"Eleonora" is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...

by American writer

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

, first published in

1842 Events January–March * January 6– 13 – First Anglo-Afghan War – Massacre of Elphinstone's army (Battle of Gandamak): British East India Company troops are destroyed by Afghan forces on the road from Kabul to Jalalabad, Afghan ...

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, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

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 and typically containing 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 over ...

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 Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

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 ...

''. 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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

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 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 Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

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

Poe's friend Thomas Holley Chivers praised "Eleonora" for being nearly a

prose poem Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form while otherwise deferring to poetic devices to make meaning. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associated with poetry. However, it make ...

. He compared its originality and its execution to the work of

Ossian Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora (poem), Temora'' (1763), and later c ...

. 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