Morella
Encyclopedia
"Morella" is a short story
in the Gothic horror genre by 19th-century American author and critic Edgar Allan Poe
.
, dealing with the question of identity. Morella spends her time in bed reading and teaching her husband. Realizing her physical deterioration, her husband, the narrator, becomes frightened and wishes for his wife's death and eternal peace. Eventually, Morella dies in childbirth proclaiming: "I am dying. But within me is a pledge of that affection... which thou didst feel for me, Morella. And when my spirit departs shall the child live."
As the daughter gets older the narrator notices she bears an uncanny resemblance to her mother, but he refuses to give the child a name. By her tenth birthday the resemblance to Morella is frightening. Her father decides to have her baptized
to release any evil from her, but this event brings the mother's soul back into her daughter. At the ceremony, the priest
asks the daughter's name, to which the narrator replies, "Morella." Immediately, the daughter calls out, "I am here!" and dies. The narrator himself bears her body to the tomb and finds no trace of the first Morella where he lays the second.
suggested that Morella's rebirth may be her becoming a vampire
to wreak vengeance on the narrator.
Poe explores the idea of what happens to identity after death, suggesting that if identity survived death it could exist outside the human body and return to new bodies. He was influenced in part by the theories of identity by Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
, who he mentions in the story.
There are a number of possible origins for the name "Morella". It is the name of the Venerable Mother Juliana Morell
(1595–1653), who was the fourth Grace and tenth Muse in a poem by poet Lope de Vega
. "Morel" is the name of black nightshade
, a poisonous weed related to one from which the drug belladonna is derived. It occurs in Presburg, a home of black magic
where Morella is said to have received her education.
," "Ligeia
") and resurrection or communication from beyond the grave (see "Eleonora
," "The Fall of the House of Usher
")."
issue of the Southern Literary Messenger
, and a revised version was re-printed in the November 1839
issue of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine
. The first publication included a 16-line poem of Poe's called "Hymn" sung by Morella, later published as a stand-alone poem "A Catholic Hymn."
's 1962 film Tales of Terror
. The film stars Vincent Price
, Peter Lorre
, and Basil Rathbone
. The film has two other segments named after "The Black Cat
" and "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
."
A film of the same name is currently being produced in Oklahoma and Hollywood by Executive Producers Adam Ropp and Ford Austin with the screenplay by Adam Ropp. The cast includes Indie film star Ford Austin, Golgen Globe nominee Tom Sizemore
, Academy Award winner Margaret O'Brien
, film star Randal Malone
, indie icon Marc Wasserman, and Jennifer Arcuri. Release date is said to be December 2011.
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...
in the Gothic horror genre by 19th-century American author and critic Edgar Allan Poe
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...
.
Plot summary
An unnamed narrator marries Morella, a woman with great scholarly knowledge who delves into studies of the German philosophers Fichte and SchellingFriedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling , later von Schelling, was a German philosopher. Standard histories of philosophy make him the midpoint in the development of German idealism, situating him between Fichte, his mentor prior to 1800, and Hegel, his former university roommate and erstwhile friend...
, dealing with the question of identity. Morella spends her time in bed reading and teaching her husband. Realizing her physical deterioration, her husband, the narrator, becomes frightened and wishes for his wife's death and eternal peace. Eventually, Morella dies in childbirth proclaiming: "I am dying. But within me is a pledge of that affection... which thou didst feel for me, Morella. And when my spirit departs shall the child live."
As the daughter gets older the narrator notices she bears an uncanny resemblance to her mother, but he refuses to give the child a name. By her tenth birthday the resemblance to Morella is frightening. Her father decides to have her baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
to release any evil from her, but this event brings the mother's soul back into her daughter. At the ceremony, the priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
asks the daughter's name, to which the narrator replies, "Morella." Immediately, the daughter calls out, "I am here!" and dies. The narrator himself bears her body to the tomb and finds no trace of the first Morella where he lays the second.
Analysis
The narrator's decision to name his daughter Morella implies his subconscious desire for her death, just as he had for her mother. Allen TateAllen Tate
John Orley Allen Tate was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1943 to 1944.-Life:...
suggested that Morella's rebirth may be her becoming a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
to wreak vengeance on the narrator.
Poe explores the idea of what happens to identity after death, suggesting that if identity survived death it could exist outside the human body and return to new bodies. He was influenced in part by the theories of identity by Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling , later von Schelling, was a German philosopher. Standard histories of philosophy make him the midpoint in the development of German idealism, situating him between Fichte, his mentor prior to 1800, and Hegel, his former university roommate and erstwhile friend...
, who he mentions in the story.
There are a number of possible origins for the name "Morella". It is the name of the Venerable Mother Juliana Morell
Juliana Morell
-Life:Morella was born at Barcelona and was left motherless when very young; her first training was received from the Dominican nuns at Barcelona. At the age of four she began Latin, Greek, and Hebrew at home under competent teachers...
(1595–1653), who was the fourth Grace and tenth Muse in a poem by poet Lope de Vega
Lope de Vega
Félix Arturo Lope de Vega y Carpio was a Spanish playwright and poet. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century Baroque literature...
. "Morel" is the name of black nightshade
Black nightshade
Black nightshade may refer to:* Solanum americanum of much of North America* Solanum nigrum of Europe* Solanum ptychanthum of the Caribbean region...
, a poisonous weed related to one from which the drug belladonna is derived. It occurs in Presburg, a home of black magic
Black magic
Black magic is the type of magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers or is used with the intention to kill, steal, injure, cause misfortune or destruction, or for personal gain without regard to harmful consequences. As a term, "black magic" is normally used by those that do not approve of its...
where Morella is said to have received her education.
Major themes
Poe features dead or dying wives in many of his tales (see also "BereniceBerenice (short story)
"Berenice" is a short horror story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the Southern Literary Messenger in 1835. The story follows a man named Egaeus who is preparing to marry his cousin Berenice. He has a tendency to fall into periods of intense focus during which he seems to separate himself...
," "Ligeia
Ligeia
"Ligeia" is an early short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1838. The story follows an unnamed narrator and his wife Ligeia, a beautiful and intelligent raven-haired woman. She falls ill, composes "The Conqueror Worm", and quotes lines attributed to Joseph Glanvill ...
") and resurrection or communication from beyond the grave (see "Eleonora
Eleonora (short story)
"Eleonora" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842 in Philadelphia in the literary annual The Gift. It is often regarded as somewhat autobiographical and has a relatively "happy" ending.- Plot summary :...
," "The Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in September 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque...
")."
Publication history
"Morella" was first published in the April 18351835 in literature
The year 1835 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* Alexis de Tocqueville publishes the first volume of Democracy in America....
issue of the Southern Literary Messenger
Southern Literary Messenger
The Southern Literary Messenger was a periodical published in Richmond, Virginia, from 1834 until June 1864. Each issue carried a subtitle of "Devoted to Every Department of Literature and the Fine Arts" or some variation and included poetry, fiction, non-fiction, reviews, and historical notes...
, and a revised version was re-printed in the November 1839
1839 in literature
The year 1839 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Washington Irving begins contributing regularly to The Knickerbocker, and will publish thirty new pieces in the magazine — including "The Creole Village," in which he will coin the phrase "the almighty dollar" — through March...
issue of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine
Burton's Gentleman's Magazine
Burton's Gentleman's Magazine or, more simply, Burton's Magazine, was a literary publication published in Philadelphia in 1837-1841. Its founder was William Evans Burton, an English-born immigrant to the United States who also managed a theatre and was a minor actor.-Overview:The magazine included...
. The first publication included a 16-line poem of Poe's called "Hymn" sung by Morella, later published as a stand-alone poem "A Catholic Hymn."
Adaptations
"Morella" is the title of one segment of Roger CormanRoger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
's 1962 film Tales of Terror
Tales of Terror
Tales of Terror is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone; it is the fourth in a series of adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories directed by Roger Corman and released by AIP.-Plot:...
. The film stars Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
, and Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
. The film has two other segments named after "The Black Cat
The Black Cat (short story)
"The Black Cat" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the August 19, 1843, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. It is a study of the psychology of guilt, often paired in analysis with Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"...
" and "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
"The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" is a short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe about a mesmerist who puts a man in a suspended hypnotic state at the moment of death. An example of a tale of suspense and horror, it is also, to a certain degree, a hoax as it was published without claiming...
."
A film of the same name is currently being produced in Oklahoma and Hollywood by Executive Producers Adam Ropp and Ford Austin with the screenplay by Adam Ropp. The cast includes Indie film star Ford Austin, Golgen Globe nominee Tom Sizemore
Tom Sizemore
Thomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore, Jr. is an American film and television actor and producer. He is known for his roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Strange Days, Pearl Harbor, Heat and Black Hawk Down....
, Academy Award winner Margaret O'Brien
Margaret O'Brien
Margaret O'Brien is an American film and stage actress. Although her film career as a leading character was brief, she was one of the most popular child actors in cinema history...
, film star Randal Malone
Randal Malone
Randal Johnson Malone is an American actor.-Early life:Malone was born as the sole living heir to a tobacco farming empire dating back to the early 19th century, but he was more attracted to working in show business and Hollywood than managing the family industry in Kentucky...
, indie icon Marc Wasserman, and Jennifer Arcuri. Release date is said to be December 2011.
External links
- Morella, analysis, summary and interpretation.