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Maria Clemm, Poe's aunt: his boon or his bane? (Edgar Allan Poe)

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From: The Mississippi Quarterly
Date: 19950322
Author:Pollin, Burton R.

Edgar Allan Poe's personal affairs, career and reputation after his death were very much influenced by his aunt and mother-in-law Maria Clemm. Maria Clemm manipulated Poe to make him one of her meal tickets by scheming the marriage of her nine-year-old daughter Virginia with Poe. This unusual marriage had stressful consequences, which were reflected in some of Poe's works. Maria Clemm's most disastrous action against Poe was when she made Poe's arch enemy Griswold the editorial executor of Poe's papers where Poe's name was smeared through altered documents and life-story.

I. Poe's Marriage: ...

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