Death and the Anti-Christ (Leah Wegmann)

Edgar Allen Poe was not a typical Christian. It is quite easy to tell in his story that he did not adhere strongly to Christian beliefs. But this does not mean that Christianity wasn’t an influence in his life. His foster mother and father held deep Christian beliefs, and these were no doubt encouraged for Edgar as well throughout his childhood. Why then does he not show any positive signs of being religious? Did his foster parents being Christian push him away from the faith, instead of toward it? I believe this is the case. In his story, The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allen Poe shows this in his writing, not explicitly, but it is there if a reader looks for it. Poe uses strategies like juxtaposition, description, and direct references to get his message to the reader clearly. In an article by Patrick Cheney on the Gale Literature Research Center, he compares the Red Death to the Anti-Christ. In other religious imagery and references in the story, this comparison becomes even more clear as the story goes along. There are many different references and comparisons to religious spaces, passages, and figures throughout the story. In the story, there is also a clear display of the seven deadly sins, which relate to the seven rooms in the mansion, and also to the actions of all of the guests involved in the party. These portrayals of the seven deadly sins are ever-present, and they are represented throughout the story. These comparisons made by Edgar Allen Poe show that “The Masque of the Red Death” is a story about the Anti- Christ, and the story and Edgar Allan Poe both reject and disrespect Christianity blatantly. While this is a story about the inescapability of death, I believe it is also a subtle critique of Christianity and its influence on death and the characters in the story, including death itself. The Christian reading of this story is saying that no one, not even Jesus can save you from death, which is exactly what Poe was going for.

Link to Kade Cockrum’s annotations of the Masque of the Red Death. We did not annotate for the same aspects of the story, but it provides another look at the same story.

Link to Abby Embree’s take on the Masque of the Red Death. She analyzes the rooms in a similar way to how I do. With the fascination of the colors and lightness and darkness.