In the grand scheme of things, Sarah Helen Whitman appears to represent one of Poe's many failed or unfulfilled romantic endeavors. Given the large number of Poe's relationships, Helen Whitman's significance can easily be lost in the shuffle. Her strange character, however, coupled with her even stranger relationship with Poe, provide excellent insights into Poe's personal life. Poe's poetry and artfully manipulative command of language were the tools he used to woo Helen, and it is through their exchange of poetry and letters that we are allowed a microscopic image of the personal side of this great literary figure.
Poe was first introduced to Helen Whitman in 1848. Helen, herself a poet, initiated the relationship with a valentine for Poe. Poe responded and began a poetic and spiritual correspondence that later culminated in engagement. The marriage was not to be, however, and was suddenly called off at the last minute. Edgar and Helen split, with an according bitterness that, with time and distance, resolved into a lasting friendship. To understand the intriguing and almost soap opera-like turn of events, we must first examine Edgar Allan Poe's situation.
At the time Poe first strolled by Helen Whitman's house in 1845, he seemed to be the perfect candidate for love. He was having financial problems, finding it increasingly difficult to gather money for his travels and publications. His career had been established, as well as his reputation, but needed money and influence to maintain its momentum. His reputation served him well for the most part; he was young, attractive, and was adored by scores of women for popular poems such as "The Raven."
In summary, Poe was broke, and to continue his career he needed money. What better way to achieve financial security than through marriage? Poe's list of romantic/financial interests was impressive by any standards. If Poe had kept a little black book, we would have seen such names as Mrs. Frances Osgood, Mrs. Annie Richmond, and Mrs. Elizabeth Ellet.
Two important names not mentioned are, of course, Helen Whitman and Virginia Poe. Helen Whitman appears later as Mrs. Osgood introduces the two. Let us not forget Virginia Poe, Edgar's ailing wife. Mrs. Osgood noted that, despite Poe's many "little poetical episodes," Virginia Poe was "the only woman whom he ever truly loved" (Winwar 287). To explain Poe's apparent infidelity (not to justify it), perhaps Poe was aware of Virginia's imminent death and was searching to fill the anticipated gap of emotion and economy with another love.
After Virginia's death Poe became increasing attached to Mrs. Osgood. Poe was begging for a substantial relationship with her, but was forced to settle for a strict friendship. There are many speculations as to why Mrs. Osgood deterred a relationship with Edgar, not the least of which was the fact that she was married with children. Some suggest that her reluctance stemmed from woman's intuition, which sounded an alarm in many of Poe's unfulfilled romances. Perhaps Mrs. Osgood could sense that Poe would become a huge responsibility and burden, and his obsession with alcohol was not exactly his most promising feature (289).
Mrs. Osgood's attempt at diverting Poe's interest in her ultimately resulted in Poe's encounter with Helen Whitman. One night while on a moonlit walk, Mrs. Osgood steered their path to pass by Helen Whitman's house. It was not until two years later, on Valentine's day in 1847, that Helen and Edgar first communicated. Poe's memory of his first encounter with Helen Whitman remained with him.
For Valentine's day in 1848 Helen Whitman sent Edgar Allan Poe a well-crafted poem. Although Poe found the poem flattering and well-written, he did not make a reply until June. From the first reading however, Poe was hooked. Poe's immediate interest in Helen and her work stemmed from a striking similarity in thought between the two. Poe, for the first time, saw many of his own sentiments and concepts reflected in Helen Whitman's poetry, and he took every opportunity to delve deeper into her mind by reading as much of her work as possible.
Their poetic correspondence continued throughout most of their early relationship, and it was not until September of 1848 that Helen and Edgar actually met. By this time Poe had fallen in love with Helen, or at least he had convinced himself that what he felt was love. What Poe adored most about Helen Whitman was her potential to provide Poe with the financial resources that he so desperately needed.
Helen Whitman was the widow of John W. Whitman, a Massachusetts lawyer. Although their five-year marriage ended with his death, John Whitman left Helen with a comfortable estate of money and land. Also, well Helen Whitman was the heir to her mother's estate. Poe, at a financial low, saw marriage to Helen Whitman as pure salvation; and he pursued her desperately.
Poe's first tactic to win Helen's hand in marriage was to express to her the feeling of predestination. When Poe first delved into Helen's mind while reading her poetry, and when Edgar's and Helen's eyes met for the first time, Poe describe it this way:
As your eyes rested appealingly for one
brief moment upon mine, I felt, for the
first time in my life, and tremblingly
acknowledged, the existence of spiritual
influences altogether out of the reach of reason.
Although these few lines amount to little in terms of Poe's great works of poetry and fiction, their successful influence on Helen Whitman could have been Poe's reward in the great literary contest to save his life.
Although Edgar's pursuit of Helen was primarily for monetary reasons, her unique personality seemed quite compatible with Poe's eccentricity. She was considered spiritual, almost mystical. Like Poe she was a poet. Physically her dress and demeanor compounded her mysticism. She always wore long flowing garments and a scarf that draped her fair face. For jewelry Helen wore a small carving of a coffin around her neck. Their shared fascination with death was a common, albeit morbid, interest. Poe in fact proposed to Helen in a cemetery.
One evening Helen and Edgar took a romantic stroll through a nearby cemetery. There, as if fueled by the overwhelming passion radiated from decaying corpses, Poe proposed to Helen. She tried to argue with Poe without emotion, from a logical approach. Helen was six years older than Poe, and at 48 her chronic heart problems (irritated by her unusual affinity for ether) and poor health were her reasons to refuse Poe in marriage. She loved him, she professed; but her poor health and possible death would "inevitably disappoint [him]" (338). Her mistake here was to use death as a reasoning tool against Poe, the master of death. Poe quickly refuted her argument, pledging to "clasp [her] dear hand in death, and willingly--oh, joyfully--joyfully--joyfully--go down with you into the night of the Grave" (339).
Thus Edgar convinced Helen to give her hand in marriage; however, the security of an engagement to Helen Whitman did not seem sufficient for Poe, for not long after he proposed to Helen, he called on Annie Richmond. Fully beknownst to Mr. Richmond, Annie and Edgar would sit lovingly together, holding hands, as Poe would proclaim, "I love you, as no man ever loved woman... my darling, my Annie, my own sweet sister Annie, my pure beautiful angel--wife of my soul--to be mine hereafter & forever in the Heavens" (341).
Helen's mother, a great influence in her life, caught wind of this and other Poe peculiarities, and sought to protect her daughter and her estate. Poe was forced to sign a contract that stated, in the event that Helen die before Edgar, Poe would receive absolutely nothing.
Despite such agreements, Poe's continued romantic pursuits, and their graveyard engagement, Helen and Edgar grew closer. Just a few days before the wedding, however, Poe made a costly error in the eyes of Helen's family. He returned home one evening after having had some drinks. After severe verbal retribution by Helen's mother, Poe was forced to agree that he would never touch another drop of alcohol again. With complete confidence in his inability to go one week without alcohol, let alone his entire life, Poe pacified Helen and her mother and agreed never to drink again. Poe remained dry barely long enough to sober up from the night before. He had a glass of wine with his breakfast the next morning. Helen was tipped off by an unknown informant of Poe's breech and immediately called the wedding off.
Poe begged and pleaded but to no avail. Instead of listenening to Edgar, Helen opted to escape the horror of the situation by partaking in her favorite pastime of ether-sniffing. While Helen lay passed out on the floor, Edgar backed himself out of the house, fending off "intolerable insults" from Helen's family. Thus came the end of Helen and Edgar's romantic relationship. In the following weeks and months Helen attempted to clear her good name by slandering Edgar, accusing him of mistreatment. As the months turned to years, however, Helen Whitman's memories of Edgar grew increasingly fonder; and for years after Poe's death, Helen fought to defend Poe's reputation. Poe will forever be known for his works of poetry and fiction, as well as for his odd, eccentric, and often misunderstood personal life. Poe's relationship with Sarah Helen Whitman exemplifies how inseparable Poe's life and writing are. Just as Poe craftily manipulated language to create his desired literary effect, he used his command of language and emotion to elicit desired results from people.
Bittner, William. Poe: A Biography. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1962.
Winwar, Frances. The Haunted Palace: A Life of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Harper &Brothers Publishers, 1959.