Alexander Diaz
Capstone
Rah ‘17
Count:
The Study Of The Similarities Of Demonology Between Edgar Allan Poe’s Black Cat And HopFrog To Combat Alcoholism
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, and critic for his tales of horror and mystery. Poe was born on January 19th, 1809. He was known for his uncanny short stories and poems that captured the reader and used their imagination in order to depict a picture within their heads that would last. Some even called his stories the modern detective tale because of how he left his readers in suspense, hurrying to turn the page in order to know who was killed or what they were killed by. Poe’s stories seem to always have an underlying message under them. Whether it was about depression, alcohol, or anxiety, the sense of what Poe was living was always prevalent in his works. This was more concretely seen during the years of temperance, where temperance writing became the norm. But it is clear, when looking at Poe’s stories, that he was not interested in the normal way of writing temperance stories that aimed to change a person’s mind on what alcohol really is. No, Poe took a more uncanny route to writing, a more sinister route. Everyone knows that Edgar Allan Poe had an uncanny way of writing stories, so much so that we classify them as gothic or horror. But why did Poe choose to write like this? Where did this sense of the uncanny and the sinister come from? It is my belief that Edgar Allan Poe produced such horrific stories, stories that made the skin crawl and the mind wander, by drawing from the studies of demons and their abilities in order to create his own temperance stories, ones that would surely engrain itself within a person’s head and have them thinking twice on whether or not to take that next sip of rum. This use of demonology can be traced back to two stories specifically, them being: The Black Cat and Hop Frog. In both stories, the reader can see resemblances back to one demon in particular; Ba’al, the prince of hell. But before we delve into the realm of demons, we must first understand the time of temperance itself. Temperance was a time where people called for moderation of the consumption of alcohol or even the outright abstinence from it. US History explains “The temperance movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries was an organized effort to encourage moderation in the consumption of intoxicating liquors or press for complete abstinence. The movement’s ranks were mostly filled by women who, with their children, had endured the effects of unbridled drinking by many of their menfolk. In fact, alcohol was blamed for many of society’s demerits, among them severe health problems, destitution and crime. At first, they used moral suasion to address the problem.” Temperance was a time of reform from what people thought was a sinful thing. Some would call for moderation while some would call for complete abstinence. And even though alcohol had affected men the most, it was still a woman’s problem too because men’s drunkenness would eventually come around to hurting innocent women and children. We can even see this exemplified today where alcohol is strictly enforced when trying to do certain tasks such as operate one’s vehicle. Women during that time fought the distribution and use of alcohol in many ways, to include literature, poems, and even songs. But all of these mediums of storytelling did not come near to Poe’s work. Poe hid his lessons behind monsters and the uncanny while temperance writer took a more direct approach to the situation. One of these stories came from H. Stuart when her grandmother told her the first temperance story she ever heard. Stuart states “One day I shall never forget; we were in the kitchen with our mother, who was speaking very kindly to a poor crazy woman, who had stopped to rest and beg a cup of milk. Mother felt so sorry for the old woman that she brought a glass of hot whiskey and offered it to her. In an instant glass and whiskey were hurled to the back of the fire. How her eyes sparkled ! She screamed out, “ How dare you give me a drink of fire—fire, I say? We did not know what to think, and clung to mother, who tried to quiet the old woman, but it was of no use. “I want to warn you and your pretty little ones never to taste the stuff that has burned up my husband and child, and left me to wander without a home. I was married to as fine a lad as ever walked, and we had a sweet little babe and cozy home. My husband and I always kept the jug in the corner of the cupboard. After a while I thought it had to be filled a great deal oftener than when we were first married, and not only that, but Joe (my husband) would stay too long when out with a friend; and I would mix some hot drink to put me to sleep, and sometimes would drink so much I could scarcely remember even to go to bed afterward. So you see I was getting fond of it too. “‘One night I left the baby in Joe’s care, and set the jug and a glass on the table for company while I stayed with a sick neighbor. Before morning, we heard a noise, and, going out, ſound it was my house in flames; but by the time we got there, the roof had fallen in on Joe and the baby. They never would have been burned up if he had not had the jug for company. He must have drunk himself stupid, and let the candle or his pipe fall into the cradle, you see I was getting fond of it too. “‘One night I left the baby in Joe’s care, and set the jug and a glass on the table for company while I stayed with a sick neighbor. Before morning, we heard a noise, and, going out, ſound it was my house in flames; but by the time we got there, the roof had fallen in on Joe and the baby. They never would have been burned up if he had not had the jug for company. He must have drunk himself stupid, and let the candle or his pipe fall into the cradle, I learned to hate it too late; but I want you to hate it as much as I do.’ “My dear children,” said our grandmother, when she had finished her story, “that was our first lesson in temperance, and it was a good one. Not one of us who heard the old beggar-wo man ever would drink after that. We did not have Bands of Hope in those days; but I am thankful we have now, and I bless God that my dear little grandchildren belong to one “. (Temperance Encyclopedia) Even though these stories were different than Poe’s suspenseful short stories, they still did the job, explaining how a lesson can be learned from others mistakes. Through their writings and poems, temperance writers created stories of life and how better it would be if it were a life of temperance. They were stories of how evil drunkenness was and how the sunshine in a bottle was merely just darkness waiting to take over. These temperance stories usually showed the consequences of drinking, showing that change could only be for the better for all parties.