The Paradox of Edgar Allan Poe’s Feminine Ideal

DOI

10.2991/aemh-19.2019.50How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Paradox, Ideal, Death, Submission, Resistance

Abstract

This paper analyzes Edgar Allan Poe’s controversial visions of feminine ideal. Most women in Poe’s work are not only super beautiful, but highly intelligent. However, these females share a common destiny -- they decease young. Poe lived in the early 19th century when feminism started to defy patriarchy. As a defender of traditional values, Poe appreciated women’s obedience, wisdom and beauty but showed great fear and aversion to the rebellious consciousness of some women as well. Based on Poe’s critique, Poe’s contradictory views on females in his poems and short stories are adequately demonstrated: he idealized the delicacy of females whose existence and destiny are merely to serve the needs of men’s emotional experiences. Once the females stand on their own feet as independent individuals, they will be ruthlessly strangled by men.

Copyright

© 2019, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yunhe Chang
PY  - 2019/10
DA  - 2019/10
TI  - The Paradox of Edgar Allan Poe’s Feminine Ideal
BT  - Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Advanced Education, Management and Humanities (AEMH 2019)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 257
EP  - 261
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/aemh-19.2019.50
DO  - 10.2991/aemh-19.2019.50
ID  - Chang2019/10
ER  -