The Year of Magical Thinking

“Magical thinking” is an anthropological term that suggests certain events may have a causal link. Often, this term is applied to religious belief, such as connecting an outcome to a religious ritual or prayer. Other interpretations suggest that simply thinking about something can have an external effect. Didion rejects the idea of ritual as faith because she performs rituals to bring her husband back; she engages in magical thinking to reverse his death. She is unable to agree to the donation of his corneas or to get rid of his shoes because she believes he will need these upon his return. She is also unable to read his obituaries as these represent a public acknowledgement of his death, something she likens to having “allowed him to be buried alive” (35). Didion draws a direct correlation between her thoughts and the exterior world, believing that by thinking that her husband is alive she can make this true.

Much of Didion’s writing and approach to her situation is steeped in rationality. She reads and researches to better understand what has happened. She fixates on the details. For example, she becomes obsessed with determining exactly when it was that her husband died. However, she recognizes the