Edgar Allan Poe, one of many authors who entered literary famousness after their death, lives on in modern times. Despite his literary and personal defamation by Rufus Griswald after his death leading to his remembrance as a drunk who “was not remarkably original in invention”, as Griswold scoffed, Poe’s art is celebrated amongst scholars and pleasure readers alike in American society. Schools require teaching his famous texts, such as “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” Additionally, many companies cash in on the Poe craze with Poe-themed merchandise. A case in point is the candle company Paddywax, that markets a Poe-themed candle. Through its materials, appearance, and marketing, Paddywax firmly builds its product on stereotypical assumptions about Poe as an American bad boy prone to art and abusive drug consume. Whoever burns their Poe-themed candle, as a result, returns to and expands a cliché reading of the complex and sophisticated author.
Paddywax fashions their Edgar Allan Poe candle out of standard materials. Soy wax, dyed a milky white, composes the candle itself. Cardamom, absinthe, and sandalwood constitute the primary scents. The candle weighs six and a half ounces, or 184 grams. A black glass container surrounds it. The container’s shape resembles a small glass cup, one used for alcoholic drinks like scotch. The candle’s box, made of rough black cardboard, bears a stamp with the brand name, the collection name (Library), and the phrase “ex libris.” A picture of Poe appears on one side. Both the candle’s box and the glass candle holder bear Poe’s “handwritten signature” and the phrase “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”
An intriguing aspect of the Poe-themed candle dwells in the phrase “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream” and supposed “signature” on the container. Paddywax provides no source for the quote aside from Poe. The quote originates from Poe’s poem “A Dream within a Dream.” Choosing a line from a poem Poe wrote harkens back to his own dreams. Poe desired to write poetry for a living. As for Poe’s signature, considering that Poe died over 150 years ago, signatures of deceased authors are added to the candle’s container to increase its alleged authenticity. Burning the Poe candle brings everyone closer to their own dream – a dream where Poe still lives on as a person in the flesh, signing candles imbued with his smell and image.
While candles do not constitute a typical Poe theme, they appear in some of his stories, such as “The Imp of the Perverse,” where the narrator murders a man by burning a candle crafted with poison. The candle itself does not scream of Poe, but its use as a device for an unsolvable murder does. Many of Poe’s short stories revolve around murders that are difficult to understand and solve, like “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Mystery of Marie Roget,” both of which inaugurate the genre of detective fiction. Poe, in fact, invented detective fiction: no wonder then that preposterous murders are a trademark of Poe’s short fiction overall. Paddywax’s decision to concoct a candle in the image of Poe strengthens upon transcending candles as a symbol of unsolvable murders.
Of the scents featured in the Poe candle, absinthe certainly stands out. The Oxford English Dictionary explains that absinthe is “A highly alcoholic bitter aniseed-flavoured spirit, usually green in colour, traditionally distilled from wine.” Paddywax intentionally included an alcoholic scent and the shape of the candle’s container resembles a glass for drinks such as scotch. Burning the Poe candle, then, is meant to liberate the scent and image of an alcoholic beverage. The candle also possesses a strong, musty aroma that conjures thoughts of cramped writing offices, late nights spent drafting prose and poetry, and the drinking that allegedly accompanied such long nights. Imprinting Poe’s quote about dreams on the candle reinforces the illusion of nights magicked from the candle’s scent.
The Poe candle appears in Paddywax’s “Library Collection.” Poe’s scent resides alongside other famous authors such as Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, and William Shakespeare. All these writers are deceased, American or British (apart from Leo Tolstoy, who is Russian), and lived in the late 1700s to early 1900s. Each candle bears a quote, the author’s “signature”, and the fake “ex libris” note, usually stamped into books to mark that they were deaccessioned from a library. All candles showcase the same creamy white wax, but their package displays a different color: while Poe’s evinces a golden hue, others range from blue to deep red. Each candle in the collection bears a different number on the packaging, and the Poe candle brandishes the number 1. Whether this results from popularity, time period, or some other factor remains unexplained and unclear.
The selection of distinct scents distinguish Poe’s candle from the rest in Paddywax’s “Library Collection.” The primary scents of cardamom, absinthe, and sandalwood are not shared with the other authors, whereas cinnamon and eucalyptus are employed by a plethora of candles in the collection. Additionally, Poe’s candle holds fewer flower scents and pricier aromas than the rest. Cardamom represents the third most expensive spice in the world, exceeded only by vanilla and saffron. None of the other candles in the “Library Collection” have a cardamom aroma as their primary scent, and only the Mark Twain candle makes use of a pricier aromatic oil, that being vanilla. The prices of the selected scents reinforce Poe’s position as a popular and beloved author. Coincidentally, during research on this essay, the Poe candle went out of stock. Few other candles in the set boast the same fate, once again reiterating Poe’s ongoing legacy and popularity in modern times.
Through examining the materials, appearance, and marketing of Paddywax’s Edgar Allan Poe candle, we revive the image of Poe as a famous author in America’s history. History and modern society alike recall Poe as an author with a lust for alcohol, and Paddywax’s Poe candle plays on the stereotype. Regardless, he stands alongside many famous authors such as William Shakespeare in the scent collection. Few authors have the status and impact to be immortalized in a candle. The flickering flame of Poe’s impression on the hearts of minds and readers burns on, as intoxicating aromas lure his fans into dreams within dreams.