Eleonora (short story)

Plot summary

The story follows an unnamed narrator who lives with his cousin and aunt in "The Valley of the Many-Colored Grass", an idyllic paradise full of fragrant flowers, fantastic trees, and a "River of Silence". It remains untrodden by the footsteps of strangers and so they live isolated but happy.

After living like this for fifteen years, "Love entered" the hearts of the narrator and his cousin Eleonora. The valley reflected the beauty of their young love:

Eleonora, however, was sick — "made perfect in loveliness only to die". She does not fear death, but fears that the narrator will leave the valley after her death and transfer his love to someone else. The narrator emotionally vows to her, with "the Mighty Ruler of the Universe" as his witness, to never bind himself in marriage "to any daughter of Earth".

After Eleonora's death, however, the Valley of the Many-Colored Grass begins to lose its lustre and warmth. The narrator chooses to leave to an unnamed "strange city". There, he meets a woman named Ermengarde and, without guilt, marries her. Eleonora soon visits the narrator from beyond the grave and grants her blessings to the couple. "Thou art absolved", she says, "for reasons which shall be made known to thee in Heaven."

Publication history

The story was first published as "Eleonora: A Fable" in the 1842 edition of The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1842, an annual publication. It was republished on the front page of the Boston Notion on September 4, 1841, in Robert's Semi-Monthly Magazine on September 15, in the New York based Weekly Tribune on September 18, and the daily New-York Tribune on September 20.

Poe republished the story as "Eleonora" in the May 24, 1845, issue of the Broadway Journal while serving as its editor. The original publication named the narrator Pyrros.

Analysis

Many biographers consider "Eleonora" an autobiographical story written for Poe to alleviate his own feelings of guilt for considering other women for love. At the time of the publication of this very short tale, his wife Virginia had just begun to show signs of illness, though she would not die for another five years. The narrator may thus be interpreted as Poe himself, living with his young cousin (soon-to-be wife) and his aunt.

Poe considered the tale "not ended so well as it might be". This might be due to the vagueness of the reason of the narrator being absolved, which is mentioned to be only revealed in Heaven. Compared to the endings of other Poe tales where the dead lover returns from beyond the grave (like "Ligeia" and "Morella"), this is a "happy" ending, free of antagonism, guilt or resentment.

The narrator readily admits madness in the beginning of the story, though he believes it has not been determined if madness is actually "the loftiest form of intelligence". This may be meant facetiously, but it also may explain the excessively paradise-like description of the valley and how it changes with their love and, later, with Eleonora's death. His admission of madness, however, excuses him from introducing such fantastic elements.

Sexual themes may also be found in the story. The narrator's name, Pyros, implies fire and passion. As he and Eleonora grow, their innocent relationship turns to love with descriptions of the changing landscape being erotic or sexual — animal life and plant life sprouting forth and multiplying. Eleonora's death might serve as a symbolic end to ideal romantic love which is soon replaced with the less passionate married love for Ermengarde. Eleonora embodies many typical traits in Poe's female character: she is young, passive, and completely devoted to her love.

The term "Valley of the Many-Colored Grass" was inspired by "Adonais" by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Major themes

A woman returning from beyond the grave to visit her former love is a device often used by Poe. See also "Ligeia" and "Morella". Poe also often wrote about the death of beautiful women, which he considered the most poetical topic in the world.

Critical response

Not long after its initial publication, an anonymous review in the Boston Notion referred to "Eleonora" as having been "written with much power, and in that gentleman's [Poe's] peculiar style". Poe biographer Arthur Hobson Quinn called it "one of his finest stories."

References

References

1. The issue of this [[gift book]] which included the story was available circa September 1, 1841.Thomas, Dwight and David K. Jackson. ''The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe 1809–1849''. New York: G. K. Hall and Co., 1987: 339. {{ISBN. 0-8161-8734-7
2. Thomas, Dwight and David K. Jackson. ''The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe 1809–1849''. New York: G. K. Hall and Co., 1987: 340. {{ISBN. 0-8161-8734-7
3. Thomas, Dwight and David K. Jackson. ''The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe 1809–1849''. New York: G. K. Hall and Co., 1987: 341. {{ISBN. 0-8161-8734-7
4. Sova, Dawn B. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z''. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001: 78. {{ISBN. 0-8160-4161-X
5. Kennedy, J. Gerald. "Poe, 'Ligeia,' and the Problem of Dying Women" as collected in ''New Essays on Poe's Major Tales'', edited by Kenneth Silverman. Cambridge University Press, 1993: 126.
6. Ruffner, Courtney J. and Jeff Grieneisen. "Intelligence: Genius or Insanity? Tracing Motifs in Poe's Madness Tales" collected in ''Bloom's BioCritiques: Edgar Allan Poe'', Harold Bloom, ed. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002: 55. {{ISBN. 0-7910-6173-6
7. Ruffner, Courtney J. and Jeff Grieneisen. "Intelligence: Genius or Insanity? Tracing Motifs in Poe's Madness Tales" collected in ''Bloom's BioCritiques: Edgar Allan Poe'', Harold Bloom, ed. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002: 59. {{ISBN. 0-7910-6173-6
8. Fisher, Benjamin Franklin. "'Eleonora': Poe and Madness" collected in ''Poe and His Times: The Artist and His Milieu'', Benjamin Franklin Fisher, ed. Baltimore: The Edgar Allan Poe Society, 1990: 180. {{ISBN. 0-9616449-2-3
9. Benton, Richard P. "Friends and Enemies: Women in the Life of Edgar Allan Poe" collected in ''Myths and Realities: The Mysterious Mr. Poe''. Baltimore: Edgar Allan Poe Society, 1987: 6-7. {{ISBN. 0-9616449-1-5
10. Weekes, Karen. "Poe's feminine ideal," collected in ''The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe'', edited by Kevin J. Hayes. Cambridge University Press, 2002: 154. {{ISBN. 0-521-79727-6
11. Meyers, Jeffrey. ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy''. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992: 129. {{ISBN. 0-8154-1038-7.
12. Silverman, Kenneth. ''Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance''. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991: 239. {{ISBN. 0-06-092331-8
13. Poe's friend [[Thomas Holley Chivers]] praised "Eleonora" for being nearly a [[prose poem]]. He compared its originality and its execution to the work of [[Ossian]].Chivers, Thomas Holley. ''Chivers' Life of Poe'', edited by Richard Beale Davis. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1952: 79.
14. Quinn, Arthur Hobson. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography''. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998: 329. {{ISBN. 0-8018-5730-9