“The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe is a piece that has received a lot of acclaim since it was written in 1842.  Despite the age of the text, many still use it to relate to current issues and topics.  Within the story, there are two main concepts that are woven into the text.  The first of the concepts is class differences.  There are two classes that are included in the text, the rich and the common people.  The dynamic between these classes forge the story into what it is.  This dynamic can be related into the flaws that our present day society has.  The other concept that appears in the text is the signs of mortality throughout.  These signs include the seven rooms inside of Prince Prospero’s estate, the colors red and black that reappear multiple times, and the clock inside of the seventh room.  By using both of these concepts in the story, Edgar Allan Poe was able to turn an entertaining plot into a text that could be used generations into the future and still be applicable to the problems society is facing with class differentials.

The first concept that appears in “The Masque of the Red Death” is the separation of the upper class and the lower, working class.  The upper class, also known as the ruling class, is represented by Prince Prospero and the other attendees and the party.  The lower class is discussed early in the story as Prince Prospero’s dominions, which were “half depopulated” (Poe par. 2).  There was only one specific character that represented the lower class, which was the murderer in the end of the story.  The costume the murderer was wearing depicted the plague that was devastating the rest of the common people.  The costume included the same features, being described as “dabbled in blood… with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror” (Poe par. 9).  This description of the costume matched the description of the plague early in the story, with the symptoms being the “scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim” (Poe par. 1).  The difference between social and economic classes is what causes the tension to rise in the story.  Prince Prospero has power over the lower class and is expected to lead them.  Instead of helping his dominion when they needed him most, he was confined to his mansion while the others suffered from the plague.  Prince Prospero even became bored with being separated from the population, so he “entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence” (Poe par. 3).  He spent his large fortune to entertain himself while the people that he rules over suffers from disease.  The social class difference that Prince Prospero displays by flaunting his wealth during the lower class’ time of need creates the tension that drives the story and ultimately leads to his death.

“Plague and Prejudice”, by Samuel Cohn wrote about these tensions between the different social and economic classes over history during times of plague in the world.  These tensions almost always occur between the classes, and the ruling class are the people that determine whether the tension helps bring the classes together, strengthening the support of the ruling class, or separates the classes further, potentially leading to a revolt.  Tension usually rises from a society’s need for a scapegoat.  Carlo Ginzburg said that the “prodigious trauma of great pestilences intensified the search for a scapegoat on which fears, hatreds and tension of all kind could be discharged” (p. 31).  The leader of the society that is suffering from a plague is usually the easiest scapegoat to create.  If a leader doesn’t reach out to the people suffering and instead removes themselves from the situation, they will become the scapegoat.  Plagues were considered a mystery before science, so no one knew where they came from.  Typically, the people just blamed the leader of the society with the lack of knowledge of diseases.  An example of this was in 430 in Athens, when the country was plague-ridden, and the “Athenians did not blame outsiders or victims but their own leader Pericles and… the devastating war with the Spartans” (Cohn 32).  Some leaders have been known to take the opportunity of a plague to bond with the suffering lower classes.  This occurred in Rome, when the Senate would pray with the lower class.  This helped gain support for the ruling class.  Many governments in history feared revolution, so doing this helped assure themselves of support from the lower class.  Prince Prospero was used as a scapegoat because he chose to benefit only himself rather than using the resources he has available to help the rest of society.  This made the people feel abandoned, causing the fallout with him and the lower class.  Prince Prospero could have taken the opportunity to help his relationship with the lower class, but instead decided to entertain “his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence” (Poe par. 3).  This made the lower class feel abandoned and ended up blaming Prince Prospero.  The plague wasn’t Prince Prospero’s fault, but was still used as a scapegoat.  Even though the plague wasn’t the prince’s fault, he should have handled the situation differently because of the power his social class holds over the lower class.

“Social Class, Power and Selfishness: When and Why Upper and Lower Class Individuals Behave Unethically” by Rucker, Dubois, and Galinsky discuss the ethics of the different social classes.  The text is based off of an unanswerable question of “Are the rich more unethical than the poor?” (p. 436).  There is no correct answer to this question because it is an opinionated question.  Both classes act in an unethical manner.  To provide an example of a lower class citizen acting unethically, the authors bring up the example of a man not being able to afford a drug for his dying wife, so he stole it from the drug store (p. 436).  This crime doesn’t seem to be that immoral.  Although one might believe that this is a noble crime, it is still a crime.  The owner of the store is hurt from the crime, so it is not a victimless crime.  Prince Prospero committed a social crime by using his riches that was gained off of the work from the lower class to hold a party and seclude himself in luxury while the rest of his dominions suffered rather than using it to help the lower class.  The man in the red death costume committed the crime of murdering the prince.  Some may consider this a noble crime because the cause was just, due to the ignorance of Prince Prospero for his “fifth or sixth month of seclusion”, but the crime is still heinous (Poe par. 3).  When first reading the story, the murderer seems like the hero, killing the negligent prince, who showed no sympathy with the death of his people.  “Social Class, Power, and Selfishness” brought up the point that both parties are in the wrong.  The nobility of the murderer is questioned because even if he did what he thought was right, it is still a heinous crime.  Prince Prospero could be considered innocent because there really wasn’t anyway he could have stopped the plague, but Prince Prospero could have helped his people with the fortune that he made from them.  Neither party is innocent, but it refers to the question “Are the rich more unethical than the poor?” (p. 436).  

This story could help give people today some more perspective on the current dynamics of the social classes.  During the “Occupy Wall Street” protests, people protested the differential between the classes.  Some thought that the “1%” committed crimes and social injustices while they were suffering.  Some of the protests that occurred became violent, forcing the police to arrest people.  This could relate back to “The Masque of the Red Death”.  An outsider must take into perspective the crimes and injustices being committed.  Are the violent crimes being committed acceptable due to the injustices of the upper class?  One must think about the situation from each side.  Are the crimes really noble if they are hurting someone else?

The election also is related to “The Masque of the Red Death”.  In the text, Poe emphasizes the differences between the two social classes.  The upper class was well removed from the struggles of the lower class, yet had all the power over them.  The election showed many people in the upper class trying to relate to the common person in the lower class.  The people running for office doesn’t have the same struggles as the common person, yet relates to them.  The candidates all have enough money to last multiple lifetimes while many in the lower class don’t know where their next meal is coming from.  Poe is showing the differences the ruling class has over the lower class and shows the flaws involved in the system that is in place.  These flaws are still occurring in our modern society.  Edgar Allan Poe’s work, despite it being a lot about death and horror, is still relevant and could be used 174 years later. 

Poe uses “The Masque of the Red Death” to display mortality and death.  Mortality reappears throughout the text as something that could not be avoided.  The first reoccurring aspect of mortality is the color red.  The color red is in the name of the disease, the “Red Death”, because of the “scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim” which ended up killing the victim (Poe par. 1).  After the background on the disease, the color red could be associated with death for the rest of the text.  The color red reappears when discussing the 7th room in the estate.  The room contained “black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls” while the stain glassed windows were “scarlet- a deep blood color” which corresponds to the disease that is plaguing the country (Poe par. 4).  These two colors refer to death.  

The number seven appears in the story to represent death and mortality.  The number seven is often refers to the seven deadly sins, which religions actively warn people against.  The number seven occurs when the estate is described.  There are seven rooms in total, where the party is held.  These seven rooms are where the sins are committed by Prince Prospero.  The seven deadly sins are made up of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.  Prince Prospero had multiple violations of these sins.  He violated pride by putting the welfare of himself ahead of the welfare of the people of his dominion.  In his position, he is expected to help those under him and give do everything he can.  Instead, Prince Prospero secluded himself from the plague-ridden dominions when his citizens needed his help the most in order to assure himself of his welfare.  He also violated greed, lust, and gluttony by having the party with all of his rich friends.  He became bored of his seclusion so he had an extravagant party using resources that the lower class could have benefitted it from, displaying gluttony.  He had an extreme longing for a party to break the ‘dull’ days he faced confined inside of his estate, showing the lust he had.  

The clock in the 7th room demonstrated the calling for death.  The clock is ran by a non-stopping pendulum, that refers to the only constant in life, death.  The clock rings every hour, delivering a chilling sound which made “the musicians of the orchestra… constrained to a pause” and “the giddiest grew pale” (Poe par. 5).  Death strikes fear into everyone around it.  At a time where death was so common that it was a constant in the culture of the dominion, similar to the reliability of the clock hitting that note.  It is the only constant in life.  The reaction of the party-goers in the text shows the fear that everyone feels towards the death around them.  The location of the clock also coincides with the seven deadly sins and the colors of the room.  The room represents mortality, with the colors of death decorating the room.  For the clock to be located in that room proves that the ring is a calling from death, which is the one constant in life.

Alice Camille wrote “Still Deadly After All These Years” to discuss the seven deadly sins and how they still apply to people in the modern era.  The first point made is that the sins are “dispositions that place us in proximity to wrongdoing” (Camille p. 43).  This means that the sins are common tendencies that people have.  By disobeying one of the seven sins, it isn’t a sin in itself, but it will lead to more wrongs in one’s life.  Many of the sins aren’t considered bad in today’s society because of the changed connotation.  An example of this is pride.  Pride may be considered a good attribute in the modern era, but pride is considered the worst of all sins.  Pride is putting the welfare of yourself over the welfare of others.  Envy is one of the most common in today’s society because of all the celebrities and idols.  This is an example of how a sin is a disposition because it is almost impossible not to envy a celebrity, but if someone lives their whole life in envy, they are bound to start living an unholy lifestyle.  Sloth is often confused because it seems so common.  Almost everyone takes time to relax and watch television.  Alice Camille says that sloth is a sin if “the only thing you changed in recent years is your socks” meaning that if someone doesn’t improve themselves at all over time, then sloth is being committed (p. 44).  Lust is the most common sin in today’s society because of advertising and media.  Everything is based around lust, meaning that almost everyone lives with this disposition.  Ed Rushman’s text, “The Seven Deadly Sins”, provides background information on the seven deadly sins.  The sins were never mentioned in the Bible in the same sections.  When the Bible was being translated for different languages, people found the sins from different sections and formed the list that we now know as the seven deadly sins.  The seven deadly sins have been controversial with different religions.  Some think that the list of sins doesn’t matter because God loves us all.  Some religions use the list as a set of rules to live by.  Some believe that the list is more of what not to do, rather than a guide of how to live religiously.  Dante grouped the seven sins into three categories when writing the Divine Comedy.  These catagories include perverted love, insufficient love, and excessive love of earthly goods.  The reason Dante grouped the sins into the three categories was to put the “sins on a level, with the higher levels closer to Paradise and the lower ones closer to Hell” (Rushman par. 22).

These articles help to identify the importance that Edgar Allan Poe gives the number seven in relations to Prince Prospero’s estate.  The number seven refers to the seven deadly sins.  Alice Camille says that the seven deadly sins are “dispositions that place us in proximity to wrongdoing” (Camille p. 43).  Prince Prospero has been living in these dispositions since the plague has begun and he secluded himself from the rest of his dominion.  Ed Rushman’s text demonstrates how Prince Prospero has been living in gluttony, pride, lust, greed, and wrath during the story.  Edgar Allan Poe shows that he has been living in these dispositions by his actions as well as using the seven rooms of the estate as a metaphor for the sins he’s committed.  He committed pride by staying in his estate to ensure his health over the well-being of his citizens.  He was living in gluttony, greed, and lust by throwing a party because of his boredom while he was secluded from the plague.  He committed wrath by being so angered of a man mocking him by dressing up as the Red Death, that he chased him through the seven rooms, which stand for all of the sins being committed, into the last room, which was blood red and black, where he was killed for all of his actions.

There were two concepts that Edgar Allan Poe included into the story, which was the separation of social classes in society and death.  Both of these concepts are used as a warning of what to be aware for in the future.  The social classes in the story showed the corruption of the broken system.  The ruling class did not help or benefit the lower class in any way, despite their need for the lower class.  Death in the story awakens the readers to the seven deadly sins and how unhealthy it is to live in violations to them despite how easy it is to live with those dispositions.  Despite the age of the text, Edgar Allan Poe’s messages could still be applied to today’s society.
