Why did Gabriel Marcel believe a person can remain faithful to someone who has died?

For Gabriel Marcel, fidelity is not merely a static adherence to a set of rules but a creative way of being with another person. He argued that true fidelity involves experiencing the other as a "thou"—a person with whom one identifies and shares a path in life, rather than viewing them as a set of characteristics or a function.1

Because this relationship is rooted in a deep, intersubjective connection that transcends mere physical presence, it is not severed by death. Marcel believed that such fidelity is "creative" because it requires an individual to remain open to the other, even when that person is no longer physically present. This commitment is made possible through an appeal to an "Absolute Thou," or a transcendent reality, which provides the strength to maintain an unconditional pledge that the individual could not sustain on their own. Thus, for Marcel, remaining faithful to the deceased is an expression of a profound, transcendent bond that persists beyond the limitations of the material world.1