Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe
Virginia Poe, image created after her death.
Born	August 22, 1822
Died	January 30, 1847 Fordham, New York

Virginia Eliza "Sissy" Clemm Poe (August 22, 1822 – January 30, 1847), born Virginia Eliza Clemm, was the daughter of Maria Poe (sister of Edgar A. Poe's father David Poe, Jr.) and Maria's husband William Clemm, Jr. (1779-1826).

A man named William Gowans described Virginia as a woman of "matchless beauty and loveliness" with "a temper and disposition of surpassing sweetness"^[1]

[edit] Marriage

Virginia Clemm and Edgar Allan Poe, who were first cousins, were married by a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Amasa Converse, on May 16, 1836. Virginia was 13, though the two listed her age as 21, and Edgar was 27.^[2] Debate has raged regarding how unusual this paring was; noted Poe biographer Arthur Hobson Quinn says the arrangement was not particularly unusual, nor was Edgar's nickname of "Sis" or "Sissy".^[3]

They were by all accounts a happy and devoted couple.

[edit] Illness and death

However, Virginia developed tuberculosis, first seen in an incident some time in the middle of January, 1842. While singing, Virginia began to bleed from the mouth, "ruptured a blood-vessel," as Edgar described.^[4] Her health declined and she became an invalid, which drove Edgar into a deep depression, especially as she occasionally showed signs of improvement. In a letter to friend John Ingram, Edgar described his resulting mental state: "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity."^[5]

When the family (Edgar, Virginia, and her mother, Maria) moved to a cottage in Fordham, New York, Virginia was tended to by 25-year old Marie Louise Shew. Shew knew medical care from her father, a doctor. She actually provided Virginia with a comforter as her only other cover was Edgar's old military cloak.^[6]

Memorial marker to Virginia Clemm, Maria Clemm, and Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore, MD.

Virginia passed away on January 30, 1847 after five years of illness. Shew helped in organizing her funeral, even purchasing her coffin. Shew may have also painted the only image of Virginia, a water color done after her death.^[7]

Virginia was originally buried in a vault owned by the Valentine family, who also owned the Fordham cottage.^[8] In 1875, the cemetery in which she lay was destroyed and her remains were almost forgotten. An early Poe biographer, William Gill, gathered her bones and stored them in a box he hid under his bed. Virginia's remains were eventually reunited with her husband's in Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, with whom she now shares a large monument.^[9]

[edit] References in literature

Edgar's love for Virginia, and the effect that her suffering and ultimate death had upon him, are reflected in his tragic poems "Annabel Lee" and "Ulalume", and possibly in the decline of his mental state in his last years. The short story "Eleonora" may also reference Virginia's illness, though it was published before her death.

[edit] References

1. ^ Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 93.
2. ^ Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 85.
3. ^ Hoffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. Louisiana State University Press, 1972. p. 26.
4. ^ Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 179.
5. ^ http://www.poeforward.com/virginiawomb/virginia/eveleth-1-4-1848.htm
6. ^ Silverman, Kenneth: Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 326.
7. ^ Silverman, Kenneth: Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 327.
8. ^ Silverman, Kenneth: Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 327.
9. ^ Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. Cooper Square Press, 1992. p. 263.