What happened to Poe in regards to his first love?
Courtesy Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
"I can only say to you that had I youth and health and beauty, I would live for you and dice with yous." Helen Whitman to Edgar Allan Poe
Subsequently Poe'southward death, many people were clamoring for a role in the drama and mystery of the state of affairs. Previously silent neighbors made allegations nigh his drinking habits. Complete strangers hypothesized over the circumstances of his decease. Possibly most intriguingly, some women began to claim their places in his story and tell their version of his life.
Poe's Relationship with Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton
The offset woman to exercise so was Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton, rumored to have been his fiancée at the time of his death. Poe had known Shelton since childhood, when they were neighbors and beginning took a romantic interest in each other. They roughshod out of contact when Poe left for University of Virginia and Shelton married another human. They did not speak again until 1848 afterward the death of Poe'southward married woman Virginia. By that time, Shelton was a widow and Poe took the opportunity to ask her to marry him. She declined, but he connected to pursue her for several months. Poe wrote to his aunt, Muddied, to tell her that the two would be married in October 1849 but he died just 10 days earlier the supposed wedding engagement arrived.
In Poe's letter to Dingy he seemed quite certain that he and Shelton would be married, but Elmira herself may not take been then certain. Rumors circulated that the 2 were not truly engaged. It's unclear if they were ever engaged at all, permit alone planning a wedding ceremony.
Despite the rumors and Shelton's possible doubts, after Poe's death she took a very active role in his family. She wrote to the doctor who had attended to Poe in the calendar week earlier his death asking to know every particular of Poe's last days. She mourned Poe's decease as a fellow member of his family. One paper cited Shelton as "perhaps the only person who could speak authoritatively upon the history of the last few months of [Poe'south] life spent in the metropolis of Richmond." To everyone following the widely-covered story of Poe's death in newspapers and magazines, she presented herself every bit his devoted fiancée.
Poe'due south Relationship with Sarah Helen Whitman
Elmira Shelton was non the only woman who continued herself more closely to Poe afterwards his decease. Before Shelton, Poe had had a fiancée named Sarah Helen Whitman. Poe met Whitman in 1848, well-nigh a year before he reconnected with Shelton. Whitman was also a poet and the 2 traded passionate poems and letters. Poe pursued Helen Whitman relentlessly simply Whitman worried that she was too old for him (she was nigh x years his senior). In one letter, Whitman wrote to Poe, "I can only say to y'all that had I youth and health and beauty, I would live for you and die with you. Now, were I to allow myself to dear you, I could only savor a bright brief hour of rapture and die." Their courtship continued for several months before Poe proposed to her. Like Elmira Shelton, Helen Whitman refused at get-go but Poe convinced her to take his proposal. Before long thereafter, Whitman ended the human relationship when Poe continued drinking despite his assurances to the contrary.
Helen and Poe did not speak later on she ended their engagement, and he died ii years later on. Later on Poe'due south death, Whitman challenged those who slandered Poe's character and criticized his writing. After reading a particularly defamatory biography of Poe published by one of his largest literary critics, Helen Whitman decided to accept matters into her ain hands. She wrote a much more gratuitous biography of Poe, praising his life and literary achievements.
Poe's Relationship with Nancy Richmond
Poe mentioned the failed date in a letter to Nancy Richmond, the wife of a paper manufacturer in Massachusetts. Richmond met Edgar Allan Poe in July 1848 when he lectured in Lowell. Although their relationship remained platonic, Richmond and Poe experienced a common attraction. Poe chosen Richmond by the proper name of "Annie" and wrote his "For Annie" verse form for her. Subsequently her hubby died in 1873 and more than 20 years subsequently the death of Edgar Allan Poe, Nancy Richmond legally changed her name to Annie. Annie Richmond shared copies of Poe's messages to her with the biographer John Henry Ingram. Ingram then published the letters against her wishes.
A Commitment to Poe'south Legacy
Elmira Shelton, Helen Whitman, and Nancy Richmond shared a commitment to Poe's legacy. Whether this involvement stemmed from a desire to be involved in the drama, a conviction to protect Poe's reputation, or a love for him that strengthened after his tragic decease, or all three, it is hard to tell. Simply, nosotros have these women to thank for some of the nigh compelling and personal records of Poe'southward life and love.
Source: https://www.nps.gov/articles/poeromances.htm
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