The Man Who Was Poe

“The old city lay dark and cold. A raw wind whipped the street lamps and made the gas flames hiss and flicker like snake tongues. Fingers of shadow leaped over sidewalks, clawing silently upon closely set wooden houses. Stray leave, brittle and brown, rattles like dry bones along cold stone gutters.” 

With vivid imagery, Avi creates Providence as a dismal, uninviting setting for this story. Aunty Pru frequently told the children that the city was dangerous, and throughout the novel it is characterized as an unforgiving and terrifying place, as the dark imagery of death is ever-present. This foreboding imagery is consistent with other works of Gothic literature.

“‘I am,’ he announced, ‘Mr. Auguste Dupin.’” 

In this critical moment of the plot, Edgar Allan Poe introduces himself to Edmund as Auguste Dupin, a detective character from one of his own stories, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Dupin has impeccable reasoning skills, and Poe embodies him in order to help Edmund find his family. Only after the mystery is solved does he return to being “Poe” again.

“Why must death always be certain? Could he never escape it? Never think of another ending?” 

Dupin/Poe is aware that he fixates on death and that many of his stories end with it. The notes about Poe’s life at the end of the novel disclose that Poe was “haunted” by his mother’s death for the duration of his life, and later by the loss of his wife Virginia. As in reality, the book characterizes Poe as someone deeply affected by the grief of losing those closest to him, which inevitably affects his work.

“Persons providing information leading to the finding of one Mrs. G. Rachett, of London, England, but believed to be a recent resident of Providence, Rhode Island, shall be entitled to a bonded reward. Please contact Mr. Poley, Providence Bank, South Main, at earliest convenience. Oct. 15, 1848.” 

The counter man at the bar explains to some of his patrons that Throck has taken on this particular case. Though the significance of this poster is only revealed later, it is full of clues: Mrs. G. Rachett is Edmund’s mother, and Aunty Pru posted this offer in an attempt to find her. This notice is what alerts Rachett to Pru’s arrival in Providence and sets the rest of his dire plan in motion.

“Sure enough, in moments he found a pearl button [...] ‘Hansel and Gretel!’ Edmund said promptly.” 

In the tenement opposite Edmund’s, as Edmund and Poe search the room for clues of Sis’s whereabouts, the boy finds a button from her shoes. Having read her book of fairytales—which is mentioned in the first page of the novel—the story of Hansel and Gretel inspired Sis to leave behind clues for her brother to find after she was kidnapped. This trail of “breadcrumb” buttons is crucial in solving the mystery and saving Sis’s life.

“Have I, Dupin asked himself suddenly—have I gone beyond the writing of words? Could I be writing this boy’s life? But, he continued, if I am writing Edmund’s story—and it is the same as mine—then it must end with the death of his Sis. The thought held Dupin, fascinated him, even as it terrified him.” 

Struck by how similar Edmund’s life is to his own, Dupin indulgently wonders if he has the capability of dictating the events of Edmund’s life and not just the events of the story he wishes to write. His fragile mental state, exacerbated by his drinking, frequently conflates reality with fiction. It is here that Dupin selfishly decides that Edmund’s Sis must die, as he spends the rest of the novel trying to ensure this outcome. 

“‘We must try,’ the woman said. ‘Despite her infatuation, Mr. Poe is totally unsuitable for her. If she is to marry again, you, Mr. Arnold, should be her husband.’” 

Edmund overhears a woman—whom he later learns is Mrs. Powers, Helen’s mother—expressing her distaste for Poe and his disreputable image. She would rather her daughter marry Mr. Arnold, who ironically adopted this alias to create a false, wealthy reputation for himself. Arnold is really Rachett, Edmund’s stepfather. While he schemes to expose Poe, unbeknownst to him, Poe does the same to him.

“He put his hand to his heart and swore that he would not drink again. Ever.” 

In a moment of self-awareness and clarity, Dupin recognizes that his addiction might cost him his tentative engagement with Helen. He is willing to stop drinking for her, demonstrating just how much he values their relationship, but nevertheless resumes his drinking later that day. Although Dupin/Poe’s addiction negatively affects his behavior and his reputation, it is a powerful force he is not yet ready to contend with.

“He reached into his pocket and held out his hand. A white button lay on it. ‘Perhaps,’ he said with a smile, ‘you can solve the mystery.’” 

Peterson is confident enough in his and Rachett’s plan that he encourages Dupin to solve the mystery and dares to show him Sis’s shoe button. Dupin does not know yet that Peterson is involved, and Peterson has no idea that Dupin can easily identify the button. Again, this will prove to be a critical clue in solving the mystery.  

“I’ve read a great deal [...] our own Edgar Allan Poe. Have you ever read ‘The Gold Bug’? It’s very instructive, I think.” 

Peterson, unaware that he is speaking to Edgar Allan Poe, ironically confesses that he is an avid fan of his work and implies that he has found “The Gold Bug” useful. Later, Poe is able to decipher a message Rachett intended for Peterson using the exact code Poe created for this short story. This is another example of Peterson’s overconfidence in his abilities as a criminal mastermind.

“Not string, he told himself, but a bit of rope, rope used to lower the child down the shaft which was so much like a deep and narrow grave.” 

Here, Dupin pieces part of the gold robbery mystery together. From the hemp fiber left in the vault, he deduces that Sis must have been lifted down the narrow air shaft to load a basket full of the gold bricks. The simile of the air shaft as a grave symbolizes Dupin’s fixation on Sis’ death and the inevitability he sees in it.

“With a gasp, Dupin realized who was standing before him: the woman taken from the bay. The murdered woman. ‘What have you done with my children!’ the woman cried again.” 

At the mausoleum, Dupin—whose mental state has been continuously characterized as unstable and unreliable—believes he sees Aunty Pru’s ghost. Only later, when he learns that Pru and her sister are twins, does he realize he ran into was Edmund’s mother, looking for her children. Ghosts are a motif used throughout the novel, adding to the ominous mood and complicating the mystery further.

“Every one of the women he saw had the face of the apparition in the tomb. Every man resembled Edmund. Yet even as he gazed at them, they shifted and blurred into a single death’s-head. Then one by one they changed again, each becoming some distinct spectral figure.” 

Poe’s hallucinations reach a frenzy by the time he enters Helen’s house for the tea party: he is unable to see any of the guests’ true faces and even visualizes a death’s-head, or skull, as a representation of the group. Although this moment highlights Poe’s tenuous grasp on reality, he recovers and rationalizes that these images represent “his own torments, his own pain” (116). In a moment of strength, Poe confronts these fears of judgment—of his writing, of his persona, of his desire to marry Helen—and by confronting them, the horrifying images dissipate. 

“‘What I believe,’ he said finally, his voice strained, ‘is that writers write about what they know best. ‘And,’ he concluded, ‘what some writers know best is what they fear.’” 

Poe explains to the tea party guests that some writers have a deep knowledge and relationship with their fears, which then becomes the subject of their writing. Known for writing about death and other “sordid” topics, Poe suggests that he writes stories about death because while he fears death, and it haunts him daily, he feels he knows it intimately. This perverse preoccupation with death is another quality common to Gothic writing.

“Every fear, every image [...] has two sides.” 

Having conquered his fear of the “enemies” at Mrs. Powers’ tea party, Poe suggests that fears, as well as people, have two sides. The double-sided nature of things—especially identities—is present throughout the novel. Several characters have other identities, and the way a person presents themselves, as many characters realize, is not always the whole truth.

“I am… the man who was Poe. Now I am Dupin. And I must have a drink. It eases the pain [...] of living when those you love have died.” 

Dupin finally explains to Edmund that he does not currently identify as Edgar Allan Poe, and has adopted the persona of Dupin to solve this mystery. In doing so, he explains the title of the novel. Dupin also justifies his drinking as a coping mechanism for his grief.

“Meet me at the hotel. I have moved girl and gold. Must leave. Sunrise at six A.M.”

Having recognized that Rachett used the Poe’s own code from “The Gold Bug” to write a ciphered message, Dupin is immediately able to decipher it. Rachett and Peterson, of course, never suspected that Poe himself would be involved in investigating their crimes. Even though Dupin can read the hidden message, it is Edmund who uncovers the double meaning of “Sunrise”: It is not the time of day but the name of the boat the villains plan to use in their escape.

“Poe shook his head even as he opened his notebook. ‘As far as I’m concerned they are all dead.’ Edmund, shocked, stared at him. ‘But they aren’t dead. You just said so.’ ‘In my story they will die.’”

At last, Dupin explicitly states that he does not care whether Sis and Edmund’s mother die. He is too preoccupied with writing a story with his own desired outcome to care about saving real, human lives. This moment epitomizes Poe’s obsessive attitude toward his work and the moral depths to which his selfishness will bring him.

“Edmund, I am a writer, not an adventurer. My function is to think and then to write about what I think. Must I repeat myself? I’m no longer concerned with your story. As for my story, I have a more elaborate ending to pursue. Didn’t you hear me? Can’t you understand? I’m no longer Auguste Dupin. I am the man who is Edgar—Allan—Poe.” 

With the mystery solved, Poe no longer needs to inhabit the personality of his character Auguste Dupin. He is ready to write his story—something that concerns him more than Edmund’s sister’s or mother’s lives—and thus ready to be Poe again. To Poe, identity is a malleable concept which he shapes according to circumstance.

“In fearing I should expose him, he lured me with a promise that I should have what I wanted, then kept me virtual prisoner for months. Oh, anything to have the world think him a proper gentleman!” 

Edmund reunites with his mother who confirms that everything Dupin/Poe guessed to have happened is true. Rachett’s sinister actions of keeping his wife captive with the intent to kill her instead of divorcing her demonstrates how desperate he is to preserve his reputation and image. This reflects the emphasis placed on class and social status in 19th century America.

“The characters he’d been writing about had actually come to life. They were standing before him! Never in all his years had he had such a vivid sense of the reality of his own creations.” 

Drunk and in the depths of his writing, Poe is unable to discern between the characters on his notebook pages and the very real Edmund and his mother. This blur between reality and fiction is indicative of Poe’s fraught mental state and his extreme narcissism. Edmund and his mother have their own agency; Poe did not create them.

“Anger flamed within Edmund. Taking hold of Poe’s notebook he pulled out the pages of writing, tore them to bits, then flung them on the floor.” 

After submitting to Poe’s erratic moods for days, Edmund finally reaches a breaking point with the unreliable writer. Sis’s life is still at stake, and Poe’s refusal to help finally pushes Edmund to express his anger openly and shamelessly. Edmund learns that even though Poe is an adult, he does not always know what to do and clearly does not always do the right thing.

“I ask you: in what fashion will your sister live longer? In her life? Or, in this, my story that would have been?”

Before parting, Poe attempts to justify the need for Sis to die by claiming she would have “lived longer” by having her life commemorated in Poe’s story. While a piece of writing can withstand time and immortalize a story, Poe remains irrationally convinced that Sis needed to die in real life so the ending to his story would ring true. This reflects Poe’s obsession with his writing and the extent to which it outweighs the lives of real human beings.