Out of all Edgar Allan Poe’s characters, his dead, young beautiful women are the most haunting. Beautiful, gothic, and tragic, they often experience great misfortune and a premature trip to the grave. Taking her place among the ranks of “Bernice” and “Ligeia,” Annabel Lee, though Poe’s narrative about her is quite short, represents an innocent woman whose misfortune in love leads to her death. Her enduring presence in the public cannon of Poe’s most famous works makes her name recognizable outside the poem and academia. In fact, in the absence of Poe’s name, Annabel Lee becomes the sole connection to her author in a candle, called “Annabel Lee.” The names Annabel Lee and Edgar Allan Poe are comparable in this object. Of course, this candle is Poe merchandise; her place among other gothic, bookish, and ghoulish candles recalls the reputation Poe’s women possess, and its scents, a combination of magnolia and sea-salt, symbolize more than just flowers and foam.
The “Annabel Lee” candle made by [Old Soul Artisanhttps://oldsoulartisan.com/] reveals, at first glance, no connection to Edgar Allan Poe other than its use of one of his female heroines. The candle can easily be traced back to “the beautiful Annabel Lee” because of her infamy and of Poe’s female characters in general (103). “Annabel Lee” remains one of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous love poems, unveiling the connection between her and Poe to those who have read or know of Poe’s work. The candle has several physical characteristics which echo Annabel Lee’s description and the time period in which her poem was conceived. First, the candle’s label and box give an artificial date to the object. The box is made of a parchment-type cardboard, to recall the old practice of brown paper to wrap gifts. The embossed label on the jar itself contains small type writing and coloring which makes it appear aged. These features give the candle a handmade façade and an artificial ancientness. An aged appearance makes the candle more believable as an object that would have been available during Poe’s lifetime. Secondly, the small size of the candle and its hand-poured nature, makes the candle appear feminine and appeals to a female demographic. The candle, made with a female character in mind, emits a fragrance of magnolia flowers, something distinctly feminine, these characteristics fit with the target audience as well as the candles subject itself. Lastly, the white color of the candle also fits with the image of Annabel Lee, a young and innocent maiden. The color recalls white skin and white flowers. “Annabel Lee” tells the story of “a love that was more than love” which transcends death and burns with an intensity to last for eternity, which seems to fit with the aesthetic of a candle (102). An exceptional candle burns for many hours and leaves a pleasant lingering scent in the air. In the same manner as Annabel Lee and her lover’s eternal affection lingers long after her passing, so too would the scent of her magnolia and sea scented candle remain long after the flame has been extinguished.
The “Annabel Lee” candle is scented with magnolia oil and sea salt, both of which directly related back to Poe’s poem. As “a child,” Annabel Lee presents as an innocent “maiden” who lives with “no other thought than to be loved” by the narrator (102). She also holds a station in a higher class than the narrator. Maintaining the status of a “high-born” (102) woman, she thus cannot remain with her lover. Magnolias represent purity, nobility, beauty, and gentleness, all characteristics which perfectly fit the image of the young virgin Annabel Lee. The magnolia’s white, soft petals call to mind a young girl with pale skin, and the flower’s beautiful appearance reflects back on Annabel Lee. The candles other scent, sea-salt, also represents an important, reoccurring element in the poem, that of the sea. Annabel Lee is shut away from the world and her love in a “sepulcher by the sea” (102). The cold wind which blows off of the sea results in the “chilling and killing” of Annabel Lee (102). The ocean has a distinct scent, that of salt and brine, due to the nature of the water’s saltiness. Including sea salt in the candle gives the reader or candle owner an impression of the ocean, the scent almost transporting them to the sea.
Old Soul Artisan’s collection of candles generally represents the same themes in its candles; Annabel Lee’s place among them is not trivial, her tragic character and enigmatic creator secure her spot. This candle blends into the collection surrounding it because of the reputation “Annabel Lee” possesses, not only as one of Poe’s most beloved poems but also as a part of Poe’s cast of female characters. Poe’s proclivity for the macabre and uncanny, especially in relation to women, has given Annabel Lee a contradictory reputation. She embodies the sublime and the gothic. Yet the narrator describes her as “beautiful” (103). Annabel Lee’s character experiences both love and death, and innocence and tragedy. The narrator describes her as having beauty greater than “the moon” and “the stars,” and at the same time as an eternal presence from which her lover “can ever dissever [his] soul” (103). Poe’s women are known to be gothic, tragic, and beautiful, as well as their connection with untimely death allows “Annabel Lee” to be grouped in with the other candles in the collection, which include “Sleepy Hollow” and “Book of Spells,” both references to gothic and dark literature.
Edgar Allan Poe has many female characters throughout his works, and these women generally have features and circumstances which are now regarded as distinctly Poe; Annabel Lee is no exception. Poe’s women, here Bernice and Ligeia, are young and beautiful, possessing “gorgeous yet fantastic beauty,” with the “radiance of an opium dream;” they have delicate features—skin as white as “marble”— exude an aura best described as “exquisite” and “strange,” and they inevitably die tragic deaths (226) (263). Annabel Lee’s conformity to these parameters gives her the status of a Poe woman and solidifies her image of tragic love and beautiful death in the reader’s mind. Realizing Annabel Lee’s popularity and her mysterious and haunting story. No wonder this candle maker chose her to represent Edgar Allan Poe among other dark and eerie themed candles.
The “Annabel Lee” candle created by Old Soul Artisan is an apt addition to the world of all things Poe. Evoking a much different time in history, candles can kindle nostalgia for the centuries humanity spent relying on their glow for daily life. In appearance, scent, and name the “Annabel Lee” candle targets an audience who can appreciate its references. The candle possesses a unique antique charm, as well as provides the buyer, and Poe enthusiast, with an olfactory experience which draws its reference directly from the sea shores of the poem. Burning for hours upon hours, the “Annabel Lee” candle permeates the air with the memory of the sea which lingers long after the flame has gone out.