Melville's First Short Story: A Parody of Poe

Abstract

In 1839, having failed to secure a job as a surveyor on Erie Canal Project, and concerned over his mother's indebtedness, twenty-year old Melville wrote from a Writing Desk, which were published anonymously in his hometown newspaper, Democratic Press of Lansingburgh, New York. Fragments represent Melville's first literary productions. Of two Fragments, second one particularly shows satiric bent that would remain a dominant mode of Melville's creative temper throughout his career as a writer of fiction. 2 constitutes Melville's first short story, literary form he would not return to again until late in his writing career. Interestingly, Melville even uses diptych form in writing of his Fragments, a device that will prove to be a favorite in his later stories like The Two Temples, Poor Man's Pudding and Rich Man's Crumbs, and The Paradise of Bachelors and Tartarus of Maids. In 2, he continues satire of idealization of women in popular romantic fiction begun, and put in contrasting perspective, by 1, absurdly saccharine and lace-edged female portraits of 1 evolve in 2 into a mysterious lady who, much to narrator-hero's chagrin, turns out to be deaf and dumb. In his Historical Note to Volume IX of Northwestern-Newberry edition of Melville's works, Merton M. Sealts, Jr. calls attention to major critical problem in regard to 2: commentators disagre...about its intended tone.(1) Confusion over tone, of course, signals confusion over intention and meaning. reader can take piece in deep seriousness of William H. Gilman's suggestion that work is an early version of what will become a favorite Melvillian theme: the concept that pursuit of ideal is foredoomed to disillusion and defeat.(2) Conversely, one can view ironic reversal of work's ending as an example, in Leon Howard's words, of crude humor, which in turn makes of Fragment a hoax.(3) Sealts' solution is to accept subject matter of work and its handling by Melville as simply relevatory of youthful Melville's not being up to depicting a romantic fulfillment beyond scope of his own experience or powers of his limited narrative skill.(4) If, however, 2 is read as a parody, Melville's intention and execution become more satisfying. Critics like Gilman have recognized in 2 Melville's general satirical...treatment of romance,(5) but have probably taken piece too seriously for it to reveal its true satiric focus. 2 is essentially comic satire. In writing it, Melville could have had in mind any of a number of Poe's tales and perhaps even poems, but Ligeia seems to be focal point of satire. He could have easily read story in his Uncle Peter Gansevoort's library, at Albany Young Men's Association, or in many other places open to an intellectually energetic young man with a budding interest in authorship. Poe was not to his contemporaries genius he has come to be for many twentieth-century readers, and to a young man like Melville Ligeia could be readily and understandably viewed not only as popular literature (which, of course, it was) but as a tempting target for literary satire. It is hard to believe that Melville did not have Poe's story in mind or, more likely, at hand as he wrote description of his mysterious heroine's apartment and its occupant. In content and style it mimics Poe: apartment we now entered, was filled up in a style of Eastern splendor, and its atmosphere was redolent of most delicious perfumes. walls were hung round with most elegant draperies, waving in graceful folds, on which were delineated scenes of Arcadian beauty. floor was covered with a carpet of finest texture, in which were wrought with exquisite skill most striking events in ancient mythology. …