Editing Robert E. Howard (section)

=== Death ===

[[File:Robert E Howard family headstone.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Howard family gravestone with the names of Robert E. (Author and Poet; 1906–1936), Hester Ervin (Wife and Mother; 1870–1936) and Isaac M. (Physician; 1871–1944)|Howard family gravestone in Brownwood, Texas]]

By 1936, almost all of Howard's fiction writing was being devoted to [[Western (genre)|westerns]]. The novel ''[[A Gent from Bear Creek]]'' was due to be published by [[Herbert Jenkins Ltd|Herbert Jenkins]] in England, and by all accounts it looked as if he was finally breaking out of the pulps and into the more prestigious book market. However, life was becoming especially difficult for Howard. All of his close friends had married and were immersed in their careers, Novalyne Price had left Cross Plains for graduate school, and his most reliable market, ''Weird Tales'', had grown far behind on its payments. His home life was also falling apart. Having suffered from [[tuberculosis]] for decades, his mother was finally nearing death. The constant interruptions of care workers at home, combined with frequent trips to various [[sanatorium]]s for her care, made it nearly impossible for Howard to write.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Lord|1976|p=78}}</ref><ref>{{Harvtxt|Finn|2006|pp=207–210}}</ref><ref>[[#CITEREFBurke|Burke]] (¶ 45)</ref><ref name="Louinet 2005 385">{{Harvtxt|Louinet|2005|p=385}}</ref>

In hindsight, there were hints about Howard's plans. Several times in 1935–36, whenever his mother's health had declined, he made veiled allusions to his father about planning suicide, which his father did not understand at the time.<ref name="Finn 2006 217" /> He had made references when speaking to Novalyne Price about being in his "sere and yellow leaf". The words sounded familiar to her, but it was only in early June 1936 that she found the source in ''[[Macbeth]]'':<ref>{{Harvtxt|Finn|2006|p=213}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|I have liv'd long enough: my way of life<br />Is fall'n into the '''sere, the yellow leaf''';<br />And that which should accompany old age,<br />As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,<br />I must not look to have; but, in their stead,<br />Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath,<br />Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.|sign=[[William Shakespeare]]|source=[[s:The Tragedy of Macbeth/Act V#SCENE III. Dunsinane. A room in the castle.|Macbeth, Act V, Scene III]]}}

In the weeks before his suicide, Howard wrote to Kline giving his agent instructions of what to do in case of his death, he wrote his last will and testament, and he borrowed a [[.380 ACP|.380 Colt Automatic]] from his friend Lindsey Tyson. On June 10, he drove to Brownwood and bought a burial plot for the whole family.<ref name="Finn 2006 215">{{Harvtxt|Finn|2006|p=215}}</ref> On the night before his suicide, when his father confirmed that his mother was finally dying, he asked where his father would go afterwards. Isaac Howard replied that he would go wherever his son went, thinking he meant to leave Cross Plains. It is possible that Howard thought his father would join him in ending their lives together as a family.<ref name="Finn 2006 217">{{Harvtxt|Finn|2006|p=217}}</ref><ref>[[#CITEREFBurke|Burke]] (¶¶ 46–52)</ref>

{{Quote box
|width     = 30em
|align     = left
|bgcolor   = #FFFDD0 <!--cream-->
|quote     = "All fled, all done, so lift me on the pyre;<br />The feast is over and the lamps expire."
|salign    =
|source    =—Howard's suicide note, found in his typewriter after the event or found in his wallet, as different sources state.  The lines were taken from the poem "The House of Cæsar" by [[Viola Garvin]].<ref name="Finn 2006 214">{{Harvtxt|Finn|2006|p=214}}</ref><ref name="Burke ¶ 54">[[#CITEREFBurke|Burke]] (¶ 54)</ref>
}}

In June 1936, as Hester Howard slipped into her final coma, her son maintained a death vigil with his father and friends of the family, getting little sleep, drinking huge amounts of [[coffee]], and growing more despondent. On the morning of June 11, 1936, Howard asked one of his mother's nurses, a Mrs. Green, if his mother would ever regain consciousness.  When she told him no, he walked out to his car in the driveway, took the pistol from the glove box, and shot himself in the head.<ref name="Lord 1976 79" /><ref name="Finn 2006 214" /><ref>[[#CITEREFBurke|Burke]] (¶¶ 53–54)</ref> He died eight hours later,<ref name="Finn 2006 214" /> and his mother died the following day. The story occupied the entirety of that week's edition of the ''Cross Plains Review'', along with the publication of Howard's <!-- Jeopard is correct -->"A Man-Eating Jeopard"<!-- Jeopard is correct, NOT Leopard, as a reference to the name of the main character Buckner Jeopardy Grimes -->. On June 14, 1936, a double funeral service was held at Cross Plains First Baptist Church, and both were buried in Greenleaf Cemetery in [[Brownwood, Texas]].<ref name="Lord 1976 79" /><ref name="Finn 2006 215" /><ref name="Burke ¶ 54" />
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