Edgar Allan Poe Mental Illness

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Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American poet and writer. Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. His final days remain a mystery as he suffered from poor health and struggled financially. He was taken to Washington College Hospital, where he died on October 7th. His death was at the early age of 40 from unknown causes and Poe’s last words were “Lord, help my poor soul.” He was the son of Elizabeth Poe and David Poe, who were both professional actors. He had one brother and one sister. Their names were William Henry Leonard and Rosalie (Edgar Allan Poe Biography.com). He is predominantly known for his stories of horror and mystery and made his biggest mark in the genre of gothic fiction. Edgar Allan Poe wrote one of his …show more content…

The story incorporates both physical and mental illness, and the effect that illness had on the people closest to those who are sick. The family in the story is self-isolating, removed from normalcy, and so crazy that they seem to have become eerie individuals. The house that the characters in the story are involved with is a very gloomy and mysterious place. The house seems to have taken on an evil and sick atmosphere from the old trees and murky ponds surrounding it. Roderick returns home because he feels weak, nervous, and agitated and Madeline suffers from a mysterious disease. The physician of the family is powerless against the disease and has trouble trying to help them (Manning and Jimenez and Poe). This story is also a very good representation of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. The aspects of the story including mental and physical illness can closely relate to Poe. The characters in the story can closely relate to his mother who died from the illness of tuberculosis at a very young age. He incorporates illness into his story because it is something Poe was very familiar with. The character of the physician almost represents Edgar Allan Poe as a child. He wanted to help his mother get better but there was nothing he could do to stop it, making him powerless just like the physician. With the passing of his mother, he had little to no family support. Lorine Pruette says, “Most of the world deprived him of the love he so inordinately craved and seduced him to seek a vague nepenthe in the use of drugs and stimulants (Pruette). Pruette’s words show that Edgar Allan Poe had a lack of love in his life that put a strain on him. He turned to harmful alternatives, but he always ended up writing a story about it. He wrote the story “The Fall of the House of Usher” to better express himself and his experiences with losing a loved one from illness in his

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