There are obvious broader methods in this context as to why a person would leave a part of themselves behind. There are accidents, where people leave water bottles, hairs, or even articles of clothing near or on top of graves. These happen all the time, but they mark the "giver" in a way that lets others know that someone, if not a specific person, was there.
Then there are purposeful ways in which people leave themselves behind in a spot, or just take proof of their going to that spot. For this cemetery, for example, visiting Jim Morrison is huge, of course.
Then there are purposeful ways in which people leave themselves behind in a spot, or just take proof of their going to that spot. For this cemetery, for example, visiting Jim Morrison is huge, of course.
Photography
In this picture, it's easy to tell that there are people there who came to see the grandeur and beauty of their memorial. In fact, out of the seventeen people I saw going through, only two of them were obvious fans of Abelard and Heloise. What I mean by that is, upon listening to their conversations, I noticed that only two of them were actively talking about the couple, while others either asked themselves who was buried there or talked about how beautiful the site was. In fact, when I looked up online how many people checked in at Foursquare for this site, there were only ten. This can only mean that the fanbase did not graduate to media, or perhaps the allure of Abelard and Heloise has left the youth of today's society.
Either way, the graves of historical figures hold the unspoken rules of cemeteries, it seems. There's a certain amount of respect that is going on for people who aren't members of the fandom but still understand the idea of respect in cemeteries. This person pictured below, for instance, didn't seem to know the couple, but was taking pictures of their grave nonetheless (perhaps for beauty, or perhaps for self-memorializing). One does not have to be in the picture to self-memorialize.
Either way, the graves of historical figures hold the unspoken rules of cemeteries, it seems. There's a certain amount of respect that is going on for people who aren't members of the fandom but still understand the idea of respect in cemeteries. This person pictured below, for instance, didn't seem to know the couple, but was taking pictures of their grave nonetheless (perhaps for beauty, or perhaps for self-memorializing). One does not have to be in the picture to self-memorialize.
Flowers
The unspoken rules of respect in cemeteries is very evident at Abelard and Heloise's grave, it seems, in comparison to other sites of fan activity. There are definitely fans that come to their graves and give tributes to the two of them, but they either don't broadcast it on social media or come in the middle of the night. Either way, I did not have enough time to witness someone putting a tribute of flowers onto the grave.
What I did see were bouquets of flowers attached to different parts of the iron fence around their grave, or potted flowers set against the bottom of the fence.
What I did see were bouquets of flowers attached to different parts of the iron fence around their grave, or potted flowers set against the bottom of the fence.
It's easy to see that these markers of people's coming and going to this grave says something very interesting about these fans. Contrasting to fans of modern media, fans of this historical couple seem to have an unspoken traditional rule for those who are here: bouquets and silence are the ways to celebrate the love between the two.
Abigail De Kosnik points out this rule phenomenon: "A great deal of the work of fans consists of the construction of rules and codes of participating in fan cultures..." (101). In essence, this means that, in an unspoken manner, the fans of Heloise and Abelard have made the rule that flowers and silence are the ways to celebrate, simply by leaving flowers there. The mere act of doing so has inspired many to leave flowers after them, in whatever place they feel is correct in leaving them.
Abigail De Kosnik points out this rule phenomenon: "A great deal of the work of fans consists of the construction of rules and codes of participating in fan cultures..." (101). In essence, this means that, in an unspoken manner, the fans of Heloise and Abelard have made the rule that flowers and silence are the ways to celebrate, simply by leaving flowers there. The mere act of doing so has inspired many to leave flowers after them, in whatever place they feel is correct in leaving them.