The soul does not suffer. Its substance is immortal and not subject to suffering and pain. It is only due to its identification with the ignorance of life that it shares the suffering of life around it. But instead of taking it as a suffering, it accepts it all as a purifying ordeal and even rejoices as the scales of attachment and delusions fall off. It is like the gold that passes through fire for purification and shares the heat due to the impurities that stick around it. A developed soul may even consciously chose to go through the suffering if it will help it to fulfil its work for which it has come upon earth as we see in the life of the great ones. As to death that does not bother the soul at all as it knows itself immortal and death is seen simply as a transition and not an end.
The only tragedy for the soul, if at all we can use the word, is if it was unable to fulfil its purpose because of unprepared nature and unfavorable circumstances. In such cases it may even consciously chose to depart early through circumstances that may look like accidental and tragic.
Certain events and actions do scar the soul, especially when a dark nature opens its doors to hostile forces and then the soul has to go through the experience of murder or suicide (not dying or killing for a high purpose). These scars may be carried through a few lives as strong and inveterate tendencies in nature.
As to why one has to go through such horrific experiences it is largely the question of equation between the soul and nature. If the soul is largely undeveloped, more like an embryo, a little spark asleep in the womb of darkness and ignorance, then it has hardly any say in anything literally like a child in the womb helplessly bears the impact of the experiences of its mother. So it goes through in its sleep of ignorance the different moods of Nature some of which are dark and terrible. It passes through the complex tangle of forces as a little child faces bullies in school until it grows up and reverses the tables. These shocks often shake the soul from its slumber and help awaken its strength within.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
