Hi all!
I’m back with Part 7 of the Poe stories and it seems that this series is getting larger than I expected. But the “good” news is that I’m definitely done with at least half of them, so I guess pretty soon you’ll be able to read about something else 🙂
That reminds me, if anyone knows any good books that are really worth reading don’t hesitate to say so 🙂 I currently have a pretty huge to-read list, but that doesn’t mean I’m not open to suggestions 😀 Besides this, if you would like some information about a certain book or novel or what ever and I’ve already read it, let me know and I’ll post a review 🙂 And if I haven’t read it, be sure it will get on my list 😀
So let’s get back to what this post is about 🙂 I’ll be presenting 5 works again and as before, the titles are links to where you can read them online 🙂
The first story this time starts out as a love story, but ends unexpectedly as a comedy. Even though it’s a bit long, it’s actually a fun read and gets really funny by the end 😀
The story is about the narrator, a Mr. Napoleon Bonaparte Simpson (previously Froissart), who falls in love with a beautiful woman at the theater. He claims it to be love at first sight and does everything he can to meet the wonderful woman.
He tries to convince her, with words dripping of passion (which seems really funny btw :D), to marry him. She agrees, but with one condition: from the day that they are officially husband and wife, he must wear a spectacle.
The happy day finally comes and the narrator fulfills the wish of his beloved. But what he witnesses through the glasses makes him regret his decision of marrying her. But how will he get out of it? Well, maybe there’s more to the story than we originally thought 😉
The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether
This is again an interesting story, and maybe one of the most amusing ones yet 🙂 This, too, is a bit longer than the usual stories, but definitely worth reading 😀
The story presents the narrator who wishes to visit a private insane asylum that he has heard of from his friends, because at this asylum a new method, called “system of soothing” is applied. He is received by the superintendent, Monsieur Maillard, who invites him to diner, attended by an unusual party.
The night grows stranger and louder, and the narrator learns about the works of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether, and he is ashamed to admit that he hasn’t heard of them. But as he starts to see what is really going on inside the asylum, something unexpected happens.
I loved this one, because I expected it to be scary with the asylum and all, but it wasn’t so much scary as in really interesting. This is another thing I think some people (myself included) find interesting, because I find the mind of a mad man to be quite fascinating and unexplainable, thus object of many speculation 🙂 (Just to be clear, I don’t agree with the methods used in old days of “curing” the mentally ill.)
This story is a short one, but very interesting from a psychological point of view.
The narrator presents his perfect plan to kill an old man, whom he didn’t really have a problem with, but could not stand the gaze of his vulture-eye. He tries to prove throughout the story that he is not insane, but the more he mentions it, the more you know the opposite is true.
We follow in his footsteps as he commits the deed, but witness how his conscience eats him up and makes him hear the pounding of the heart of the killed man. This of course causes him to do what he would have never done otherwise.
One of my friends, also a Poe-lover, said that this is one of her favorites. And I can understand why 🙂 Although it is indeed a bit long, it’s very interesting with a twist at the end 🙂
The story presents the life of the narrator, William Wilson, starting from when he was in school. There he meets a fellow student, who not only has the same name, but is very similar to himself.
The story goes on, presenting the not really healthy lifestyle of the narrator and his many vices in later years. He is seemingly followed by his “twin”, always interfering when he is about to do something wrong. The narrator grows more and more angry with his unpleasant shadow, and decides to settle the score with him once and for all.
The end of the story may not be all that unexpected, at least it wasn’t for me, but it is interesting from a psychological point of view in the analysis of the relationship between the two William Wilsons 🙂
The last story this time is a funny one, once you realize what it’s about 😀
It presents the narrator and his vision about method in the business world. He shares his thoughts about geniuses, and how he did everything he could to not become one.
He tells us about some of his businesses, each described in a very formal and serious manner, which only adds to the comedy, when you understand what the actual business is 😀
It’s a pretty good story, but not my favorite. But of course this doesn’t mean that you can’t read it or like it, for that matter 😛
So I guess that’s all for now and stay tuned for Part VIII of the Poe series 🙂
Until then, have a nice day and a nice read 🙂
just another bookworm 
Poe struggled with lifelong depression and alcoholism, most likely due to the perpetually unstable condition of his family and residence. Crime Stories
I read that about him, and we can see the mark of these factors in many of his stories.