Women in Edgar Allan Poe\'s \"The Raven,\"

¶ … women in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven," "Annabel Lee," and "The Fall of the House of Usher."

Poe's tragic personal past with women in his life, notably the loss of both his wife and mother to tragic illness (Benton), is clearly reflected within all three of Poe's masterful works. In "The Raven" Poe faces the truth that the shadow on his heart over the death of the "rare and radiant" Lenore will never be lifted. Further, in "Annabel Lee," Poe once again mourns the tragic death of a beautiful woman whom he loved dearly. In "The Fall of the House of Usher" Poe again explores the loss of a young, beautiful woman who dies tragically before her time. However, this story explores Poe's horror and terror at the circumstance of the young woman's death, rather than a simple exploration of his grief, as seen in "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee." Clearly, all three works demonstrate the depth of Poe's grief and horror over the early and tragic loss of two of the most important women in his life, his wife and mother. Poe's depictions remain relevant to readers of all ages and nationalities, as they speak to the universal misery of tragic loss and mourning.

In the poem, "The Raven," Poe's explores his emotions over the loss of a "rare and radiant" young woman, Lenore. He speaks about the beauty of Lenore, and clearly sees her a sort of saint or angel. The raven represents death within the poem, and the raven's appearance at Poe's door represents the arrival of death that took Poe's young wife. In the poem, the raven is seen as "so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door," symbolizing the death that came to take Poe's wife, and that would soon claim him as well. The raven sits on the bust of the goddess Pallas (who is the Greek goddess of wisdom), clearly representing woman as wise. Poe asks, the raven, perched on the head of the wise goddess if there is life after death, and the bird repeats "Nevermore." Poe's anguish is seen when he asks the same question in reference to Lenore, asking if death shall "shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore -- Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels name Lenore." However, the raven still replies, "Nevermore." We see the depth of Poe's grief at the loss of Lenore, and symbolically his young wife in his life, in closing lines of "The Raven," And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted -- nevermore."

Poe's poem "Annabel Lee" recounts the perfect love of the narrator and his child bride Annabel Lee. As in the Raven, Poe delves into the tragic loss of a beautiful woman within the lines of "Annabel Lee." Annabel Lee's similarity in age to Poe's young real-life bride is striking, and the poem can be seen as a reflection of Poe's grief over the loss of his young wife. As in "The Raven," Poe focuses on the beauty of the young woman who dies tragically. The stars and the moon even remind the narrator of the young woman's beauty after her tragic death. "Annabel Lee" focuses primarily on the depth of the feelings of between the two young lovers, while "The Raven" focuses more clearly on the grief at the loss of the young woman. In "Annabel Lee," the narrator tells a tale of a kingdom by the sea, where both he and Annabel Lee lived, and that they "loved with a love that was more than love." The angels in heaven were not nearly so happy, and coveted their love, and Annabel Lee dies from a cold wind sent by the angels. The narrator mourns the loss of the beautiful Annabel Lee, and declares that even in death, the angels continue to covet their perfect love. As in "The Raven," Poe ends "Annabel Lee" with a lament to the depth of his grief, " all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling-my darling-my life and my bride, In the sepulchre there by the sea, In her tomb by the sounding sea."

The Fall of the House of Usher" is a much longer and complex tale than "The Raven" or "Annabel Lee." In the story, the narrator visits the dark and gloomy House of Usher, and finds his friend Roderick pallid and depressed. Roderick asserts that a severe illness that afflicts Roderick's young sister had made him depressed. As he speaks, a ghostly figure of Madeline walks by, ignoring the young men. Madeline dies, and they seal her in a tight coffin, until one night they hear a noise and "there did stand the lofty and enshrouded figure of lady Madeline." The horror of her appearance kills Roderick, and the narrator is so stricken by the events that he rushes away in horror. "The Fall of the House of Usher," like "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee" is full of remembrances of his late wife. Like the other two works, "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a tragic tale about the premature death of a beautiful young woman. Poe represents Madeline as a beautiful woman, whose eyes are "two luminous windows," and whose mouth is like the "pearl and ruby." However, unlike in "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee," in "The Fall of the House of Usher," Poe does not necessarily grieve the young woman's untimely death. Further, he is not as deeply and tragically enamored of the ill-fated young Madeline as he was of either Lenore or Annabel Lee in the other two works. "The House of Usher" is much more a tale of horror at the suddenness and gruesomeness of her death than it is a lament that Madeline has passed from this world.