"Berenice" is a
short
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
People
* Short (surname)
* List of people known as ...
horror story
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...
by American writer
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
, first published in the ''
Southern Literary Messenger
The ''Southern Literary Messenger'' was a periodical published in Richmond, Virginia, from August 1834 to June 1864, and from 1939 to 1945. Each issue carried a subtitle of "Devoted to Every Department of Literature and the Fine Arts" or some vari ...
'' in
1835
Events
January–March
* January 7 – anchors off the Chonos Archipelago on her second voyage, with Charles Darwin on board as naturalist.
* January 8 – The United States public debt contracts to zero, for the only time in history.
...
. Egaeus, who is preparing to marry his cousin Berenice, tends to fall into periods of intense focus, during which he seems to separate himself from the outside world. Berenice begins to deteriorate from an unnamed disease until only her teeth remain healthy. Egaeus obsesses over them. When Berenice is buried, he continues to contemplate her teeth. One day, he awakens with an uneasy feeling from a trance-like state and hears screams. A servant reports that Berenice's grave has been disturbed, and she is still alive. Beside Egaeus is a shovel, a poem about "visiting the grave of my beloved", and a box containing 32 teeth.
Contemporary readers were horrified by the story's violence and complained to the editor of the ''Messenger''. Although Poe later published a self-censored version of the work, he believed the story should be judged solely by how many copies it sold.
Plot summary
The narrator Egaeus, a studious young man, grows up in a large, gloomy mansion with his cousin Berenice. He suffers from a type of
obsessive disorder, a
monomania
In 19th-century psychiatry, monomania (from Greek , one, and , meaning "madness" or "frenzy") was a form of partial insanity conceived as single psychological obsession in an otherwise sound mind.
Types
Monomania may refer to:
* De Clerambaul ...
that makes him
fixate on objects. Originally beautiful, Berenice suffers from an unspecified degenerative illness, of which periods of
catalepsy
Catalepsy (from Ancient Greek , , "seizing, grasping") is a nervous condition characterized by muscular rigidity and fixity of posture regardless of external stimuli, as well as decreased sensitivity to pain.
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms inc ...
, are a symptom, which he refers to as a "trance". Nevertheless, they are due to be married.
One afternoon, Egaeus sees Berenice as he sits in the library. When she smiles, he focuses on her teeth. His obsession grips him, and for days he drifts in and out of awareness, constantly thinking about her teeth. He imagines himself holding the teeth and turning them over to examine them from all angles. At one point, a servant tells him that Berenice has died and shall be buried. When he next becomes aware, with an inexplicable terror, he finds a lamp and a small box in front of him. Another servant enters, reporting that a grave has been violated, and a shrouded disfigured body found, still alive. Egaeus finds that his clothes are covered in mud and blood, and he opens the box to find that it contains dental instruments and "thirty-two small, white and ivory-looking substances": Berenice's teeth.
The
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
epigraph, "''Dicebant mihi sodales si sepulchrum amicae visitarem, curas meas aliquantulum fore levatas''" at the head of the text may be translated as: "My companions said to me, if I would visit the grave of my friend, I might somewhat alleviate my worries." This quotation is also seen by Egaeus in an open book towards the end of the story.
Analysis
In "Berenice", Poe was following the popular traditions of
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...
, a genre well-followed by American and British readers for several decades. Poe, however, made his Gothic stories more sophisticated, dramatizing terror by using more realistic images.
[Meyers, Jeffrey. ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy''. Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 77. ] This story is one of Poe's most violent. As the narrator looks at the box which he may subconsciously know contains his cousin's teeth, he asks himself, "Why... did the hairs of my head erect themselves on end, and the blood of my body become congealed within my veins?" Poe does not actually include the scene where the teeth are pulled out. The reader also knows that Egaeus was in a trance-like state at the time, incapable of responding to evidence that his cousin was still alive as he committed the gruesome act. Additionally, the story emphasizes that all 32 of her teeth were removed.
The main theme lies in the question that Egaeus asks himself: "How is it that from beauty I have derived a type of unloveliness?" Poe also uses a character afflicted with monomania for the first time, a device he uses many times again.
[
Teeth are used symbolically in many of Poe's stories to symbolize mortality. Other uses include the "sepulchral and disgusting" horse's teeth in "]Metzengerstein
"Metzengerstein: A Tale in Imitation of the German" is a short story by American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe, his first to see print. It was first published in the pages of Philadelphia's ''Saturday Courier'' magazine, in 1832. The story follo ...
", lips writhing about the teeth of the mesmerized man in "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
"The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" is a short story by the American author Edgar Allan Poe about a mesmerist who puts a man in a suspended hypnotic state at the moment of death. An example of a tale of suspense and horror, it is also to a c ...
", and the sound of grating teeth in "Hop-Frog
"Hop-Frog" (originally "Hop-Frog; Or, the Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1849. The title character, a person with dwarfism taken from his homeland, becomes the jester of a kin ...
".
Egaeus and Berenice are both representative characters. Egaeus, literally born in the library, represents intellectualism. He is a quiet, lonely man whose obsession only emphasizes his interest on thought and study. Berenice is a more physical character, described as "roaming carelessly through life" and "agile, graceful, and overflowing with energy." She is, however, an oppressed woman, having "spoke no word" throughout the story. Her only purpose, as with many of Poe's female characters, is to be beautiful and to die. Egaeus loses his interest in the full person of Berenice as she gets sick; she becomes an object to analyze, not to admire. He dehumanizes her by describing "the" forehead of Berenice, rather than "her" forehead.
Poe may have used the names of the two characters to call to mind the conventions of ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
. Berenice's name (which means "bringer of victory") comes from a poem by Callimachus
Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide variety ...
. In the poem, Berenice promises her hair to Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
if her husband returns from war safely. Egaeus may come from Aegeus
In Greek mythology, Aegeus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰγεύς, Aigeús, also spelled Aegeas) was an archaic figure in the founding myth of Athens. The "goat-man" who gave his name to the Aegean Sea was the father of Theseus. He was also the founder of A ...
, a legendary king of Athens who had committed suicide when he thought his son Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages.
Theseus is sometimes describe ...
had died attempting to kill the Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...
.[
The final lines of the story are purposely protracted using a series of conjunctions connecting multiple clauses. The rhythm as well as the heavy accented consonant and long vowels sounds help unify the effect.
Incidentally, this is one of the few Poe stories whose narrator is named.
]
Major themes
Several often-repeated themes in Poe's works are found in this story:
*The death of a beautiful woman (see also "Ligeia
"Ligeia" () is an early short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1838. The story follows an unnamed narrator and his wife Ligeia, a beautiful and intelligent raven-haired woman. She falls ill, composes "The Conqueror Wor ...
", " Morella", " The Oval Portrait", "The Philosophy of Composition
"The Philosophy of Composition" is an 1846 essay written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe that elucidates a theory about how good writers write when they write well. He concludes that length, "unity of effect" and a logical method are important ...
")
*Being buried alive (see also "The Cask of Amontillado
"The Cask of Amontillado" (sometimes spelled "The Casque of Amontillado" ) is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of ''Godey's Lady's Book''. The story, set in an unnamed Italy, Italian cit ...
", "The Fall of the House of Usher
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in ''Burton's Gentleman's Magazine'', then included in the collection ''Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque'' in 1840. The short story ...
", "The Premature Burial
"The Premature Burial" is a horror short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1844 in ''The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper''. Its main character expresses concern about being buried alive. This fear was common in this period and ...
" – being buried alive is also very briefly mentioned in "How to Write a Blackwood Article" as a source of possible inspiration for The Signora Psyche Zenobia)
*Mental illness (see also "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Tell-Tale Heart
"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is related by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the n ...
", "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether
"The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" is a dark comedy short story by the American author Edgar Allan Poe. First published in ''Graham's Magazine'' in November 1845, the story centers on a naïve and unnamed narrator's visit to a menta ...
")
*Catalepsy (see also "The Premature Burial", "The Fall of the House of Usher")
Publication history and critical response
First published in the relatively genteel ''Southern Literary Messenger'' in March 1835. Many readers were shocked by the violence in "Berenice" and complained to publisher Thomas W. White,[Whalen, Terence. "Poe and the American Publishing Industry" as collected in ''A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe'', edited by J. Gerald Kennedy. Oxford University Press, 2001. p. 69. ] leading to an edited version eventually being published in 1840. The four removed paragraphs describe a scene where Egaeus visits Berenice before her burial and clearly sees that she is still alive as she moves her finger and smiles.
Poe disagreed with the complaints. A month after "Berenice" was published, he wrote to White saying that many magazines achieved fame because of similar stories. Whether in bad taste or not, he said it was his goal to be appreciated, and "to be appreciated you must be ''read''."[ He admitted, "I allow that it approaches the very verge of bad taste – but I will not sin quite so egregiously again." Even so, Poe also emphasized that its final judgment should come not from the taste of the reading public but on the circulation of the magazine.][
]
Adaptations
Director Eric Rohmer
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
directed and took the lead in his 1954 short film adaptation of "Berenice" entitled "Bérénice", filmed in 16 mm black and white with cinematography by Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette (; 1 March 1928 – 29 January 2016) was a French film director and film critic most commonly associated with the French New Wave and the film magazine ''Cahiers du Cinéma''. He made twenty-nine films, including ''L'amour fou' ...
.
''CBS Radio Mystery Theater
''CBS Radio Mystery Theater'' (a.k.a. ''Radio Mystery Theater'' and ''Mystery Theater'', sometimes abbreviated as ''CBSRMT'') is a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS Radio Network affiliates from 1974 to 1982, an ...
'' presented an adapted version of the story for its radio play "Berenice" as its January 9, 1975 episode. It was directed by , Adapted by George Lowther, starring Michael Tolan
Michael Tolan (born Seymour Tuchow, November 27, 1925 – January 31, 2011) was an American actor.
Early life and education
The son of Morris Tuchow, Tolan was born in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Central High School and Wayne State Un ...
, Norman Rose
Norman Rose (June 23, 1917 – November 12, 2004) was an American actor, film narrator and radio announcer whose velvety baritone was often called "the Voice of God" by colleagues. He was best known as the narrator's voice in the fictitious coffee ...
, Joan Lovejoy, and Roberta Maxwell
Roberta Farnham Maxwell (born June 17, 1941) is a Canadian stage, film, and television actress.
Biography
Maxwell began studying for the stage in her early teens. She joined John Clark (actor/director), John Clark for two years as the child co ...
.
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
performed "Berenice" on his 1975 album ''The Imp of the Perverse and Other Tales'' (Caedmon Records TC—1450). On the same LP Price also read "Morella" and "The Imp of the Perverse". All three Poe stories were re-issued in 2000 on the Harper Collins 5-CD set, ''The Edgar Allan Poe Audio Collection''.
The 1995 computer game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
''The Dark Eye
''The Dark Eye'' (German: ''Das Schwarze Auge'', lit. "The Black Eye") is a German tabletop role-playing game with a high fantasy theme created by Ulrich Kiesow and launched by Schmidt Spiel & Freizeit GmbH and Droemer Knaur Verlag in 1984. ...
'' contains reenactments of selected stories by Poe. One of them is based on "Berenice" and allows the player to experience the story from the alternating points of view of both Egaeus and Berenice.
There was a low-budget film adaptation released to video in 2004.''Berenice'' at Internet Movie Database IMDb
/ref>
References
External links
– Full Text of the first printing, from the ''Southern Literary Messenger'', 1835
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berenice (Short Story)
1835 short stories
Horror short stories
Short stories adapted into films
Short stories by Edgar Allan Poe
Works originally published in the Southern Literary Messenger