"Bon-Bon" | |
---|---|
by Edgar Allan Poe | |
Original title | The Bargain Lost |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Satirical Short story |
Publisher | Philadelphia Saturday Courier |
Media type | Print (periodical) |
Publication date | December 1, 1840 |
"Bon-Bon" is a comedic short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in December 1832 in the Philadelphia Saturday Courier. Originally called "The Bargain Lost", it follows Pierre Bon-Bon, who believes himself a profound philosopher, and his encounter with the Devil. The story's humor is based on the verbal interchange between the two, which satirizes classical philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. The Devil reveals that he has eaten the souls of many of these philosophers.
The story, which received moderate praise, was originally submitted by Poe as "The Bargain Lost", and was his entry to a writing contest. Though none of the five stories he submitted won the prize, the Courier printed them all, possibly without paying Poe for them. This early version of the story has many differences from later versions, which Poe first published as "Bon-Bon" in 1835.
Pierre Bon-Bon is a well-known French restaurant owner and chef, known both for his omelettes and his metaphysical philosophies. The narrator describes him as profound and a man of genius, as even the man's cat knew. Bon-Bon, who has "an inclination for the bottle", is drinking around midnight on a snowy winter night when he hears a voice. He recognizes it as that of the Devil himself, who then appears in a black suit in the style of the previous century, and which is a bit too small for him. He wears green spectacles, and has a stylus behind one ear and a large black book in his breast pocket.
The two engage in conversation, Bon-Bon pressing the Devil for a philosophical exchange. He hopes to "elicit some important ethical ideas" that he can publish to make himself famous. Bon-Bon learns that the Devil has never had eyes, but is convinced his vision is better and "more penetrating" than Bon-Bon's. The Devil can see the thoughts of others and, as he puts it, "my vision is the soul."
The two share several bottles of wine until Bon-Bon cannot speak without hiccuping. The Devil, who explains that he eats souls, gives a long list of famous philosophers he has eaten, and his assessments of how each of them tasted. Bon-Bon suggests that his own soul is qualified for a stew or soufflé and offers it to his visitor at a bargain. The Devil refuses after Bon-Bon slaps him upon the back, saying that he cannot take advantage of the man's "disgusting and ungentlemanly" drunken state. As the Devil leaves, Bon-Bon tries to throw a bottle at him, but the iron lamp hanging above him comes loose and hits him on the head, prostrating him.
Like many of Poe's early tales, "Bon-Bon" was, as Poe wrote, "intended for half banter, half satire" [1] and explores attempts at surviving death. [2] Poe pokes fun at the pretentiousness of scholars by having his character make references to classic Greek and Latin authors, only to hear that their souls have been eaten. [3] The comedy in the story is verbal, based on turns of phrase, funny euphemisms, and absurd names. [2]
The phrase "Bonbon" stems from the French word bon, "good", and is often used to describe sweet eatables. Poe also draws on the ancient Greek tradition of the soul as pneuma , an internal flame that converts food into a substance that passes into the blood. [4] As the narrator of "Bon-Bon" says, "I am not sure, indeed, that Bon-Bon greatly disagreed with the Chinese, who held that the soul lies in the abdomen. The Greeks at all events were right, he thought, who employed the same words for the mind and the diaphragm."
Among the Devil's victims are Plato, Aristophanes, Catullus, Hippocrates, Quintilian [5] and François Marie Arouet (the real name of Voltaire). [3] As Bon-Bon offers his own soul, the Devil sneezes, referring to an earlier moment in the story when the Devil says that men dispel bad ideas by sneezing. [6]
An editorial in the Philadelphia Saturday Courier thanked Poe for submitting the stories. The writer, presumably the editor, Lambert A. Wilmer, added that "we have read these tales, every syllable, with the greatest pleasure, and for originality, richness of imagery and purity of the style, few American authors in our opinion have produced any thing superior". [7] A reviewer in the Winchester Republication wrote "Mr. Poe's 'Bon-Bon' is quite a unique and racy affair". William Gwynn, editor of the Baltimore Gazette , wrote that the story "sustains the well established reputation of the author as a writer possessing a rich imaginative genius, and a free, flowing and very happy style". [8]
Poe submitted "Bon-Bon" to the Philadelphia Saturday Courier under the title "The Bargain Lost" as an entry to a writing contest. Poe also submitted four other tales: "Metzengerstein", "The Duke de L'Omelette", "A Tale of Jerusalem", and "A Decided Loss." [9] Though none of his entries won the $100 prize, the editors of the Courier were impressed enough that they published all of Poe's stories over the next few months. [1]
"The Bargain Lost" was published on December 1, 1831. It is unclear if Poe was paid for its publication. [10] There were several differences between this version and later versions: originally, the main character was named Pedro Garcia, his encounter was not with the Devil himself but with one of his messengers, and the story took place in Venice rather than France. [11] The original text included the line "It was a dark and stormy night" as a tribute to Edward Bulwer-Lytton. [12] The line was removed in later editions.
Poe retitled the story "Bon-Bon—A Tale" when it was republished in the Southern Literary Messenger in August 1835. [13] It was later published in Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1845. [14]
The original epigraph preceding the story was from William Shakespeare's As You Like It : "The heathen philosopher, when he had a mind to eat a grape, would open his lips when he put it into his mouth, meaning thereby that grapes were made to eat and lips to open." Poe's final version of the story had a longer epigraph in verse from Les Premiers Traits de l'erudition universelle (The Most Important Characteristics of Universal Wisdom) by Baron Bielfeld. [15]
"Bon-Bon" has not been adapted for the screen, but a rewritten version was performed off Broadway in 1920. [11]
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in Graham's Magazine in 1841. It has been described as the first modern detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination".
"Al Aaraaf" is an early poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1829. It tells of the afterlife in a place called Al Aaraaf, inspired by A'raf as described in the Quran. At 422 lines, it is Poe's longest poem.
"The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" is a short story by the 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 to be fictional, and many at the time of publication (1845) took it to be a factual account. Poe admitted it to be a work of pure fiction in letters to his correspondents.
"The Mystery of Marie Rogêt", often subtitled A Sequel to "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe written in 1842. This is the first murder mystery based on the details of a real crime. It first appeared in Snowden's Ladies' Companion in three installments, November and December 1842 and February 1843. Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination".
The Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site is a preserved home once rented by American author Edgar Allan Poe, located at 532 N. 7th Street, in the Spring Garden neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though Poe lived in many houses over several years in Philadelphia, it is the only one which still survives. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.
"Metzengerstein: A Tale in Imitation of the German" is a short story by American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe, his first to see print. It was first published in the pages of Philadelphia's Saturday Courier magazine, in 1832. The story follows the young Frederick, the last of the Metzengerstein family, who carries on a long-standing feud with the Berlifitzing family. Suspected of causing a fire that kills the Berlifitzing family patriarch, Frederick becomes intrigued with a previously unnoticed and untamed horse. Metzengerstein is punished for his cruelty when his own home catches fire and the horse carries him into the flame. Part of a Latin hexameter by Martin Luther serves as the story's epigraph: Pestis eram vivus—moriens tua mors ero.
"Eldorado" is a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in April 1849.
"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.
"The Man of the Crowd" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe about a nameless narrator following a man through a crowded London. It was first published in 1840.
The Conchologist's First Book is an illustrated textbook on conchology issued in 1839, 1840, and 1845. The book was originally printed under Edgar Allan Poe's name. The text was based on Manual of Conchology by Thomas Wyatt, an English author and lecturer.
"Eulalie," or "Eulalie — A Song," is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the July 1845 issue of The American Review and reprinted shortly thereafter in the August 9, 1845 issue of the Broadway Journal.
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is a collection of previously published short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1840.
Thomas Dunn English was an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey who represented the state's 6th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895. He was also a published author and songwriter, who had a bitter feud with Edgar Allan Poe. Along with Waitman T. Barbe and Danske Dandridge, English was considered a major West Virginia poet of the mid 19th century.
"Never Bet the Devil Your Head", often subtitled "A Moral Tale", is a short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1841. The satirical tale pokes fun at the notion that all literature should have a moral and spoofs transcendentalism.
"Thou Art the Man", originally titled "Thou Art the Man!", is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1844. It is an early experiment in detective fiction, like "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", though it is generally considered an inferior story.
The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage is the former home of American writer Edgar Allan Poe. It is located on Kingsbridge Road and the Grand Concourse in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx, New York, a short distance from its original location, and is now in the northern part of Poe Park.
William Henry Leonard Poe, often referred to as Henry Poe, was an American sailor, amateur poet and the older brother of Edgar Allan Poe and Rosalie Poe.
The works of American author Edgar Allan Poe include many poems, short stories, and one novel. His fiction spans multiple genres, including horror fiction, adventure, science fiction, and detective fiction, a genre he is credited with inventing. These works are generally considered part of the Dark romanticism movement, a literary reaction to Transcendentalism. Poe's writing reflects his literary theories: he disagreed with didacticism and allegory. Meaning in literature, he said in his criticism, should be an undercurrent just beneath the surface; works whose meanings are too obvious cease to be art. Poe pursued originality in his works, and disliked proverbs. He often included elements of popular pseudosciences such as phrenology and physiognomy. His most recurring themes deal with questions of death, including its physical signs, the effects of decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, and mourning. Though known as a masterly practitioner of Gothic fiction, Poe did not invent the genre; he was following a long-standing popular tradition.
David Poe Jr. was an American actor and the father of Edgar Allan Poe.
"The Duc de L'Omelette" is a humorous short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the Philadelphia Saturday Courier on March 3, 1832, and was subsequently revised a number of times by the author.
Commentary