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A man named William Gowans described Virginia as a woman of "matchless beauty and loveliness" with "a temper and disposition of surpassing sweetness"<ref>Meyers, ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy'', p. 93.</ref> |
A man named William Gowans described Virginia as a woman of "matchless beauty and loveliness" with "a temper and disposition of surpassing sweetness"<ref>Meyers, ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy'', p. 93.</ref> |
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==Marriage== |
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Virginia Clemm and Edgar Allan Poe, who were first cousins, were married by a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Amasa Converse, on [[May 16]], [[1836]]. Edgar was 27 and Virginia was 13, though the two listed her age as 21.<ref>Meyers, ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy'', p. 85.</ref> Debate has raged regarding how unusual this pairing was; noted Poe biographer Arthur Hobson Quinn says the arrangement was not particularly unusual, nor was Edgar's nickname of "Sis" or "Sissy".<ref>Hoffman, ''Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe'', p. 26.</ref> It has been suggested that Clemm and Poe had a brother-sister relationship.<ref>Krutch, Alfred Wood. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A Study in Genius''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. p. 52</ref> Scholars, including [[Princess Marie Bonaparte|Marie Bonaparte]], have read many of Poe's works as autobiographical and have concluded that Virginia died a [[virginity|virgin]], especially if assuming Virginia is the title character in the poem "[[Annabel Lee]]," a "maiden... by the name of Annabel Lee."<ref>Hoffman, Daniel. ''Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1972. p. 27. ISBN 0807123218</ref> |
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Virginia and Edgar were by all accounts a happy and devoted couple. Poe's one-time employer [[George Rex Graham]] wrote of their relationship: "His love for his wife was a sort of rapturous worship of the spirit of beauty."<ref>Oberholtzer, ''The Literary History of Philadelphia'', p. 299</ref> |
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==Illness and death== |
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However, Virginia developed [[tuberculosis]], first seen in an incident some time in the middle of January, [[1842]]. While singing and playing the piano, Virginia began to bleed from the mouth, "ruptured a blood-vessel," as Edgar described.<ref>Silverman, ''Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance'', p. 179.</ref> Her health declined and she became an invalid, which drove Edgar into a deep depression, especially as she occasionally showed signs of improvement. In a letter to friend John Ingram, Edgar described his resulting mental state: "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.poeforward.com/virginiawomb/virginia/eveleth-1-4-1848.htm|title= Poe to George W. Eveleth, 1/4/1848| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20061127135158/http://www.poeforward.com/virginiawomb/virginia/eveleth-1-4-1848.htm |archivedate= 2006-11-27}}</ref> |
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When the family (Edgar, Virginia, and her mother, Maria) moved to a [[cottage]] in [[Fordham, New York]], Virginia was tended to by 25-year old Marie Louise Shew. Shew knew medical care from her father, a doctor. She actually provided Virginia with a [[comforter]] as her only other cover was Edgar's old military [[cloak]].<ref>Silverman, ''Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance'', p. 326.</ref> |
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[[Image:Poe's grave Baltimore MD.jpg|thumb|right|Memorial marker to Virginia Clemm, Maria Clemm, and Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore, MD.]] |
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Virginia died on January 30, [[1847]] after five years of illness. Shew helped in organizing her [[funeral]], even purchasing her [[coffin]]. Shew may have also painted the only image of Virginia, a water color done after her death.<ref>Silverman, ''Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance'', p. 327.</ref> Though now buried at [[Westminster Hall and Burying Ground]], Virginia was originally buried in a [[burial vault|vault]] owned by the Valentine family, owners of the Fordham cottage.<ref>Silverman, ''Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance'', p. 327.</ref> |
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In [[1875]], the same year Edgar was reburied, the cemetery in which she lay was destroyed and her remains were almost forgotten. An early Poe biographer, William Gill, gathered her bones and stored them in a box he hid under his bed.<ref>Meyers, ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy'', p. 263.</ref> Gill's story was reported in the ''[[Boston Herald]]'' twenty-seven years after the event. Gill says that he had visited the Fordham cemetery in 1883 at exactly the moment that the [[sexton (office)|sexton]] Dennis Valentine held Virginia's bones in his shovel, ready to throw them away as unclaimed. Gill took the remains and corresponded with Neilson Poe and John Prentiss Poe in Baltimore, and arranged to bring the box down to be laid on Edgar's left side in a small bronze casket. Virginia's remains were finally buried with her husband's in [[1885]] on January 19 - the seventy-sixth anniversary of her husband's birth and nearly ten years after his current monument was erected. The same man who served as sexton during Edgar's original burial and his exhumations and reburials was also present at the rites which brought his body to rest with Virginia and Virginia's mother Maria Clemm.<ref>Miller, John C. "The Exhumations and Reburials of Edgar and Virginia Poe and Mrs. Clemm," from ''Poe Studies'', vol. VII, no. 2, December 1974, p. 47</ref> |
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==References in literature== |
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Poe's poem "[[Annabel Lee]]" is often assumed to have been inspired by Virginia's illness and death, though other women in Poe's life are potential candidates including [[Frances Sargent Osgood]]<ref>Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 244. ISBN 0815410387</ref> and [[Sarah Helen Whitman]].<ref>Sova, Dawn B. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z''. Checkmark Books, 2001. p. 12. ISBN 081604161X</ref> The [[short story]] "[[Eleonora (short story)|Eleonora]]" may also reference Virginia's illness, though it was published before her death. |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
Revision as of 15:32, 31 October 2007
Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe | |
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Born | August 22, 1822 |
Died | January 30, 1847 |
Spouse | Edgar Allan Poe |
Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe (August 22, 1822 – January 30, 1847), born Virginia Eliza Clemm, was the wife of Edgar Allan Poe. She was the daughter of William Clemm, Jr. (1779-1826) and Maria Poe Clemm, the sister of Edgar's father David Poe Jr.
A man named William Gowans described Virginia as a woman of "matchless beauty and loveliness" with "a temper and disposition of surpassing sweetness"[1]
Marriage
Virginia Clemm and Edgar Allan Poe, who were first cousins, were married by a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Amasa Converse, on May 16, 1836. Edgar was 27 and Virginia was 13, though the two listed her age as 21.[2] Debate has raged regarding how unusual this pairing was; noted Poe biographer Arthur Hobson Quinn says the arrangement was not particularly unusual, nor was Edgar's nickname of "Sis" or "Sissy".[3] It has been suggested that Clemm and Poe had a brother-sister relationship.[4] Scholars, including Marie Bonaparte, have read many of Poe's works as autobiographical and have concluded that Virginia died a virgin, especially if assuming Virginia is the title character in the poem "Annabel Lee," a "maiden... by the name of Annabel Lee."[5]
Virginia and Edgar were by all accounts a happy and devoted couple. Poe's one-time employer George Rex Graham wrote of their relationship: "His love for his wife was a sort of rapturous worship of the spirit of beauty."[6]
Illness and death
However, Virginia developed tuberculosis, first seen in an incident some time in the middle of January, 1842. While singing and playing the piano, Virginia began to bleed from the mouth, "ruptured a blood-vessel," as Edgar described.[7] Her health declined and she became an invalid, which drove Edgar into a deep depression, especially as she occasionally showed signs of improvement. In a letter to friend John Ingram, Edgar described his resulting mental state: "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity."[8]
When the family (Edgar, Virginia, and her mother, Maria) moved to a cottage in Fordham, New York, Virginia was tended to by 25-year old Marie Louise Shew. Shew knew medical care from her father, a doctor. She actually provided Virginia with a comforter as her only other cover was Edgar's old military cloak.[9]
Virginia died on January 30, 1847 after five years of illness. Shew helped in organizing her funeral, even purchasing her coffin. Shew may have also painted the only image of Virginia, a water color done after her death.[10] Though now buried at Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, Virginia was originally buried in a vault owned by the Valentine family, owners of the Fordham cottage.[11]
In 1875, the same year Edgar was reburied, the cemetery in which she lay was destroyed and her remains were almost forgotten. An early Poe biographer, William Gill, gathered her bones and stored them in a box he hid under his bed.[12] Gill's story was reported in the Boston Herald twenty-seven years after the event. Gill says that he had visited the Fordham cemetery in 1883 at exactly the moment that the sexton Dennis Valentine held Virginia's bones in his shovel, ready to throw them away as unclaimed. Gill took the remains and corresponded with Neilson Poe and John Prentiss Poe in Baltimore, and arranged to bring the box down to be laid on Edgar's left side in a small bronze casket. Virginia's remains were finally buried with her husband's in 1885 on January 19 - the seventy-sixth anniversary of her husband's birth and nearly ten years after his current monument was erected. The same man who served as sexton during Edgar's original burial and his exhumations and reburials was also present at the rites which brought his body to rest with Virginia and Virginia's mother Maria Clemm.[13]
References in literature
Poe's poem "Annabel Lee" is often assumed to have been inspired by Virginia's illness and death, though other women in Poe's life are potential candidates including Frances Sargent Osgood[14] and Sarah Helen Whitman.[15] The short story "Eleonora" may also reference Virginia's illness, though it was published before her death.
Notes
- ^ Meyers, Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy, p. 93.
- ^ Meyers, Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy, p. 85.
- ^ Hoffman, Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe, p. 26.
- ^ Krutch, Alfred Wood. Edgar Allan Poe: A Study in Genius. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. p. 52
- ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1972. p. 27. ISBN 0807123218
- ^ Oberholtzer, The Literary History of Philadelphia, p. 299
- ^ Silverman, Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance, p. 179.
- ^ "Poe to George W. Eveleth, 1/4/1848". Archived from the original on 2006-11-27.
- ^ Silverman, Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance, p. 326.
- ^ Silverman, Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance, p. 327.
- ^ Silverman, Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance, p. 327.
- ^ Meyers, Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy, p. 263.
- ^ Miller, John C. "The Exhumations and Reburials of Edgar and Virginia Poe and Mrs. Clemm," from Poe Studies, vol. VII, no. 2, December 1974, p. 47
- ^ Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 244. ISBN 0815410387
- ^ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. Checkmark Books, 2001. p. 12. ISBN 081604161X
References
- Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1972. ISBN 0684193701.
- Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. Cooper Square Press, 1992. ISBN 0684193701.
- Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. The Literary History of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co., 1906. ISBN 1932109455.
- Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Perennial, 1991. ISBN 0060923318.