"Morella"is ashort storyin theGothic horrorgenre by 19th-century American author and criticEdgar Allan Poe.
| "Morella" | |
|---|---|
| Short storybyEdgar Allan Poe | |
 Text availableatWikisource | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror Dark romanticism Short story |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Southern Literary Messenger |
| Media type | Print (Periodical) |
| Publication date | April 1835 |
Plot summary
editAn unnamed narrator marries Morella, a woman with great scholarly knowledge who delves into studies of the German philosophersFichteandSchelling,dealing with the question of identity. Morella spends her time in bed reading and teaching her husband. Realizing her physical deterioration, her husband, the narrator, becomes frightened and wishes for his wife's death and eternal peace. Eventually, Morella dies in childbirth proclaiming: "I am dying. But within me is a pledge of that affection... which thou didst feel for me, Morella. And when my spirit departs shall the child live."
As the daughter gets older the narrator notices she bears an uncanny resemblance to her mother, but he refuses to give the child a name. By her tenth birthday the resemblance to Morella is frightening. Her father decides to have herbaptizedto release any evil from her, but this event brings the mother's soul back into her daughter. At the ceremony, thepriestasks the daughter's name, to which the narrator replies "Morella". Immediately, the daughter calls out, "I am here!" and dies. The narrator himself bears her body to the tomb and finds no trace of the first Morella where he lays the second.
Analysis
editThe narrator's decision to name his daughter Morella implies his subconscious desire for her death, just as he had for her mother.[1]Allen Tatesuggested that Morella's rebirth may be her becoming avampireto wreak vengeance on the narrator.[2]
Poe explores the idea of what happens to identity after death, suggesting that if identity survived death it could exist outside the human body and return to new bodies.[3]He was influenced in part by the theories of identity byFriedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling,whom he mentions in the story.[4]
There are a number of possible origins for the name "Morella". It is the name of the Venerable MotherJuliana Morell(1595–1653), who was the fourth Grace and tenth Muse in a poem by poetLope de Vega.[3]"Morel" is the name ofblack nightshade,a poisonous weed related to one from which the drugbelladonnais derived. It occurs in Pressburg (nowBratislava), a reputed home ofblack magicwhere Morella is said to have received her education.[3]
Major themes
editPoe features dead or dying women in many of his tales (see also "Berenice","Ligeia") and resurrection or communication from beyond the grave (see"Eleonora","The Fall of the House of Usher").
Publication history
edit"Morella" was first published in the April1835issue of theSouthern Literary Messenger,and a revised version was re-printed in the November1839issue ofBurton's Gentleman's Magazine.The first publication included a 16-line poem of Poe's called "Hymn" sung by Morella, later published as a stand-alone poem, "A Catholic Hymn".
Adaptations
edit"Morella" is the title of one segment ofRoger Corman's 1962 filmTales of Terror.The film starsVincent Price,Peter Lorre,andBasil Rathbone.The film has two other segments named after "The Black Cat"and"The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar".
The story was loosely adapted asThe Haunting of Morella(1990), directed byJim Wynorski.
Along with many other Poe stories, "Morella" was adapted into the Netflix miniseriesThe Fall of the House of Usher.In this version, Morella becomes bedridden after an accident involving acid sprinklers. A former model and actress, she is the wife of Frederick Usher and the mother of Lenore.[5][6]
Notes
edit- ^Kennedy, J. Gerald. "Poe, 'Ligeia', and the Problem of Dying Women" collected inNew Essays on Poe's Major Tales,edited by Kenneth Silverman. Cambridge University Press, 1993. p. 119.ISBN0-521-42243-4
- ^Tate, Allen. "Our Cousin, Mr. Poe," collected inPoe: A Collection of Critical Essays,Robert Regan, editor. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1967. p. 39
- ^abcMorellaArchived2008-06-28 at theWayback Machine
- ^Campbell, Killis.The Mind of Poe and Other Studies.New York: Russell & Russell, Inc., 1962: 13.
- ^"We Dug up All the Chilling Poe References in 'The Fall of the House of Usher'".Netflix.
- ^"'Pym Reaper' comes to play in 'Fall of the House of Usher' sneak peek ".Entertainment Weekly.
References
edit- Sova, Dawn B.Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z.Checkmark Books, 2001.
External links
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