Kryhoski is currently working as a freelance writer. In this essay, Kryhoski considers Cristofer's commentary on the redemptive nature of death.

As a result of the play The Shadow Box, Michael Cristofer earned recognition for his honest, objective study of death, observed in the lives of three unrelated characters and their loved ones. The play, however, is more than just a playwright's attempt to come to terms with the mysterious. The very idea of death is a means of redemption for several characters of the play. While dying is an ending point for some of Cristofer's characters, it signifies the beginning, or rebirth, of others entering a new level of consciousness.

Maggie is perhaps the most resistant to change. It is clear at the outset of the play that she has beensuppressing Joe's death, making it all the harder on herself, as well as on Joe, to...