The Tragic End of Karl Marx: Death of Beloved Wife and Health Decline
But his revolutionary struggle and the death of his children had made him weak.
He couldn’t sleep without sleeping pills. Smoking and drinking also destroyed his health. Then 2 tragedies took place that deprived him of his life. First of all his beloved wife Jenny died in 1881.
Jenny had never left Marx even in the worst of times. She had endured the deaths of her children and sold household stuff to help Marx. Marx’s opponents say Jenny suspected that her husband had an affair with her maid and had an illegitimate son. But Marxists deny this, saying that all the letters of Karl Marx’s family are preserved in 52 volumes.
But none of these letters mention any problem regarding an illegitimate son. If Jenny was angry with Kar Marx then she wouldn’t have supported him till her last breath. Marxists say that the West spread this fake story decades after Marx’s death.
The Life and Death of Karl Marx: A Revolutionary Philosopher's Journey
These two points of view are in front of you. Jenny’s death was surely a shocking moment for Marx. Then Marx’s daughter Jenny Caroline also died 2 years after her mother’s death. This was the 4th child of Marx who died in his lifetime. His daughter’s death was a great tragedy for Marx. He confined himself to his bedroom and study room. About 2 months after his daughter’s death, on March 14, 1883, 64-year-old Karl Marx got out of bed and went to his study. His maiden knew that he was seriously ill.
She asked Karl Marx to say his last words. Marx shouted at his maiden and asked her to get out. He said that last words were for fools who hadn’t said enough in their lives. These were his last audible words. Marx’s friend Engels and a few other people were also there. But then they went out for some time. When Engels returned, he saw that Marx was dead. He was buried in London’s Highgate Cemetery.
"From Life to Death: The Legacy of Karl Marx and His Enduring Influence on the World"
But even his bones didn’t remain in one place. His grave was opened in 1956 and his body was exhumed along with the bodies of other family members. Then these remnants were buried in another tomb nearby. Marx had forbidden the building of any monument on his grave. But a monument is built on his grave with his face visible on it. Words of the communist manifesto are engraved beneath his face.
“Workers of the World unite.” The names of his family members are also written on a board. Further down the line are the words, “Philosophers have interpreted the world in their way, but the real problem is how to change it.” Marx died in 1883. But his ideas gave him immortal fame. Revolutionary movements erupted all over the world after his death. Lenin created Soviet Russia while Mao founded communist China over his ideals.
Then from North Korea to South America, many nations tried to implement Marx’s philosophy. Although the USSR was dissolved in 1991 and China has also ended communism in the economy… But all the laws which benefit workers even today are motivated by Marx’s philosophy. Workers’ unions still exist and Marx is a hero to all of them.