You guys!
It’s fully fall. Everyone in the book, reading, and writing sphere is talking dark fantasy and dark academia, and it’s darker earlier each day, my hair doesn’t puff up as readily — I couldn’t be more pleased.
If you want to get into the vibe, or are already in the vibe but want to bring a new level of enjoyment to mundane tasks, feel free to press play on this while you work to be instantly transported to an elite boarding school, where you can break down the system from within. Matter of fact, it’s the perfect backdrop in which to read the short story I want to discuss today.
Confession: I skipped ahead on my TBR and re-read Poe! He couldn’t help jump the queue.
Everyone yaps on about The Pit & the Pendulum, The Telltale Heart, or The Raven. Well, I want to yap about Berenice! Just take the opening:
“Misery is manifold. The wretchedness of earth is multiform. Overreaching the wide horizon as the rainbow, its hues are as various as the hues that arch — as distinct, too, yet as intimately blended. Overreaching the wide horizon as the rainbow! How is it that from beautify I have derived a type of unloveliness? — from the covenant of peace a simile of sorrow? But as, in ethics, evil is a consequence of good, so, in fact, out of joy is sorrow born. Either the memory of past bliss is the anguish of to-day, or the agonies which are have their origin in the ecstasies which might have been.”
— Egaeus, ‘Berenice’ by E. A. Poe
How’s that strike you for an introduction? The narrator Egaeus hides not from us, clever readers. The man immediately outs himself as a touch unstable. He drones on — and yet! Hooked still are our eyes at once, as they alight on the very first sentence: “Misery is manifold.” So incredibly powerful. C'est vraiment spectaculaire!
The story itself is very short, just a few pages in length. Even if you become lost in the diatribe at the beginning, the narrative resumes and we get a bit more about the dramatic man’s life: He’s a privileged son of innovators/industry men, and he’s about to marry his cousin, the titular Berenice.
Prone to focused flights of fancy (monotropia perhaps?) Egaeus is taken with his cousin Berenice’s vitality, her spiritedness, and her beauty. That is, until she falls ill and loses that lifeforce. Still they are to wed. But now his enamelment, er, enamorment is surrounding his no-longer-beloved’s teeth.
We’re taken on this brief meandering (internal) journey by Egaeus, and he’s consumed by thoughts of Berenice’s teeth. “For these I longed with a phrenzied [sic] desire.”
“For these I longed with a phrenzied [sic] desire.”
In the narrative, there are moments of halted thought and a return to the present, to the action as opposed to the narrator’s thoughts. I think this is very effective as a writing device, especially in a short glimpse into a character’s world. When we are brought back abruptly to Egaeus’ present one final time, at the end of the story, that is where we are exposed to the most horrific turn of events. I won’t spoil it for you, it’s such a wonderful fall read.
While not a direct influence, I thought I’d include a short poem here from my collection published this week, about a partner worn down by what they’re told is “love”, and how an unempathetic foil can bulldoze and gaslight, descending into a “deeper, darker being” than maybe what they were originally known to be (the usual):
Self-Righteous Man
For far too long, the sirens thronged in a woven, enigmatic song.
"It cannot be, this will not last," she scrambles, veiling up her past.
Gamboling in litigious flair, "No, no," speaks he, and ending there he spins his heel, engaging Meek — 'too-civilized'; no relief for weak.
So continues thus to speak, "Anon! If you only knew, your stance cannot belong. Eschew my eyes, for they are truth." Her faux-concession, drenched, vermouth,
heals her weary eyes at present, crossing fingers, avoids descent to any deeper, darker being from which she sees herself fleeing.
And all, all, all! On account of the fall from “love's sweet rapture” now in pall.
Close Reading:
This poem explores a certain type of relationship dynamic where deception and retconning trigger the emotional escape within the context of a fractured relationship. It comments on a man who embodies a sense of superiority, using logic or reason as a shield from emotionality ("no relief for weak"). He presents himself as the arbiter, dismissing the emotions or arguments of the other person ("Eschew my eyes, for they are truth" /Ben Shapiro).
The woman (Meek) in the poem struggles internally with her past and her emotions, trying to hide or "veil" them. She makes a show of conceding to the man's perspective, but it's insincere ("faux-concession, drenched, vermouth"), suggesting she's using a numbing or indulgent behavior to cope with her own pain, leading to further confusion. Despite this, she's trying to escape from some deeper, darker aspect of her partner, running from emotional turmoil or trauma — it could be trauma Meek’s partner inflicted, or someone prior, but it’s clear the habit of fawning persists.
The ending shifts the tone, pointing to the fallout from a past "fall" or rupture in their relationship. What was once sweet has now turned bitter and empty ("love's sweet rapture now in pall"), leaving the woman in a state of denial or avoidance.
Overall, the poem reflects themes of a dual lie: denial. Self-righteous that he is correct, Meek that she is fine. Therein lies the emotional conflict and the consequence of a broken relationship.
I was talking to Winston Malone of the Storyletter Xpress newsletter. He had a thought-provoking question:
We went back-and-forth about a concept called “Stacktember”. Kind of like Inktober but for us on this platform. I admit it’s catchy. I was thinking something like flash fiction (750-1500 words) prompts, selected and shared around like a little writing exercise. I mean, when’s the last time you were able to really sit down and write, when you meant to?
I want to test some prompts out this month and see if I/other folks like them. So, on the off-chance you’re trying to keep your hand in, give them a shot and make sure to tag me — I want to read them.
Well that’s it. Do you have any ideas to make this community-building experience a better, more creative, more fun activity? I’d love to hear your ideas, AND I’d especially love to see what you whip up (writing or otherwise), so don’t forget to tag me on Notes or comment here. Thanks for listening!
Until next time,
Nico
5 Min Friday - Egaeus' Odontophilia, A Poem, & "Stacktember"?