is published. The names of the thousand men who died during that battle show the country that the Civil War is real and brutal. Some Americans blame President Lincoln and ask how many more must die for his cause.

Hans hears Lincoln’s thoughts as the president ponders other fathers mourning the loss of their children. He wonders if he should call an end to the war but knows that this is not possible. He reasons that death is, tragically, a part of life. Lincoln decides that rather than allow his grief to coat every decision, he must instead move forward with his purpose and accept that he will never be happy.

Lincoln hopes that his son is in a better place, free of suffering. Yet he knows that he won’t be able to let go of his love for his boy because he spent so many years worrying and thinking about Willie. Fatherhood cannot simply be turned off. There is nothing for Lincoln to do except try to be useful and not go mad with grief.

Lincoln’s inner thoughts make Roger and Hans very sad, so they leave the president’s body. They know what he doesn’t—that Willie is in a worse place, and that he is suffering. Hans proposes that he and Roger try to convince Lincoln to return to the white stone tomb. If Willie can enter his father’s body as they just have, and if he can read the man’s thoughts, then Willie will hear his father’s hope that Willie go to a better place and let go. Roger likes the idea but doesn’t know how to do it. He believes it to be impossible.

Hans reminds Roger of the time he and other ghosts entered the mind of an engaged couple strolling the cemetery while thinking of breaking up. The ghosts flooded the couple with the hope that they marry—and it worked. Roger and Hans tease each other for watching the couple have sex after they made up. Hans reminds Roger that they have nothing to lose in trying to intervene in Lincoln’s thoughts.

Hans and Roger re-enter Lincoln’s body. Holding hands and thinking hard about the white stone tomb and Willie in vivid detail, they tell Lincoln to go back to Willie—that the boy is in danger. When Lincoln doesn’t seem to register their thoughts, they instead project images of Elise Traynor’s wretched decay. Suddenly, they realize that Lincoln still has the lock from the white stone home. The lock is the perfect excuse to return to Willie’s white stone house. Attempting to draw Lincoln’s attention to the lock, the spirits remember bodies taken from graves by science students and wolves. Lincoln touches the lock and realizes he forgot to fasten it onto his son’s tomb. He walks back to Willie’s grave.

Roger and Hans are incredulous that they have successfully affected a living person’s mind. As a side effect, they’ve also intermingled in one another’s psyches, allowing them to see the world from one another’s perspectives. Hans feels the attraction of men, and Roger understands the yearning Anna inspired. When they finally separate, they miss one another’s consciousness.

With a start, the ghosts realize that Willie’s father is the president of the United States. Suddenly, Roger and Hans recollect all the presidents they knew while alive. They hurry back to Willie’s tomb.