Keeping Hope Alive in the Face of Disappointment Part 1
I just finished reading a biography - “A Mystery of Mysteries - The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe” by Mark Dawidziak. It’s extremely well-written with an interesting format of each chapter alternating between the days just before Poe’s death and the timeline of his life and the events that shaped it. Supported by lots of Poe scholars, it provides insight into this man’s complex personality. As a poet first, writer of short stories second, and a literary critic third, he lived during a time of great uncertainty – the early 1800’s when nothing about life was secure or guaranteed.
Photo Credit: J. Howeth
Having majored in literature, I studied Poe’s poems and stories in the college classroom but knew very little about his life except and only the suppositions and many, many theories as to the awful way he died. “DRUNK AND UNCONSCIOUS - FAMOUS POET DIES IN THE GUTTER.” Right? Actually, no. Dawidziak’s work has given me a deeper appreciation for Poe. This genius was so much more than his death.
An intriguing aspect of Poe’s life that has been haunting me (great pun, eh, to apply to a writer of horror stories?) was his ability to face what any one of us might deem insurmountable adversity and not lose hope.
Photo Credit: J. Howeth
Poe’s life was despairing – he had every reason to NOT be hopeful. He had a lot of trouble making a decent living and lived under the grind of constant poverty. Some of this was his own fault. He was an intermittently heavy drinker, his disposition was “tender,” and he could be difficult to get along with. Consequently, professional jealousies that caused tensions and ruptures threatened his ability to hold down jobs as well as maintain friendships. He lived in large cities where there was a lot of disease – cholera, TB – the kinds of disease we can’t even comprehend two centuries later. And according to another book I’m reading about attachment styles (“Attachments: Why you Love, Feel And Act The Way You Do” by Drs. Tim Clinton and Gary Sibcy), it’s not difficult to speculate that having been orphaned at the vulnerable age of 2, Poe suffered from an insecure attachment style that haunted him (HA! there it is, again!) his entire life. I say “entire” – the man only lived 40 years.
And yet and yet . . . during those 40 years . . .
More than once Poe writes in his prolific output of letters that he is hopeless. But a cousin says that Poe was, in reality, the eternal optimist. Over and over again, Poe possessed unquenchable hope – even in the face of insurmountable adversity. He always felt that things were going to get better.
So here’s a little exercise to get you ready for part 2 of this blog:
What is your approach to adversity?
Do you describe yourself as a hopeful person?
Have you ever been challenged to the point that you weren’t sure you’d ever be able to feel hope again?
And, in your opinion, is being able to feel hope part of being human? Or can animals feel hope, too?
