So. The online sources I pulled up and skimmed over about
Sherman Alexie’s sexual harassment allegations report that many of his
(supposed, or not) victims are beginning to share their accounts of the author’s
sexual misconduct with them. One woman, anonymous so far as I know, was quoted
to have said that many Native American men like Alexie view Native American
women as ‘easy prey.’
The words ‘easy prey’ made me automatically think of
something I’ve wondered about poet Edgar Allan Poe for a time, since I read his
letter to his aunt Maria Clemm, about his cousin and future wife, Virginia
Clemm.
Even if this letter were addressed to a grown woman, and not
to a 12 to 13 year old girl, it would still be predatory and insane. Actually,
if you read it, the letter is primarily addressed to his aunt, with only one
line to spare for his young cousin:
“My love, my
own sweetest Sissy, my darling little wifey, think well before you break the
heart of your Cousin, Eddy.”
Now I don’t
pretend to know everything about Poe’s life or his marriage with Virginia. The
only bits of information I can recall about their marriage from reading a
biography or two of the poet’s life is that he supposedly struck a bargain with
his aunt that she and Virginia would move in with him, that Virginia would
marry him upon turning 13, and that he would not engage in any sexual activities
with Virginia until she was at least 16. Their marriage until her death was
said to have been a happy one.
My question is:
did Poe actually love his cousin and respect her body and boundaries until she
was ‘old enough’? Or did he simply nab what he thought was ‘easy prey.’ After
reading his batshit, crazy letter to his aunt, of which he addresses the ‘object’
of his affections with a scant one-and-a-half lines, and those lines both
condescending and threatening at that, I’m nudging towards the latter.
The link to the
letter: https://www.eapoe.org/works/letters/p3508290.htm
- Angela H.
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