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Poe and the Decomposing Eden
By William Evans
Presented at the Conference on Gothic Literature in San Diego, CA in 2012.
Molley K. Robbey arguesin her article “Poe and Prophecy: degeneration in
the Holy Land andthe House of Usher” that The Fall of the House of Usher is actually a
religious text, fulfilling a prophetic role in describing the fall of the hegemonic Islamic
world and the subsequentrise of Judaismin the Middle East. Besides noting
Roderick Usher’s prophetic abilities as proof of the religious overthrow,Robbey
arguesthat “Poe’s representationof decay . . . depends upon not only the word
‘Arabesque’but also the word ‘Hebrew’” (62). The distinction drawn between these
two words places Robbey at odds with scholarssuch as Travis Montgomery,and
Cecil Moffitt, who show that the arabesquein Poe’s writing refers to an Eden or
paradisiacal state of artistic possibilities achievable throughourimagination in the
dichotomy of imagination and reason. Jacob Rama Berman notes in his analysis of
Poe’s writings on interior decorating that“[b]y imaginatively incorporating
arabesqueinto American domestic space, Poe grantscontrolledaccess to the exotic
and thusa domesticated experience of the sublime” (Berman 136). One cannot deny
the connection Robbey sees In The Fall of the House of Usher between the arabesque
and decay, but I argue thatthe singularuse of the word “Hebrew” does not support
a reading of Usher as a prophetic text of Middle-east politics. Rather,the occurrence
of “Hebrew” shows Poe’s consistency in using the arabesqueto describe “the ideal
beauty” or paradise our imaginations can create (Hess 177).

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Throughthe scholarshipof Moffitt andMontgomery I will explain the proper
parametersof arabesque, andshow thata distinction drawnbetween the word
“Hebrew” and the other arabesquedescriptions inappropriately divides the
category. I will then review the interpretationsof the arabesque by Berman and Hess
to show how an understandingofa mitigated sublime changes ourperception of the
arabesqueas a signifier of destructionto an evidence of a paradisiacal state achieved
throughimagination. From here I will show how Yothers’ applies a mitigated glimpse
of the sublime to other Poe stories. Lastly I will apply this hybrid theory—made up
from Moffitt, Montgomery,Berman, Hess and Yothers—toRobbey’s reading of The
Fall of the House of Usher and show Usher not as a political or religious text of
upheaval,but an interpretationof the consequences suffered when reasonis used to
limit ones imaginative or artistic side.
In Robbey’s reading of The Fallof the House of Usher the word “Hebrew” takes
an oppositional stance againstthe arabesqueand the descriptions included within
this category. For Robbey these terms are exclusive and describe two different
things,because the Jewish populationhas been at oddsboth politically andculturally
with the Arab, or Islamic world. Cecil Moffitt addressesthe scope of the arabesque.
She begins by looking at the dictionary entry for arabesquefrom the 1842
EncyclopediaBritannica. This entry notesthat it “is the etymological meaning . . . [for]
Arabian [and]Arabic” (Moffitt 57). It makes sense thatRobbey would pick up on this
aspect of the definition, because of the etymological similarities. However a “much
older” use of the word describes the word as “Arabianor Moorishin ornamental

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design” (57). This ornamentaldesign includes non-symmetrical lines, curves, flowery
patterns,and shapesthat have an organic quality to them. Moffitt, like Robbey
recognizes andallows for the obviousconnection between arabesque andArabic,
but this does not prohibit the term from being more inclusive of a broader cultural
base. In fact the use of the word “Moorish” opens the doorsto let the arabesque
include more thenjust Arabs, and describes a culture,thoughIslamic by religion,
actually maintains a geographicalarea separate from Arabia butincluding; Northern
Africa, Spain andPortugal. If the 1842 definition of the word isn’t broad enoughto
allow for the inclusion of more thenone culture, Moffitt then explicates that “the
boundariesof Poe’s Arabia are even more extensive” then the countriespolitical
boarders. “From Libya . . . he circles the eastern end of the Mediterranean. . .
embracing Egypt, Arabia, Syria, Persia, Palestine, Turkey, andGreece. Among the
cities he names are . . . Jerusalem . . .andBabylon.” Geographically this region
encompasses almost every landtouching the MediterraneanSea. Furthermorethe
arabesqueis used to describe culturesfrom landsas far away as Japanand Mongolia
(58-59). Moffitt further shows thatPoe’s arabesque was a veritable cocktail of
cultures. The deities—alone—include Christian, Islamic, Greek and RomanPagan,
assortedmythological characters,and Hebrew figures. Throughthisdescription we
see thatthe term arabesque is supremely vast including almostanything thatwasn’t
Europe. The arabesqueis not a descriptive tool thatpits the Judeao-Christians
againstthe Islamic religions. More accurately it differentiates between the structure

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and formality of the Europeanand Western culturesincludingFrance, Britain,
Germany, and America from the rest of the world.
Travis Montgomery lookedat Metzengerstein, The Visionary, and Bernice,and
like Moffitt noted the broadgeographicaland culturalrangeencompassed by the
term arabesque. In Montgomery’sanalysis of The Visionary he notes that the hero’s
dwelling was infused by the arabesque, including references to Egypt, as well as
“Tyre, an ancient Syrian city” (Montgomery15). From Moffitt and Montgomerywe
can see thatthe arabesque is an exceptionally broad term. The term is not to be
used to pit the Judeo-Christianworld against the Islamic world, as Robbey would
argue. From these two scholarswe can clearly see that Poe did not differentiate
between Hebrew and Arabwhen he used arabesque,because the Hebrews were
culturally,geographicallyand religiously included in the term; just as the pagans,the
Hindus the Buddhists andthe Muslimswere.
Poe’s use of the arabesquedid not just influence his talesof fiction, butwas
so complete thatit even influenced his writings of non-fiction. Poe wrote an article
for Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine in which he gives advice on interior decorating.
This is what Jacob Berman looksat when discussing Poe’s use of the arabesqueas it
pertains to domestic space. In Poe’s article he describes a chamber “with whose
decorations no fault can be found.” To which Berman notes,“Prominent among
these faultlessdecorations is the arabesque”(129). The furniturein one’s room is
meant to allow one to philosophize, and thusobtain or understandthesublime.
Berman notes that, “the arabesqueallows Poe to tease outthe latent terrorquotient

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of the sublime image specifically throughanabstractedEastern figure” (Berman 131).
Berman further describes a sortof terrifying quality to the arabesque. The arabesque
was able to “integrate“outside elements” into its “formal world.” These outside
elements, in the Europeancontext, were “primitive” designs,and aspects of tribal
culture;masks, weapons, etc. This primitive aspect was considered grotesque, or
uncivilized in relationto the formality associated with European and American norms.
Berman explains that the arabesqueelements used in the home created a sanctuary
apartfrom world, “establishingthe psychic comfort of man’s ability to rationalize the
unfathomable. . . By imaginatively incorporating arabesquedesign into American
domestic space, Poe grantscontrolledaccess to the exotic and thusa domesticated
experience of the sublime” (136). In Berman’s analysisof the domestic space the
arabesqueelements are notjust a toolto understandaesthetic furniture, they are
also indicative of the presence of the sublime. Berman further explains that
incorporatingthe arabesque “is notwithout its consequences” (137). The
consequence comes because these tribal influences are closer to the earth. The
people and culturesfrom which they come are less removed from nature, or from
Eden then we are as civilized society. Because of the orderand formality associated
with the American domestic space; by incorporating arabesqueelements one is
creating a space in “proximity to the grotesque,primitive, and monstrous.” This
“destabilizes the sanctity of home with its degenerate potential” (137).
The arabesque—with allits accoutrements—signifies the sublime, and the
sublime in turnis meant to bring uscloser to the perfection we associate with

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paradise or the Garden of Eden. It does that by presentingsomething we’re not
familiar with in our rigid, symmetrical, western thought. It presentssomething thatis
exotic, foreign, and primitive. This primitive aspect is so close to nature thatit
embodies the sublime, and allowsus to escape our structuredenvironment.
Jeffrey Hess addressesthe idea that the sublime is in naturein describing Poe
and his connection with the Garden of Eden. He explains thatthe Garden of Eden
representsthe perfect world. “Poe believed thatthe artist could achieve this vision
of ideal beauty only by means of his poetic and intuitive imagination” (Hess 177).
Hess continuesby noting thatthis ideal is often not reached by any of Poe’s
characters. Thoughdealing with a different set of stories, Montgomeryalso noticed
thatcharacters rarely achieve the ideal. Montgomerystates “For Poe, preserving the
sanctity of the imagination, figuratively associated with the Middle East, was
paramount,and ‘Metzengerstein’,“The Visionary”, and‘Bernice’, all of which employ
Gothic and Oriental devices, dramatize artistic failure, the betrayal of genius resulting
in imaginative decay or death” (5). Montgomery continues saying, “In sucha world
writers had to subordinatecreative preferences to marketconsiderations” (6). What
Poe dealt with, and what Hess and Montgomery noticed in his work was the problem
of being true to art, or being true to what the consumer wanted art to be. This
dichotomy between artistic integrity and commercialism was described in Poe’s
stories throughthearabesque, which representedthis Eden like paradise. Hess
arguesthat, “Poe always viewed artistic success as something necessarily
“provisional” and“relative,” largelybecause the artistcould never “fully

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communicate the supernaltruthandbeauty of his intuitive vision”” (178). Artistic
success was provisional for several reasonsincluding the need to make money. If the
artist isn’t allowed to describe what is truly sublime because his art needs to sell,
then he is limited, and his ability to achieve that sublime stateis relative and
dependant on the consumer. As a further example of the provisionalnature of the
sublime Hess looksat Poe’s “The Domain of Arnheim” a story that involvesa journey
alonga river to Arnheim, which is a beautiful castle andgarden similar to Eden or
Heaven. The story is saturatedwith the non-regularlinesand intricate shapes and
designs thatepitomize the arabesque, andonce the view of Arnheim proper is
presented to the reader we are given the overt references associated with the
arabesqueincluding “the phantom handiwork”of all mannerof mythological beings.
Ellison, the creator of this supernal getaway is notlimited—like many artists—by the
restraintsof finances. Having inherited improbable amountsof money, he is able to
spend every penny required to create not only the castle and garden of Arnheim, but
also the meticulously manicured landscapefor miles around. While the narratoris
able to enter this modern Garden of Eden no description is given to the reader
beyond the passingglimpse viewed throughthe front gates.
Throughthis scholarshipwe see that the arabesquefigures prominently as a
sign of one’s proximity to the sublime. Whether it is in one’s furniture,décor, etc, or
the landscapesurrounding paradise,the arabesque represents nearnesswith
perfection. As one allowstheir imagination to flow freely the arabesque figures
more prominently in their life, andthis in turnsignifies their ability to reach the

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perfect state. On the other hand, the more one gives in to reason and logic the
furtherone is distanced from perfection. Since perfection is portrayed as Arnheim,
or the Garden of Eden, then logic and reason wouldbe the antithesis and be
described by rampant decay anddestruction.
When Robbey argues thatthe “Hebrew” is a sign or portent of a political
overthrowin the Middle-East, she fails to recognize that “Hebrew” cannot be used
againstthe broaderarabesquebecause it would then standon both sides of the
juxtaposition. Throughscholars suchas Moffitt and Montgomery we are able to
understandjusthow many different culturescontributed to this device. The
scholarshipof Berman, Hess and Montgomeryallow us to look at the arabesqueand
understandhow this device differs from otherwestern motifs, namely thatit includes
aspects thatare primitive, closer to nature,and perhapseven wild in relation to the
clean lines and structureof reason. These scholarsalso help usto understandthat
when we recognize the arabesque we are seeing something thatis sublime and as
close to the perfection of Eden as we can get. This sublime will be touched by decay
and destructionbecause of the battle between our imagination andreason. This
allows usto see Robbey’s interpretation of The Fall of the House of Usher and ignore
the idea thatthis is a piece of literatureengaged in modern Middle-easternpolitics
because that wasn’tsomething that Poe cared about. Instead, we can look at The
Fall of the House of Usher and see the decay and destructionsurroundingtheUsher
family and their property, as a sign of their havingturned away from imagination.
While Roderick does posses some vestige of arabesque, namely a “Hebrew” nose,

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these traits are found in a lessermeasure then they shouldbe. As a resultof
Roderick’s turningaway from his imagination the house and land literally implode,
swallowing himself and his sister. This leads us to wonder how the story might have
been different if Roderick and his family hadn’tturnedaway from their imaginations
whether the landscapewould have been in closer proximity and appearance to
Arnheim, or even the Gardenof Eden.

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Works Cited
Hess, Jeffrey A. “Sources andAesthetics of Poe’s landscape Fiction.” American
Quarterly 22.2 (1970):177-189.Jstor.Web. 27 sept. 2011.
Moffitt, Cecil. “Poe’s “Arabesque”.” ComparativeLiterature 18.1(1966):55-70.JSTOR.
Web. 27 September 2011.
Montgomery, Travis. "Poe's Oriental Gothic: 'Metzengerstein' (1832), 'The Visionary'
(1834),'Berenice' (1835),the Imagination, andAuthorship'sPerils." Gothic
Studies 12.2 (2010):4-28. AcademicSearchPremier.EBSCO. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.
Poe, EdgarAllen. “The Philosophy of Furniture.” Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine May
1840:243-45.
-- -- --. The Fall of the House of Usher. Ebook.
Rama-Berman, Jacob. "Domestic Terror and Poe's Arabesque Interior." English
Studies in Canada 31.1 (2005):128-150. AcademicSearchPremier.EBSCO. Web.
27 Sept. 2011.
Robey, Molly K. "Poe and Prophecy: Degeneration in the Holy Land and the House of
Usher." Gothic Studies12.2 (2010): 61-69.AcademicSearchPremier.EBSCO.
Web. 19 Sept. 2011.