Ironweed

From the beginning, Francis is consumed by an almost paralyzing sense of guilt, guilt so overpowering that he doesn’t even visit the grave where his infant son is buried until more than 20 years have passed. Even then, he originally goes to the cemetery intending only to work. In addition to his guilt over Gerald’s death, Francis is haunted by the ghosts of men he killed or injured, of which there are several, as well as the ghosts of those he hurt only indirectly, such as the two civilians who died by police fire in the trolley strike rally.

As his ghostly entourage expands, Francis attempts several defensive strategies to rid himself of them. On several occasions, he tries to explain and justify his actions to them, trying to reason his way out of feeling guilty. Unfortunately, this approach typically either angers him or leaves him back where he started, and the ghosts themselves never seem satisfied with the answers he gives; they certainly don’t go away. Even after a relatively successful session with the ghost of Rowdy Dick, Francis senses that “some debts of violence had been settled, but he remained full of the awareness of rampant martyrdom surrounding him” (76).