Funeral Chapel Spirits

An interesting topic came up on Thursday in my discussion group. We came to the realization that both men that operated the funeral chapel were heavy drinkers. It would seem that in order to handle this sort of job, it might be that alcohol is necessary to withstand the stress and gruesome situations of dealing with dead bodies. Yet, it doesn't seem that Hector is all that affected by the horrors of death. In fact, it's quite the opposite with him. He seems to view death in a lackadaisical sort of way where it's just a part of his business. He believes death is a natural part of life and that it's unnecessary to talk about excessively, and is happy to provide a service to the general population. Despite his view of death, the fact that Hector is still somewhat of a drunk in the novel stuck with me during the conversation. It seems to me that it is somehow necessary that after the spirits leave the bodies of the dead, those who deal with the dead often require alcoholic spirits to enter their bodies. Any thoughts?