Berenice (short story)
.gif) "Berenice" as it appeared in its original published form. | |
| Author | Edgar Allan Poe |
|---|---|
| Original title | 'Berenice - A Tale' |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Horror short story |
| Publisher | Southern Literary Messenger |
Publication date | March 1835 |
| Media type | Print (Periodical) |
"Berenice" is a short horror story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the Southern Literary Messenger in 1835.
Plot summary
Publication history
First published in the Southern Literary Messenger in March 1835, public outcry led to an edited version being published in 1840. The four removed paragraphs describe a scene where Egaeus visits Berenice before her burial and clearly sees that she is still alive as she moves her finger and smiles. Poe says in a letter to the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger on April 30, 1835: "I allow that it approaches the very verge of bad taste -- but I will not sin quite so egregiously again."
Analysis
Sigmund Freud would immediately point out the importance of teeth in "Berenice". In Freudian terms, the removal of teeth can be a symbol of castration, possibly as punishment for masturbation. Another interpretation is thinking of the teeth as protection for an entrance to the wife's body, another sexual connotation.
The story is also one of Poe's most violent. As the narrator looks at the box which he may subconsciously know contains his wife's teeth, he asks himself, "Why... did the hairs of my head erect themselves on end, and the blood of my body become congealed within my veins?" Though Poe does not actually include the scene where the teeth are pulled out, it is very clear what happened. The reader also knows that Egaeus was in a trance-like state at the time, incapable of responding to evidence that his wife was still alive as he committed the gruesome act. Additionally, the story emphasizes that all 32 of her teeth were removed.
Incidentally, this is one of the few Poe stories whose narrator is named.
Major themes
Several oft-repeated themes in Poe's works are found in this story:
- The death of a beautiful woman (see also The Fall of the House of Usher, Ligeia, Morella, The Oval Portrait)
- Being buried alive (see also The Cask of Amontillado, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Premature Burial)
- Mental illness (see also The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart)
- Catalepsy (see also The Premature Burial, The Fall of the House of Usher)
Adaptations
The 1995 computer game The Dark Eye contained reenactments of selected stories by Poe. One of them was based on "Berenice" and allowed the player to experience the story from the alternating points of view of both Egaeus and Berenice.
External links
- "Berenice" - Full Text of the first printing, from the Southern Literary Messenger, 1835
- Full Text at Wikisource