A New Interpretation of Poe's Arthur Gordon Pym

Abstract

After a century's neglect on the past of literary critics, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, Poe's only book-length story, seems to have at last begun to draw the critical attention. For a literary work, any criticism is better than neglect, and if Pym has not yet been firmly established as one of Poe's masterpieces, the increasing number of studies on the story, whether favorable or unfavorable in their evaluation, will certainly lead to a juster recognition of its merits and weaknesses. One characteristic of a literary masterpiece is that its meaning can be interpreted in several different ways. Even in a work of doubtful value, a number of forced readings will be possible -some more plausible, others little more than a sheer nonsense. What could be taken seriously are only those readings which will stick consistently to their respective levels of meaning and provide intelligible interpretations. Among Poe's stories, "The Fall of the House of Usher" would be a case in point.