Edgar Allen Poe’s appeal to death is expressed many times throughout the works of his short stories. Death frequently becomes a focal point in many of these narrations. His fascination with the allure of death is presented in multiple works and in such a way that he is often accused of being obsessed with this theme. Using literary devices and gothic elements he illustrates death and incorporates the bleak theme into his stories. Whether death plays a prominent role in his stories, or is hinted throughout, it never fails to be present, confirming him to be obsessed with death.
Poe exposes the fear of death, and the lengths to which one would go to prevent it. The outcome after a character tries to avoid death was always far worse than a natural death itself. Poe reveals throughout these stories that death is an inevitable end to life. He tries to show that death eventually becomes the fate of all humans, and cannot be escaped. In the short story “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Poe combines the fear of death with the attempt to postpone a natural departure. Mr. P mesmerizes a willing patient, M. Valdemar on the cusp of death. After months spent in the mesmerized state M. Valdermar desperately cries out, “For God’s sake! -- quick! --quick! -- put me to sleep -- or, quick! -- waken me! -- quick! -- I say to you that I am dead” (Poe, “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar”)! This quote shows that M. Valdermar was being tortured in this mesmerized state, for months on end. He had first agreed to be mesmerized as an attempt to postpone death. He is driven by the fear of death, however Poe tires to show that death is inevitable despite attempts to prevent it. In the end the experiment fails to prevent his death and ultimately caused more suffering than would have an anticipated death. In this mesmerized state M. Valdermar realizes that this fate is not much better than death itself, and begs to be put to sleep. In response to his pleads Mr. P tries to go against nature and awaken M. Valdermar only for him to be demolished to a pile of rotting liquid. Thus proving that death is inescapable and furthermore, displaying Poe’s attraction to death.
Similar to the themes relating to death in “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar”, Poe exposes human desire to avoid death in “The Masque of Red Death”. He also describes the relationship between life, death, and time. Prince Prospero secludes himself and his royal friends from the outside world to avoid the deathly plague. However, on the night of a grand masked ball a gaunt and menacing stranger appears in the crowd, haunting the guests. The last paragraph of the story concludes, “And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revelers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay” (Poe, “The Masque of Red Death”). Poe’s intent was to show that despite the efforts to avoid death, death is dominant to all. Symbolism is used when Poe represents death and the plague through the masked man. Death entered the castle despite Prince Prospero’s precautions, emphasizing that death controls life. Death could strike at any given moment, and one would fall powerless to its outcome. The ebony clock represents time that is slowly slipping away. Poe relates limited time to death. Similar to how life must answer to death, death must answer to time. Time controls when death strikes. “The Masque of Red Death” solely focuses on the relationships between the fear of death, life and death, and time and death.
In “The Oval Portrait” Poe illustrates the false sense of eternal life and the reality of death. An unnamed painter becomes obsessed with capturing the perfect image of his beautiful, young wife. As his obsession develops his wife grows older, coming closer to death each day. When he finishes his painting the story concludes, “And then the brush was given, and then the tint was placed; and, for one moment, the painter stood entranced before the work which he had wrought; but in the next, while he yet gazed, he grew tremulous and very pallid, and aghast, and crying with a loud voice, ‘This is indeed Life itself!’ turned suddenly to regard his beloved: -- She was dead” (Poe, “The Oval Portrait”)! This relates to the concept of restricted time and the moment of death. As the man obsesses over the eternal beauty caught in the painting, he fails to see his wife withering away before him. Because of the painter’s obsession to capture his wife at her peak, he does not see her grow old and lose the luster she once had. As the wife becomes weak and pale from age, it shows that even beauty dies. Poe shows that beauty itself has an expiration date. The painter pays the cost of losing his beloved wife, for the image of eternal beauty. The death of beauty is subtly hinted while the death of the wife is plainly stated.
Poe closely relates madness and death in “The Fall of the House of Usher”. The fear of death ultimately kills the main character, Roderick. After burying Madeline, his cataleptic twin sister, he realizes that he has buried her alive. Stricken with fear, he becomes anxious and distressed quickly losing his sensibility. Poe establishes a mood that relays a sense of gloom perceived with death. “For a moment she remained trembling and reeling to and fro upon the threshold- then, with a low moaning cry, fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother, and in her violent and now final death agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated” (Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”). Roderick feared the return of his sister, and when she came back, he dropped dead from the terrors of what he had done. Poe uses symbolism between the house and the family. The title of the story, “The fall of the House of Usher” represents not only the death of the physical house, but also the death of the family. With the death of Roderick and Madeline came the death or fall of the house. The foundation of the family became rotted as did the foundation of the house. Death was at the center of the story, proving that Poe was obsessed with writing about death.
In “The Premature Burial” Poe manipulates human fears. A premature burial is a recurring theme throughout many of his works. However this is not a farfetched idea. During the time that these stories were written premature burials were not unheard of. Poe used the fear of burial before death to construct haunting tales. The narrator, a cataleptic exclaims, “My nerves became thoroughly unstrung, and I fell a prey to perpetual horror” (Poe, “The Premature Burial”). Poe exploits the fear of death throughout the story. The narrator becomes a victim to his own fears and nightmares of death. He is haunted by the possibility of being buried alive and submits to his fears. He destroys himself with the fear of a premature burial, and is confined to live a restricted life. In a sense, the narrator cannot live life because the fear of death looms, giving the title a second meaning. At the end of the story the narrator realizes that he must not become crippled with the fear of death, but rather enjoy life until death. Although the narrator does not die at the end of the story, the story centers solely on the fear of death.
Poe’s obsession with death is shown through the works of “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar”, “The Masque of Red Death”, The Oval Portrait”, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, and “The Premature Burial.” Death is a recurring theme within Poe’s short stories. It can be symbolized and covered or blatantly obvious. Either way, Poe expresses his fascination with death. He often relates to the overwrought emotion of fear. Many can relate to fearing death, allowing Poe to connect with his audience. Poe’s obvious obsession with death can be found in the works of his short stories—death being an underlying theme.
Bibliography
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Fall of the House of Usher." Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/houseofusher>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque of the Red Death." Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/masque>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar." Poestories.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/pit>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Oval Portrait." Poestories.com. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/pit>.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Premature Burial." Poestories.com. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://poestories.com/read/premature>.
"Poe’s Short Stories." SparkNotes. SparkNotes. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/context.html>
"Poe's Short Stories Themes." GradeSaver. GradeSaver LLC. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://www.gradesaver.com/poes-short-stories/study-guide/major-themes/>.
"Poe's Short Stories Summary and Analysis." GradeSaver. GradeSaver LLC. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://www.gradesaver.com/poes-short-stories/study-guide/section11/>.
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