#lenore posting

[yallemagne]

When Mina said "I wish he were here"

DON'T MAKE ME CRYYYYY

Mina always carries herself in such a way that she believes her emotions can't get the best of her, or at least, they shouldn't. She's a rational woman! She does not linger on her sadness, she does not divulge it to others!! She bottles it all up like a brave man would, I tell you!!

But her tone in that part of the entry, most specifically that line is that of a child crying out "it just isn't fair!" because it isn't! Jonathan should be home by now. And that is the extent of her exploration of her emotions, she permits herself one line, but all her anxiety and sadness are contained in that line.

Up rose Lenore as the red morn wore From weary visions starting; “Art faithless, Wilhelm, or, Wilhelm, art dead? 'Tis long since thy departing.”

LENORE POSTING IS BACK BABY.

And here and there and everywhere, Along the swarming ways, Went old man and boy, with the music of joy, On the gallant bands to gaze; And the young child shouted to spy the vaward, And trembling and blushing the bride pressed forward: But ah! for the sweet lips of Lenore The kiss and the greeting are vanished and o'er.

She's all alone on a cliff, she sees a band playing and a Salvation Army meeting taking place, and though they don't know the other is there, she sees them both, and as such, she is separate from them. She wishes she could see Jonathan, wherever he is, just to reassure herself that he's alive, that nothing awful's happened. But more than that, she wishes he were here with her, to see the sights, hear the sounds, to kiss in these moments alone.

From man to man all wildly she ran, With a swift and searching eye; But she felt alone in the mighty mass, As it crushed and crowded by: On hurried the troop, —a gladsome group,— And proudly the tall plumes wave and droop: She tore her hair and she turned her round, And madly she dashed her against the ground.

When she was surrounded by Lucy and the boisterous group of old men, she was still isolated, but she could never express that loneliness. When she remarks on Mr. Swales not pestering Lucy and instead giving her "double share" it isn't... bitterness per se. But it reflects how she feels the world is treating her right now. Things look bright for Lucy -- not so bright as they could be, but she will be well as soon as her fiancé visits. The same could be said for Mina, but she has no assurance that Jonathan is even alive. Short messages are customary coming from Mr. Holmwood, what with his affinity for sending telegrams, but coming from Jonathan? It's wrong. He's not even present in his letters home. Unlike Lenore, she is not fooled by the false Jonathan portrayed by his letters. If Death came masqueraded to sweep her away, she would not be hoodwinked.

“What pity to me does God impart? Woe, woe, woe! for my heavy heart!”

It just isn't fair that something awful would happen to them, now. They've done everything right! All their lives, they've never tried to make any waves, to cause a stir, to rock the boat-- they've been good, why would they be punished when all they've done is be good?!

There's no real answer and, unlike Lenore, she dare not ask the question. She can only wish he were with her.

[gothwineaunts]

Made some charm/sticker designs for the shop. 👻

[majosullivan]

Nevermore fandom: Oh yeah divorce arc let’s go!

The divorce arc: [is still going on since it hasn’t even been 24 hours since Lenore found out about what happened to Duke and White Raven can’t manage to effectively communicate to save their lives]

Nevermore fandom: Wait no- <(44/??)>

[read more]

+Bonus!

[ghostselkie]

[lina-studen]

at one hand I'm always for the farewell letters and all that, cuz it makes a good dramatic scene. at the other – it's really stressing me out that there's now a letter where all the tea is written down, and it could be read by the wrong person.

[miliamin1]

I do love the return of the bit with how Berenice and Lenore's English butts heads when they're both American, it is one of my favorites

[kazooaa]

Am I too late for this trend…

This is my apology for not getting a chapter out this month, I’M VERY SORRY, I’VE BEEN BUSY.

I’m working on it though so stay tuned <3

[ineedmoretrevorcardcontent]

[mindofcordyceps]

Lenore Vandernacht Appreciation Post

I need a Lenore in my life 😭

[blackvelvetcorvid]

Im sorry

[yallemagne]

Lenore Posting

One of the most influential lines in vampire literature was in a poem that features no vampires: "Denn die Todten reiten schnell" from Lenore by Gottfried August Bürger.

For fun, I must first address that this phrase also appears in what is considered Bram Stoker's first draft of Dracula: Dracula's Guest.

Impelled by some sort of fascination, I approached the sepulchre to see what it was, and why such a thing stood alone in such a place. I walked around it, and read, over the Doric door, in German: COUNTESS DOLINGEN OF GRATZ IN STYRIA SOUGHT AND FOUND DEATH 1801 On the top of the tomb, seemingly driven through the solid marble—for the structure was composed of a few vast blocks of stone—was a great iron spike or stake. On going to the back I saw, graven in great Russian letters: “The dead travel fast.”

Why it is in Russian when the engraving on the tomb is in German and why proto-Jonathan is able to read both languages when his first draft self knew not even a lick of German, I cannot say. What I can say is that Styria is a reference to Carmilla, of course, and we know from the engraving: "sought and found death" that the Countess likely committed suicide, which is often deemed a sin in Christianity that can condemn one to vampirism. Eternal life as punishment for seeking death against God's will. You could take this paired with the quote as a reference to Bürger's Ballad of Lenore, in which a grieving woman curses God for the death of her beloved and is punished with death... but it doesn't fit as well as it should. That bitch Dolingen ain't travelling nowhere.

Okay, okay, right to the book:

The parallels to Bürger's ballad start before the line is spoken. The driver drives dangerously fast, urged on by his other passengers, much to Jonathan's chagrin. How was it that Lenore was led to her death? A man resembling her beloved, Wilhelm, appeared on a horse and bid her to join him to go to their marriage bed. On the way, he rides wildly, distressing her. He inquires:

“What ails my love? the moon shines bright: Bravely the dead men ride through the night. Is my love afraid of the quiet dead?” “Ah! no;—let them sleep in their dusty bed!”

(By the way, here, "Denn die Todten reiten schnell" is translated as "Bravely the dead men ride through the night")

"You are early to-night, my friend." The man stammered in reply:— "The English Herr was in a hurry," to which the stranger replied:— "That is why, I suppose, you wished him to go on to Bukovina. You cannot deceive me, my friend; I know too much, and my horses are swift." As he spoke he smiled, and the lamplight fell on a hard-looking mouth, with very red lips and sharp-looking teeth, as white as ivory. One of my companions whispered to another the line from Burger's "Lenore":— "Denn die Todten reiten schnell" — ("For the dead travel fast.")

Here, the reference is a better fit. Jonathan's fellow passenger makes the comment in reference to the stranger, who we know is the Count, being one of the dead, or rather, Un-Dead. He's travelling. Rather fast. As the dead do.

As the ballad goes on, "Wilhelm" invites a passing funeral procession to drop their mourning and sing him and his bride cheery marriage songs, which they do.

The driver and passengers (who could, in a way, be described as Jonathan's funeral procession), do not follow the Count, instead leaving for Bukovina, lamenting their failure to outpace the dead. But no matter, they are replaced by the wolves, whose singing is praised by the Count:

"Listen to them—the children of the night. What music they make!"

Now, Dracula isn't putting on the familiar face of Jonathan's dear Wilhelmina, but he does still come in disguise. And even when he introduces himself properly as Count Dracula, his hospitality is a façade to trap Jonathan and lead him to his doom.

[gothwineaunts]

"My tantalized spirit here blandly reposes, forgetting, or never regretting, its roses— its old agitations of myrtles and roses."

[majosullivan]

Asides from the main mystery of what exactly happened when Lenore and Annabel died, we still have sooo much of their backstory to discover in season 2. Their likely chess match, Lenore’s song for Annabel, not to mention Lenore’s pet name for Annabel. We should expect one hell of a ride

<(58/??)>

[read more]

+Bonus!

[lina-studen]

"something floral": literature student blabbering about the usage of flower symbolism in "nevermore", how it ties to the theme of insanity and a little bit (a lot) about shakespeare.

from lenore's perspective, flowers are closely associated with isolation caused by her trauma and supposed "hysteria". floral pattern wallpaper accompanied her loneliness for days, months, even years. image of the flowers signaled that lenore's position would remain unchanged, that she was stuck, that she would continue to slowly loosing the clarity of her mind.

having torn the wallpaper off the walls, lenore believes that she will never see this image again, but flowers continue to accompanying her. lenore sees them again during her first meeting with annabel lee. and during the last one, too. she may have managed to get out of her lonely room, gain more strength in her legs, find a new friend, but lenore is still trapped. she's the daughter disowned by her parents, a stain on the family reputation that must be hidden forever. the image of flowers doesn't let her forget about it.

similar symbolism is also not alien to annabel lee. episode 66 is interesting in particular, because it directly quotes ophelia's monologue. I'm a big fan of shakespeare, it was he who instilled in me an interest in floral symbolism. a year ago, for a conference on foreign literature, I wrote an article about flower language of "hamlet". it's not available in english, but I'll list down some points that I considered relevant regarding "nevermore".

• rosemary can serve as a keepsake between lovers and also between the dead and the living. it could be seen at both weddings and funerals. in the old days it was also believed to be helpful in mental illnesses treatment.

• pansies, just like violets, symbolize innocence and devotion. ophelia doesn't consider the people around her worthy of violets, since she blames them for the death of her father.

• rue is a symbol of eternal suffering; grieving over her murdered father and the loss of her beloved hamlet, ophelia leaves some of the flowers for herself.

• the image of daisies has a close connection with the concepts of innocence, fidelity and eternal love. in shakespeare's tragedy, this symbol is overshadowed by the fact that in the world around ophelia there's no place for these beautiful things. for "nevermore" the symbol is also not so positive, since the readers are already familiar with daisies. they were on that wallpaper in lenore's room.

it's impossible not to note that annabel lee recites the monologue while in the bath, in the water. ophelia decides not to resist the river flow. her life turned into a tragedy: she was left without a father, her lover has seemingly lost his mind. her own sanity is also called into question. ophelia sings cryptic songs, goes into the field to weave a wreath, gives flowers to other characters. in the eyes of those around them, hamlet and ophelia seem crazy, while being the only sane and honest people among them. there's no place for tender, innocent ophelia in a cruel, deceitful world, so she drowns.

annabel lee also reflects on how both she and lenore are considered madwomen. her meeting with "leo" is accompanied by floral pattern on the annabel's dress. their madness is contextual, they both are perfectly sane, but don't fit into the system that could be leading to real madness with time. "all madwomen die twice. at least twice".

now about the arboretum. it obviously has a lot of flowers, but in my opinion this place is interesting in a different context. lenore and annabel visited the arboretum twice to discuss upcoming plans and such, and there are many parallels, both visual and narrative. not much time has passed since last time, but their situation has changed. they seem to look on their past selves from the upper level, having their conflict more acute now. I'll make a more detailed post about it later.

and now I'll just focus on how the characters in this arboretum full of roses behave as lost and confused as in the phobia-inducing flower labyrinth from earlier episodes. “the closer you get to beautiful flowers, the closer you get to their thorns,” says duke in episode 38. the flower imagery haunting the main characters doesn't let them forget that their sanity is always on a verge of slipping. and once a flower falls from its stem, it cannot be fixed.

p.s. guess which writer’s works I chose for a new article this year?

[beetlewine-art]

I just love how Pluto is so out for blood when it comes to Monty.

Duke: Is he dead?

Pluto: God, if only!

Bro WISHES that gun had been loaded. You do 1 bad thing to Duke or Lenore and you get a hater for life.

[docwormie]

Scenes of The fall of the House of Usher that I'm a little bit obsessed with :

Obviously. The one where Madeline and Verna kiss (nobody is surprised) because it's less than 1 minute long, it's never mentionned afterwards and yet it makes every scene they have together much more interesting (+ 2 girlkissers confirmed, that's a win !).

When Roderick watches corpses rain from the sky ??? That was so powerful wtf it carried a sense of sheer dread and anguish that I can't stop thinking about.

Tamerlane's death. Idk why it stuck with me so much, aside from the fact that it was Samantha Sloyan, it was beautifully filmed, and the fucking spasm at the end !!!! It was so fucking pathetic and sad, Tammy my sweet little girlfailure !

Victorine's whole going crazy thing. I love the Tell-Tale Heart but making it about lesbians ??? Oh mike the man that you are !!

The acid rain. Obviously. And when Verna kisses the melted body and there's a bit of flesh that sticks to her.... this was disgusting I want more !

When Roderick is alone with the Raven after finding out Lenore died. Very powerful + great climax and use of the poem !

The conversation between Juno and Tammy, it was one of the rare actually sweet scenes of the show, i'm glad Juno made it out alive !! And ruth codd's comedic talent is absolutely priceless !!

When Roderick tells Auggie to turn around because his dead mother is standing behind him. I laughed so hard. I feel like this was a meta-reference to Flanagan's habit of having ghosts just standing there in the background and never interacting with the characters and I absolutely LOST IT when she turned around like "nevermind".

Feel free to add your fav scenes because I probably forgot some of them !!