Poe lost his mother to tuberculosis at the age of 2; he was then adopted, but his foster mother died young as well. He enrolled at the University of Virginia but became involved in gambling and had to ask his foster father for money; they argued and at the age of 20, Poe was cut off from his family. He married, but his wife suffered frequent illnesses, and died at the age of 25 in 1847; by this time Poe was drinking heavily and he died after collapsing 'drunk and delirious' in 1849.
According to Giammarco:
Poe was described as a mischievous child, playing practical jokes on classmates and teachers... One teacher was quoted as saying that Poe had an "...excitable temperament with a great deal of self-esteem." This grandiose self view would remain consistent throughout Poe’s life; however, Poe was defensive and threatened by negative comments. This is consistent with a narcissistic self-view rather than healthy self-esteem.
Although successful in his studies, he did not have many friends and wrote that school was a "miserable" experience. Classmates stated that he was incredibly defensive and did not allow others to get close...Poe actually crops up several times in the medical literature. Other examples of scientific anthropoelogy include...
As Poe aged his health deteriorated and he continued to drink heavily. He was described by coworkers and family as chronically melancholic, acquiring the nickname ‘the man who never smiles’... Poe had a great deal of pride, evident in his refusal to accept money when he and his wife were both sick and unable to work...
An examination of the letters Poe wrote to family reveals that he was a dramatic individual. He often used excessive, theatrical language, poignantly captured in his statement, "I do believe God gave me a spark of genius, but He quenched it in misery"
When describing Poe in terms of the Five-Factor Model of personality we can conclude that he would be high on Neuroticism – evident by the constant nervous anxiety he was said to have, as well as his melancholy and irritability. Poe would also be described as being low in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness since he was argumentative, untrusting, and lacked self-control (i.e. his drinking, his failure to pursue education).
- Seizures in the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe
- The earliest description of the frontal lobe syndrome in an Edgar Allan Poe tale.
- Informed consent in an Edgar Allen Poe tale
Giammarco, E. (2013). Edgar Allan Poe: A psychological profile Personality and Individual Differences, 54 (1), 3-6 DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2012.07.027
9 comments:
From reading his stories I always got the feeling he had Aspergers.
*cough* Goth.
He seemed to display characteristics of hypomania and depression. I wonder if having opposing traits like that heightens creativity?
Anonymous 23 10 12 at16:21
I would bet for Marphan syndrome and bullying of a very highly gifted and twice orphaned of a mother child with later alcohol addiction social symptoms.
Anyway, I find the psychological autopsies a fraud in general...
Poe is also considered a racist. According to biographer Kenneth Silverman, he disapproved of abolition believing black people were inferior to whites although his views could also be seen as typical of the times. He was though by all accounts a difficult and in many ways an unpleasant individual with few friends and limited talent as a writer.
Poe was bipolar. And yes, indigorhythms, mania and depression spur creativity because they place a person in the ultra-dramatic extremes of emotional states: either happiness, confidence, and grandiosity, or pessimism, anxiety, depression. You feel amazing and invincible, or terrible and worthless, and hypersensitive.
One of the few good things about these extreme moods is that they can really make you 'think outside the box.' They can make you a better actor. Or just a drama queen. Brooding makes you observative. Memories get remembered well when they occur in conjunction with high levels of emotional arousal.
Check out Kay Redfield Jamison's book: "Touched with Fire: Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament."
Jamison is a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical School. She links bipolar disorder to creativity and she includes Poe in her directory of great artists who fit the diagnostic criteria for mania, hypomania, and/or depression.
He's in there with Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and of course, Plath.
Dr. Jamison also literally wrote the med school textbook on: "Manic Depressive Illness".
The undergrad who wrote that paper
rattled off symptoms that are blatantly indicative of bipolar disorder, but she was obtuse to the easy fit of the label. She failed to connect the parts to the right sum.
Edgar jaimison,
And what about Edgar Allan Poe being a woman with PMT syndrome so severe that it can pass for bipolar syndrome?
Yes that tash is a dead giveaway
It’s difficult to acquire knowledgeable folks with this topic, nevertheless, you seem like there’s more you are referring to! Thanks
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