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Abstract
This essay examines how Edgar Allan Poe's life experiences of feminine abandonment and betrayal influenced his fictional portrayal of women. Focusing on "Berenice," "Ligeia," and "The Fall of the House of Usher," the essay analyzes how Poe's male narrators contain the "feminine monstrous," a projection of unrestrained womanhood. Berenice symbolizes the vagina dentata, Ligeia an incubus achieving monstrous metempsychosis, and Madeline Usher a warning and source of destruction. The essay explores the link between Eros and Thanatos in Poe's work, questioning the success of these containments and viewing them as potential interrogations of compromised masculinity.
Publisher
Palgrave Communications
Published On
May 26, 2020
Authors
Tracy Hayes
Tags
Edgar Allan Poe
feminine monstrous
betrayal
Eros and Thanatos
fictional portrayal
masculinity
literary analysis

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