A Tale of the Ragged Mountains is a short story by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe in 1844, based in part on his impressions from his studies at the University of Virginia . The story takes place near Charlottesville , and this is the only case when Poe sent the hero to Virginia . The Tale was first published in a magazine ( English “Godey's Lady's Book ”) and subsequently entered the collection of short stories Poe ( English “Tales” ), published in 1845 .
| Story of the Steep Mountains | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Author | Edgar Allan Poe |
| Original language | English |
| Date of writing | 1844 |
| Date of first publication | |
The main character of the story is Augustus Bedlo, a young man suffering from nervous attacks . Walking among the hills of Virginia, he finds himself in an unknown valley with palm trees and hyenas , where he sees a huge eastern city. Watching the riots in the streets and the riot of the mob, Bedlo is involved in suppressing the rebellion, but dies. It seems to him that the soul is separated from the body, and he returns to where his mysterious adventure began. Feeling himself, the hero returns to the doctor and talks about what happened. The doctor tells Bedlaw that he began to treat him because of his extraordinary resemblance to a friend named Oldeb, who died in the suppression of the rebellion in Benares under W. Hastings , 36 years before. While Bedlo was wandering in the hills, the doctor was just describing the events of the rebellion on paper. If you read “The Bad” backwards, “Oldb” will come out.
In The Story of the Steep Mountains, the scientific theories of the Poe era are highlighted, intertwined with the history of the British Empire . The author anticipated the current interest in psychoactive drugs , relocation of souls and the development of a doctor-patient relationship.