Ok, first I was wondering if anyone else thought that perhaps the narrator was dreaming during the whole story. I didn't think this the first time i read it through, but then when I went back to the beginning, he describes what it means to be mad, or as he likes to refer to it as the "loftiest intelligence." He proceeds to say that "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which excape those who dream only by night." And then in the next paragraph he calls himself mad, therefore concluding that he dreams in the day and night. So do you think he was dreaming up this story?
Next I want to approach the deal that was made between the narrator and Eleonora on page 471. It reminds me of the saying, "making a deal with the devil." Did anyone else thinkn that the "HIM" that would be doing the cursing was the Devil? Also I was curious as to why they didn't put what his punishment would be if he did betray his promise to her after she died. The description of what he wouldn't do was so detailed and then there was no description of what the curse would be if he had broken the deal. I personally think that if he had included what would happen to him if he broke the deal, it would have made for a better ending because then the audience would see what a relief it was to not be punished when he ends up marrying some other girl.
Lastly, I wanted to know if anyone else thought the Ermengarde (the new girl) was kind of like a reincarnation of Eleonora at first. I did, but Im not so sure now. The only reason that I thought this was because on page 473, in the last sentence of the first full paragraph he describes Ermengarde's as as "memorial eyes." Memorial of what? Did they just remind him of Eleonora or were they in fact her eyes? He is so bold to say on page 469 that the river was brighter than all "save the eyes of Eleonora."
I think that this piece is not typical Poe, it seems to happily ever after to me. Let me know what you think and what your ideas are!
3 comments:
I think that you are right, Corinne, about the curse not being mentioned.
As I re-think this story, I begin to think a little bit about Faust. At the end, Margurite is raising her hands to Heaven, praying...
Angel Pure, Angel Bright
God of Justice, protect me, I am for you! Forgive me!
And in the end of this long and lovely duet of Faust and Margurite, Mephisto declares her, 'Judged!' But then the angels declare her, 'Saved!' and bring her to Heaven.
I liken this scenario to the ending of Eleonora, where the voice says that he is free from the bond he made to her.
The question this poses to me is, 'What exactly is he free from? What is this horrible curse?'
It would have been nice to know.
I read "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night" (468) as describing what it means to be "mad" (dreaming by day). I was also trying to understand what he means by "the great secret" (468) in relation to his love for Eleonora and what happens after she dies.
As far as the invoking of the curse, I'm a little confused. The line "And the curse I invoked of Him and of her..." (471) seems to say that the narrator is invoking the curse. Also, the word "Him" is capitalized, so it could be referring to God. Also, on page 473, the narrator says "I wedded;--nor dreaded the curse I had invoked..."
I do agree that the ending is relatively happy for a Poe story. Not only does the narrator not worry about the curse, but Eleonora accepts his new love (if we are to believe the narrator's whole story), and doesn't come back to cause trouble for the narrator.
I agree with Laura. The "Him" I believe is referring to God because he calls him "Mighty Ruler of the Universe (471). However, I don't agree about the curse. I think that this promise of loving only her and never marrying was so deep and pure that to him, breaking the promise would result in the worst possible punishment for not keeping the vow. He didn't let her pick the punishment; he chose what would cause him to suffer the most. Also, he didn't care about breaking the vow when he married Ermengarde. He says on page 473 that "I wedded;-nor dreaded the curse I had evoked;.” I believe he is freed from the promise and forgiven because his suffering was greater than her death. I believe that Eleanor understood how much more and how long he suffered in mourning for her and she released him from his vow.
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