“The Black Cat” and Emmanuel Rhoides

Abstract

Abstract This essay explores the influence of Edgar Allan Poe on Emmanuel Rhoides, the Greek writer and translator who, in 1877, first introduced the American author to a Greek audience. Granting the lack of research into Poe's impact on the Hellenic literary world, the note discusses “Ἱστορία ἑνὸς σκύλου” (“The Story of a Dog”) published by Rhoides in 1893, which bears clear but unexplored similarities to Poe's “The Black Cat.” The Greek story was printed alongside “Η Ιστορία μιας Γάτας,” a tale that has already been linked to the same Poe story in terms of content and structure. This comparison makes clear the extensive interest that Rhoides had in “The Black Cat,” and argues that the writer who introduced the American author's work in Greece was influenced by and used Poe's satire techniques in this and other tales. Finally, the note calls for additional, broader study of Poe's impact on modern Greek writing.