Edgar Allan Poe and the Tradition of Western Mysticism: A Study of A Selection of his Short Storie

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The article is devoted to the mystical elements and allusions surfacing in Poe‘s "analytical," "angelic," and "landscape" tales: "A Descent into the Maelström," "The Purloined Letter," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Domain of Arnheim," "Landor‘s Cottage," "Mesmeric Revelation," "The Colloquy of Monos and Una," "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion," and "The Power of Words." It is argued that the narrative circumstances in "A Descent into the Maelström," in which the Norwegian fisherman describes to the unnamed narrator his adventure, rework the long-established spiritual imagery. The Dupin tales, in turn, are grounded in the cult of Night and in the initiatory powers of darkness, recalling the mystical "night of the soul." The two "landscape tales" depict the act of an artistic transcendence, performed by an artisan devoted to emulating the supernal order within the bounds of empirical reality. The article pays also due attention to the revelatory experience that results from crossing the boundary between the temporal and the eternal in Poe‘s "angelic" dialogues. 

RESUMEN:  Este artículo se centra en los elementos y alusiones místicos que afloran en los cuestos "analíticos," "angélicos" y "paisajistas" de Poe: "Un descenso al Maelström," "La carta robada," "Los crímenes de la calle Morgue," "El dominio de Arnheim," "La cabaña de Landor," "Revelación mesmérica," "El coloquio de Monos y Una," "La conversación de Eiros y Charmion," y El poder de las palabras. Se explica cómo las circunstancias narrativas de "Un descenso al Maelström," relato en el que un pescador noruego describe al narrador su aventura, se elaboran en base a un imaginario espiritual de larga tradición. Se explica, así mismo, cómo los cuentos de Dupin beben del culto a la Noche y a los poderes iniciáticos de la oscuridad, evocando la "noche del alma" mística. Se explica, además, cómo los dos "cuentos paisajistas" representan el acto de trascendencia artística ejecutado por un artesano dedicado a emular el orden celestial dentro de los límites de la realidad empírica. Por último, el artículo presta la debida atención a la experiencia reveladora que resulta del cruce de la frontera entre lo temporal y lo eterno en los diálogos "angélicos" de Poe.