Women Dying In Edgar Allan Poe's Life
Death is a word commonly associated with the life of Edgar Allan Poe. In Poe’s life it seemed as if anyone he grew close to died, especially women. Poe’s mother Elizabeth Atkins died from tuberculosis, and a couple of years before her death, his father David Poe abandoned the family (Mystery). Poe had lost both of his parents by the age of three and was taken in by John and Frances Allan. Through Poe’s teen years he quarreled with John but grew to love Frances like a mother. Sadly his beloved foster mother passed away when he was just out of college and in the military. After she died he was soon discharged from the army and went to live with his aunt, Maria Clemm, and cousin Virginia. Poe fell in love with Virginia and they soon married (Hutchins). Through this marriage Maria Clemm became his mother figure, “Although there is some debate
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But this blow was arrested by the hand of my my wife. Goaded by the interference into a rage more than demonically, I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain” (Best of Poe).
His wife died instantly. This is another example of how women dying in Poe’s stories relates to women dying in his own life. Writing about women dying in his life helps him cope with his devastating losses.
In “To My Mother,” Poe pours out his emotions for Maria Clemm. He writes:
My mother- my own mother, who died early, Was but the mother of myself, but you Are mother to the one I loved so dearly, And thus are dearer than the mother I knew (Best of Poe).
Poe explains how Maria Clemm was his true mother figure. He says that Maria is the mother of his lover Virginia and therefore is dearer to him than his true mother. This poem is another great representation of how women dying relates to both his real life and his writing. This poem is Poe’s way of coping with the loss of Maria Clemm, and to him was his mother figure who he deeply
But this blow was arrested by the hand of my my wife. Goaded by the interference into a rage more than demonically, I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain” (Best of Poe).
His wife died instantly. This is another example of how women dying in Poe’s stories relates to women dying in his own life. Writing about women dying in his life helps him cope with his devastating losses.
In “To My Mother,” Poe pours out his emotions for Maria Clemm. He writes:
My mother- my own mother, who died early, Was but the mother of myself, but you Are mother to the one I loved so dearly, And thus are dearer than the mother I knew (Best of Poe).
Poe explains how Maria Clemm was his true mother figure. He says that Maria is the mother of his lover Virginia and therefore is dearer to him than his true mother. This poem is another great representation of how women dying relates to both his real life and his writing. This poem is Poe’s way of coping with the loss of Maria Clemm, and to him was his mother figure who he deeply