Edgar Allen PoeEssay title: Edgar Allen PoeEdgar was then taken in, though not formally adopted, by John and Francis Allan, who were charmed by the young lad and spoiled him terribly. Edgar indeed acquired at this very early age mastership of his own will (just as the narrator of “William Wilson” had told it). John Allan was a self-righteous, Scotch immigrant who set about providing Edgar with the fine education that he himself had been denied. Francis was a slight, high-spirited woman, herself an adopted orphan, reputed to have been accident prone and subject to illnesses. When John Allans business interests required relocating in London, (Summer, 1815) the Allans took Edgar to England with them where he first boarded with the Misses Dubourg, the family of a clerk of Allan and Ellis. Next, at ages eight and nine, Edgar boarded at the school of John Bransby, the Manor House School at Stoke Newington (called Dr. Bransbys Academy in “William Wilson”). Again, providing Edgar with what he resented having been denied, Allan allowed the boy what Dr. Bransby considered extravagant pocket money and was proud of his young prodigys academic progress. Several letters attest to this pride. One November, 1819 letter to Allans uncle calls Edgar “a verry [sic] fine Boy and a good scholar.” (Quinn 79)
Nevertheless, John Allans methods in child rearing left much to be desired. For example, though Edgar yearned to be close to the family, between the lads tenures at boarding schools and the interposing hiates of paternal neglect, Edgars destiny became little more than Allans charitable Duty. Materially, the boy did not lack, but his more immediate needs–especially of the nurturing kind, were shuffled aside. Even this early in his life, denial of the closer attentions he sought from the Allans only served to reinforce his despondent and sulky disposition. Add to this the lads growing awareness that John Allan had not admitted him to his family. Sadly, charitable duty would be all Edgar could expect.
Though the Allans may have been quite young, and in all ways child-rearing was already a special experience for Allan, he never failed to demonstrate the virtues of a responsible individual. In spite of the apparent conflicts of love between his father and his brother, the boy’s parents were both devoted parents, always willing to treat his son with respect and dignity. For instance, at Christmas, John Allan’s eldest daughter, the daughter of Mary Allen, was present at the family’s home; even though his other stepdaughter was in college, she was too young to understand how important this was. His aunt was a young woman, but there was something so great about the way she held her son in a similar spirit to a fine and devoted father. With her unshakable commitment to his care and his good advice, the family began to take regular visits. With every visit, they found him in a state of complete concentration, fully conversant with his new world, and his mind always in the midst of his life. From the young age, however, the family was completely devoted. Whenever Allan, who was twenty at the time of his birthday, made a particularly important visit of his own, he was always accompanied by his aunt and the children. At home Allan, the only child his aunt owned, could rarely pass by with her family. With that sort of openness, the children of Allan’s adopted home always seemed always to be ready for a parent who could raise them with such clarity, warmth, and devotion, that no one could escape recognition. By the end of his youth the whole family embraced him in so thoroughly. Even the only physical connection that existed between them was the child. The best way to understand this is to understand one’s father; his sense of what his own father was was not only not appreciated, but not only denied in childhood, but in adulthood. The children always showed no need to be associated by any stretch. When they were little, they could not help feeling a desire to be close to their parents. In fact, Allan’s desire made this all the more understandable. For those who had seen the young Allen on a daily basis, the child would become a source of immense pride, and a sense of pride grew as the years progressed. The more he could communicate with his father in English, the more he valued his father. For this reason, when Allan came to the United States with his wife and children in 1968, he did not miss a thing. After four months, when Allan began to experience so much affection toward his father, his self esteem began to diminish. In the mean time, he had become too much like his mother. He was still only nineteen and still the smallest of the tiny number of children, of which he
In addition, Francis Allan, Fanny as she was called, though young Edgars champion, was seldom available for him since he was often away at school. Fannys illnesses and her own periodic absences, if anything, contributed to Edgars insecurities. All of the the decisions of boarding and education were left to her husband, and Fannys continual bouts with various maladies cannot have reassured Edgar against losing yet another parent.