"Eleonora" is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

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 wid ...

, first published in

1842 Events January–March * January ** Michael Alexander takes office, as the first appointee to the Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem. ** American medical student William E. Clarke of Berkshire Medical College becomes the first pe ...

in Philadelphia in the literary annual ''The Gift''. It is often regarded as somewhat

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

and has a relatively "happy" ending.

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 A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

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 in the 1842 edition of ''The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1842'', an annual publication, as "Eleonora: A Fable". It was later republished in the May 24, 1845 issue of the ''

Broadway Journal The ''Broadway Journal'' was a short-lived New York City-based newspaper founded by Charles Frederick Briggs and John Bisco in 1844 and was published from January 1845 to January 1846. In its first year, the publication was bought by Edgar Allan P ...

''. In 1845, Poe added the opening epigraph, a quote from Raymond Lull that translates to "Under the protection of a specific form, my soul is safe."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. p. 181. 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 Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

had just begun to show signs of illness, though she would not die for another five years.Sova, Dawn B. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z''. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001. p. 78. The narrator, then, is Poe himself, living with his young cousin (soon-to-be wife) and his aunt. The abrupt ending, with the narrator's new love only named in the third to last paragraph, is somewhat unconvincing if this is Poe's attempt at justifying his own feelings. Poe considered the tale "not ended so well as it might be". Perhaps, it is in the vagueness of the reason which will only be revealed in Heaven for permission to break his vow. Even so, compared to the endings of other Poe tales where the dead lover returns from beyond the grave, this is a "happy" ending, free of antagonism, guilt or resentment. In " Morella", for example, the dead wife reincarnates as her own daughter, only to die. In "

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 ...

", the first wife returns from the dead and destroys the narrator's new love. Ultimately, the message in "Eleonora" is that a man is allowed to wed without guilt after the death of his first love. 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. It is unclear why the trio lived in isolation in the valley. There are also sexual themes 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 serves 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 "

Adonaïs ''Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats, Author of Endymion, Hyperion, etc.'' () is a pastoral elegy written by Percy Bysshe Shelley for John Keats in 1821, and widely regarded as one of Shelley's best and best-known works.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 "

" and " Morella". Poe also often wrote about the death of beautiful women, which he considered the most poetical topic in the world.

Critical response

Poe's friend

Thomas Holley Chivers Thomas Holley Chivers (October 18, 1809 – December 18, 1858) was an American doctor-turned-poet from the state of Georgia. He is best known for his friendship with Edgar Allan Poe and his controversial defense of the poet after his death. Bo ...

praised "Eleonora" for being nearly a

prose poem Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form, while preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis, and emotional effects. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associ ...

. He compared its originality and its execution to the work of Ossian. Poe biographer Arthur Hobson Quinn called it "one of his finest stories."Quinn, Arthur Hobson. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography''. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. p. 329.

References

External links

*
Publication history
of "Eleonora" at the Edgar Allan Poe Society online *
''The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1842'', original 1841 publication online.
{{Authority control 1842 short stories Short stories by Edgar Allan Poe