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A Predicament (short story)
Encyclopedia
"A Predicament" is a humorous short story by Edgar Allan Poe
, usually combined with its companion piece "How to Write a Blackwood Article." It was originally titled "The Scythe of Time".
, Signora Psyche Zenobia. This is unusual for Poe, whose only other female voice is in the poem "Bridal Ballad". While walking through the city with her 5 inches (127 mm) poodle
Diana and 3 foot (0.9144 m) black servant Pompey, she is drawn to a large Gothic
cathedral
. As she makes her way into the steeple
, she ponders life and the metaphor
of surmounting stairs:
At the steeple, Zenobia sees a small opening that she wishes to look through. Standing on Pompey's shoulders, she pushes her head through the opening and realizes she is in the face of a giant clock
. As she gazes out at the city beyond, she soon finds that the sharp minute hand has begun to dig into her neck. Slowly, the minute hand decapitates
her, which it will do for the remainder of the story. At one point, pressure against her neck causes her eye to fall and roll down into the gutter and then into the streets below. She is annoyed not so much that she has lost her eye but at "the insolent air of independence and contempt" it had while looking back at her. Her other eye follows soon thereafter.
"At twenty-five minutes past five in the afternoon, precisely," the clock has fully severed her head from her body. She does not express despair and is, in fact, glad to be rid of the "head which had occasioned... so much embarrassment." For a moment, Zenobia wonders which is the real Zenobia: her headless body or her severed head. Comically, the head then gives a heroic speech (unwritten in the story), which Zenobia's body cannot hear because it has no ears. Her narration continues, however, without her head, as she is now able to step down from her predicament.
Pompey, in fear, runs off, and Zenobia sees that her poodle has been eaten by a rat
. "What now remains for the unhappy Signora Psyche Zenobia?" she asks in the last lines. "Alas - nothing! I have done."
The companion piece, "How to Write a Blackwood Article," is a satirical
"how-to
" essay on formulaic horror stories typically printed in the Scottish Blackwood's Magazine
and others. The term "article", in Poe's time, also commonly referred to short stories
rather than just non-fiction. In this mock essay, Poe stresses the need for elevating sensations in writing. The sensations should build up, it says, until the final moment, usually inevitable death. That final action, however, is unimportant compared to the build-up (case in point, Psyche Zenobia does not seem to die at the end of "A Predicament").
Zenobia herself is the narratrix and main character of this essay in the city of Edina. She is told by her editor to kill herself and record the sensations. Poe may have intended this as a jab at women writers.
It is unclear how much of this essay is meant to be sarcastic
. The humor, however, is based on schadenfreude
, pleasure garnered from another person's misfortune.
in 1840.
series, under the name "Edgar Allan Poe's Predicament".
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
, usually combined with its companion piece "How to Write a Blackwood Article." It was originally titled "The Scythe of Time".
Plot summary
The bizarre story follows a female narratorNarrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
, Signora Psyche Zenobia. This is unusual for Poe, whose only other female voice is in the poem "Bridal Ballad". While walking through the city with her 5 inches (127 mm) poodle
Poodle
The Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
Diana and 3 foot (0.9144 m) black servant Pompey, she is drawn to a large Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
. As she makes her way into the steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
, she ponders life and the metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
of surmounting stairs:
- "...one step remained. One step! One little, little step! Upon one such little step in the great staircase of human life how vast a sum of human happiness or misery depends! I thought of myself, then of Pompey, and then of the mysterious and inexplicable destiny which surrounded us... I thought of my many false steps which have been taken and may be taken again."
At the steeple, Zenobia sees a small opening that she wishes to look through. Standing on Pompey's shoulders, she pushes her head through the opening and realizes she is in the face of a giant clock
Clock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
. As she gazes out at the city beyond, she soon finds that the sharp minute hand has begun to dig into her neck. Slowly, the minute hand decapitates
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
her, which it will do for the remainder of the story. At one point, pressure against her neck causes her eye to fall and roll down into the gutter and then into the streets below. She is annoyed not so much that she has lost her eye but at "the insolent air of independence and contempt" it had while looking back at her. Her other eye follows soon thereafter.
"At twenty-five minutes past five in the afternoon, precisely," the clock has fully severed her head from her body. She does not express despair and is, in fact, glad to be rid of the "head which had occasioned... so much embarrassment." For a moment, Zenobia wonders which is the real Zenobia: her headless body or her severed head. Comically, the head then gives a heroic speech (unwritten in the story), which Zenobia's body cannot hear because it has no ears. Her narration continues, however, without her head, as she is now able to step down from her predicament.
Pompey, in fear, runs off, and Zenobia sees that her poodle has been eaten by a rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
. "What now remains for the unhappy Signora Psyche Zenobia?" she asks in the last lines. "Alas - nothing! I have done."
How to Write a Blackwood Article
The companion piece, "How to Write a Blackwood Article," is a satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
"how-to
How-to
A how-to or a how to is an informal, often short, description of how to accomplish some specific task. A how-to is usually meant to help non-experts, may leave out details that are only important to experts, and may also be greatly simplified from an overall discussion of the topic...
" essay on formulaic horror stories typically printed in the Scottish Blackwood's Magazine
Blackwood's Magazine
Blackwood's Magazine was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine. The first number appeared in April 1817 under the editorship of Thomas Pringle and James Cleghorn...
and others. The term "article", in Poe's time, also commonly referred to short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
rather than just non-fiction. In this mock essay, Poe stresses the need for elevating sensations in writing. The sensations should build up, it says, until the final moment, usually inevitable death. That final action, however, is unimportant compared to the build-up (case in point, Psyche Zenobia does not seem to die at the end of "A Predicament").
Zenobia herself is the narratrix and main character of this essay in the city of Edina. She is told by her editor to kill herself and record the sensations. Poe may have intended this as a jab at women writers.
It is unclear how much of this essay is meant to be sarcastic
Sarcasm
Sarcasm is “a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt.” Though irony and understatement is usually the immediate context, most authorities distinguish sarcasm from irony; however, others argue that sarcasm may or often does involve irony or employs...
. The humor, however, is based on schadenfreude
Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. This German word is used as a loanword in English and some other languages, and has been calqued in Danish and Norwegian as skadefryd and Swedish as skadeglädje....
, pleasure garnered from another person's misfortune.
Publication history
Originally paired together as "The Psyche Zenobia" and "The Scythe of Time," Poe first published these pieces in the American Museum based in Baltimore, Maryland in November 1838. The names of the works as we currently know them were attached when they were published in Poe's collection Tales of the Grotesque and ArabesqueTales of the Grotesque and Arabesque
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is a collection of previously published short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1840.-Publication:It was published by the Philadelphia firm Lea & Blanchard and released in two volumes...
in 1840.
Adaptations
"A Predicament" was adapted in 2000 for National Public Radio by the Radio TalesRadio Tales
Radio Tales is an American series of radio dramas produced by Generations Productions. This series adapted classic works of American and world literature such as The War of the Worlds, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Beowulf, Gulliver's Travels, and the One Thousand and One Nights...
series, under the name "Edgar Allan Poe's Predicament".