AUTHOR: Edgar Ellan Poe
PUBLISHED IN: 1850
REVIEW FROM: Felix Lopez, Rocio Hermana, Silvia Parra, Carmen de Miguel (group ING6L10A). Read by Silvia Parra
To start with, we are going to summarize the story “Eleonora” written by Edgar Allan Poe. The story is set in a very perfect and heavenly valley called the “Valley of the Many-Colored Grass” where the characters settled their home. After years living isolated they fell deeply in love. This situation didn’t last long since she, Eleonora, was touched “by the finger of death”.
However, before she died, she wanted him to make a vow, which consisted in neither marrying another woman nor leaving the valley. She accepted the vow and passed away calmly promising him to be by his side in the “form of censers of the angels and sighs” in order to help him keep his promise.
After a while, having mourned her death, the pain was so unbearable that he decided to leave the valley and join “the vanities and turbulent triumphs of the world”.
In this story, Poe, reflects two opposite worlds corresponding to different epochs of his life.
On the one hand, the world of innocence, goodness, spirituality, and lucid reason. On the other hand, the world of evil, shadow and doubt.
By the time he wrote the story, his “childwife”, as he used to refer to her, who was also his cousin, had just got sick and he was having an affair. That is why critics believe that this is an autobiographical story. It sounds as if the whole story were a desperate plea for forgiveness.
The author describes the story by using elements of nature. He reflects his feelings comparing them with the Valley where they live. When he is enjoying his first love, everything (nature and his feelings) seem to be springing up, blooming, arousing as if proclaiming the birth and beauty of it, however, a paramount change will take place in this ideal landscape when his young lover dies.
And hence, all the surroundings lost their splendor, and the valley got darker as the flowers faded away and a voluminous cloud hung over the valley. “Life departed from our paths”, writes Poe.
It is the language he uses what is really remarkable, you can find a wide variety of adjectives, literature figures and old-fashion words in it.
If you like romantic stories and Poe, we strongly recommend you to read this one as you will be surprised.
Contrary to other Poe’s work, this one has a happy ending and will leave you a positive sensation.
