“Debugging De Bug”: Tracing Hidden Egyptian Legends in Poe’s “The Gold-Bug” and “The Sphinx”

• Published in: The Edgar Allan Poe review 2024-12, Vol.25 (2), p.197-210
• Main Author: Isaak, Sonya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Egyptology; hermeneutics; Languages; Literature; Napoleon; palimpsest; Pop Culture; The Gold-Bug; The Sphinx
• ISSN: 2150-0428; 2166-2932
• DOI: 10.5325/edgallpoerev.25.2.0197

This article explores hidden allusions to Egyptian legends in Edgar Allan Poe’s tales “The Gold-Bug” (1843) and “The Sphinx” (1846), arguing that Poe integrated Napoleonic sources, such as the monumental La Description de l’Égypte (1809). Publications like these, alongside Jean-François Champollion’s 1824 groundbreaking decipherment of the Rosetta Stone, sparked widespread fascination with Egyptian culture in North America. Ancient Egypt, as a resilient and independent civilization, naturally appealed to a burgeoning American nation seeking cultural and ideological models. Egyptian heritage permeated American culture, from mummy exhibits to hieroglyphic writing, even influencing debates on race and slavery. A comparative analysis of excerpts from Description de l’Égypte and Poe’s “The Gold-Bug” reveals striking similarities, illuminating Poe’s literary craft. Both “The Gold-Bug” and “The Sphinx” reframe Egyptian myths to fit the distinctly American context of Poe’s stories. In these emblematic tales, Poe melds symbols from diverse cultures, creating a new aesthetic synthesis of images and words. Poe’s bug and sphinx moth are far from haphazard choices but central hermeneutic agents that act as palimpsests, bearing different layers of meaning. This treasure trove of covert knowledge becomes accessible only to readers who delve beyond the text itself, examining the Egyptological notions underlying the stories.