thanatopic

Conrad was always inclined to feel guilty about his thanatopic morbidity and anxious about its reception by an audience conceived of as an interminable succession of Bobrowskis.

Although drawn larger than life, Cather's mythological figure of Eros, with his accompanying thanatopic qualities, does not dwarf Alexandra: rather, he both complements and enhances her psyche as an expression of her desire for more than the patriarchy can offer.