Examples Of Class Conciousness In The Masque Of The Red Death

Class Consciousness in Poe

Class structure has existed in societies since as far back as Ancient Egypt. Over the last few hundred years as capitalism has entered later stages in American history, literature has reflected the progression of economic and social hierarchies. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allan Poe, a romantic poet and writer from Boston in the early 1800s, describes a party hosted by the Prince and his aristocratic companions in the midst of a widespread illness in efforts to avoid infection and simultaneously neglect the material needs of the common citizens. A figure in the form of the Red Death ultimately crashes the party and brings death upon the guests. Poe personifies the deadly plague to critique power abuse

In the last paragraph of the text, after Prince Prospero dies, Poe writes “and now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night” (Poe 4). By strategically describing the individual as a “thief”, Poe is referencing the disdainful and snobbish postures exhibited by the elite toward the proletariat. This selfish prince has favored the interests of himself as well as those of his fellow aristocrats by creating an exclusive celebration and encouraging his guests to dress as grotesquely as possible, almost mocking the gruesome nature of the endemic at hand, especially given the affluence present at the palace. When the mysterious figure appears at Prospero’s palace, he is met with disgust and essentially othered, indicating that the ruling class equates filth and disease with those who fall below them on a hierarchical scale of wealth and

The last sentence in the text is “and Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all” (Poe 4) Following Prospero’s confrontation, the disease takes the lives of everyone at the party, symbolizing the downfall of the rich as a result of their lack of consideration for those with less privilege than them. This destiny humanizes the seemingly untouchable ruling class. This trajectory can be interpreted in many contexts, including the COVID-19 pandemic. While many working class individuals such as front line workers lacked the means to support themselves, they had to risk their own health to make money while those with substantial wealth found themselves relaxing in isolation without much regard for those who did not have such luxury. The healthcare system in America could also be critiqued through a lens adjacent to Poe for similar reasons surrounding the cost of healthcare. COVID-related deaths also impacted people of color and other marginalized communities at higher