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Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
* FlyingDutchman: One possible interpretation for the wanderer is that he's an eternal wanderer. The prime argument for this is that the narrator follows him for nearly 24 hours and all the wanderer does is seek out news crowds to join when his previous ones disperse. He has no apparent home and he doesn't grow tired. As to how he would've become an eternal wanderer, the dagger and diamond the wanderer has hidden beneath his roquelaire might be related.
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* FlyingDutchman: One possible interpretation for the wanderer is that he's an eternal wanderer. The prime argument for this is that the narrator follows him for nearly 24 hours and all the wanderer does is seek out news new crowds to join when his previous ones disperse. He has no apparent home and he doesn't grow tired. As to how he would've become an eternal wanderer, the dagger and diamond the wanderer has hidden beneath his roquelaire might be related.
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Changed line(s) 40 (click to see context) from:
** In the original prints, Poe mentions the "vivid yet candid reason of Combe," referring to George Combe of phrenology fame. Later prints replace Combe with Leibnitz, the mad and flimsy rhetoric of Gorgias
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** In the original prints, Poe mentions the "vivid yet candid reason of Combe," referring to George Combe of phrenology fame. Later prints replace Combe with Leibnitz, referring to the polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz. The comparison to Leibnitz has the benefit of widening the scope of all the narrator takes in during his post-illness sense of clarity, but Combe is a superior fit to match what the narrator does in deducing what kind of people make up the crowd.
** Poe mentions "the mad and flimsy rhetoric ofGorgiasGorgias." Gorgias was a rhetorical innovator and something of a word wizard. What might be relevant to the story is his ''On Non-Existence'', in which he makes the argument that reality is, if exists, ungraspable, not unlike the wanderer.
** Poe mentions "the mad and flimsy rhetoric of
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* TrueSight: The narrator's post-illness clarity may be interpreted as him being still woozy but also as him having actual unusual clarity for the time being. This clarity allows him to spot the anomaly that is the wanderer, who is otherwise hidden within the anonymity of the city crowds.
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Changed line(s) 14,15 (click to see context) from:
Seated at the window of the D— Coffee-House, part of the D—Hotel in London, the narrator is subject to an unusual sense of personal energy stemming from his recent recovery from a months-long illness. As the evening proceeds, he observes the people walking by and makes a game out of identifying their positions in life. The more into the night, the rougher the elements that make up the crowd until the narrator spots one wanderer whom he can't categorize except for the notion that he'd make an excellent visage for the devil. Intrigued, the narrator stalks the wanderer to see where he's headed. But for all the hours until the next evening that the narrator follows along, the wanderer doesn't go anywhere except where there are crowds. Once the workers have petered out of the streets, he heads for the late-night bazaar, then for the masses leaving the theaters, then for the outskirts where the bars are open until dawn, then back to downtown where the workers once more head out. The narrator gives up at this point, concluding that he'll learn nothing more and that the evil the wanderer hides is best left undisclosed.
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Seated at the window of the D— Coffee-House, part of the D—Hotel in London, the narrator is subject to an unusual sense of personal energy stemming from his recent recovery from a months-long illness. As the evening proceeds, he observes the people walking by and makes a game out of identifying their positions in life. The more into the night, the rougher the elements that make up the crowd until the narrator spots one wanderer whom he can't categorize except for the notion that he'd make an excellent visage for the devil. Intrigued, the narrator stalks the wanderer to see where he's headed. But for all the hours until the next evening that the narrator follows along, the wanderer doesn't go anywhere except where there are crowds. Once the workers have petered out of the streets, he heads for the late-night bazaar, then for the masses leaving the theaters, then for the outskirts where the bars ginshops are open until dawn, then back to downtown where the workers once more head out. The narrator gives up at this point, concluding that he'll learn nothing more and that the evil the wanderer hides is best left undisclosed.
Changed line(s) 32,33 (click to see context) from:
%%* HatesBeingAlone: The wanderer cannot stand to be alone and anything less than a crowd to disappear into makes him hesitant, despondent, anxious, and desperate. When on his own, he behaves as if his life is on the line. The speed with which he makes for other locations in London where he reasonably may expect a crowd to be confounds the narrator. I saw the old man gasp as if for breath while he threw himself amid the crowd;
%%* HiddenInPlainSight:
%%* HiddenInPlainSight:
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* HiddenInPlainSight: Both the wanderer and the narrator use the crowd to go about unnoticed. The purpose for
%%* HiddenInPlainSight:
Changed line(s) 35 (click to see context) from:
%%* ObviouslyEvil:
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** Poe was a fan of Creator/CharlesDickens and two paragraphs resemble texts by Dickens. The opening paragraph about the horrible secrets people take to their graves appears to be inspired by "The Drunkard's Death" and the paragraph about the gin palace comes from "Gin-Shops". Both pieces are part of the ''Sketches by Boz'' series.
** While describing the narrator's elated mental state, Poe paraphrases from ''Literature/TheIliad'' with "αχλυξ η πριυ επῆευ", which roughly means "the mist that clouded before."
** In the original prints, Poe mentions the "vivid yet candid reason of Combe," referring to George Combe of phrenology fame. Later prints replace Combe with Leibnitz, the mad and flimsy rhetoric of Gorgias
** While describing the narrator's elated mental state, Poe paraphrases from ''Literature/TheIliad'' with "αχλυξ η πριυ επῆευ", which roughly means "the mist that clouded before."
** In the original prints, Poe mentions the "vivid yet candid reason of Combe," referring to George Combe of phrenology fame. Later prints replace Combe with Leibnitz, the mad and flimsy rhetoric of Gorgias
Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
* WhamShot: The narrator regularly makes assertions that the wanderer doesn't notice him and that this is due to the narrator's own skills and the occasional luck. Within eight paragraphs, five lines relate to this belief. In the final paragraph, the narrator reaches the end of his rope when after following the wanderer for nearly 24 hours he is barely closer to knowing anything about him. Marking the sixth line, the narrator throws caution to the wind and stands still in front of the wanderer. The wanderer does not regard him and walks past, as people in crowds do.
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* WhamShot: The narrator regularly makes assertions that the wanderer doesn't notice him and that this is due to the narrator's own skills and the occasional luck. Within eight paragraphs, five lines relate to this belief. In the final paragraph, the narrator reaches the end of his rope when after following the wanderer for nearly 24 hours he is barely closer to knowing anything about him. Marking the sixth line, the narrator throws caution to the wind and stands still in front of the wanderer. The wanderer does not regard him and walks past, as people in crowds just do.
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Changed line(s) 12,17 (click to see context) from:
During the late 1830s, Poe had a high output of supernatural horror stories and "The Man of the Crowd" is regarded as among that line-up. It also has elements of DetectiveFiction and may be considered a precursor to "[[Literature/CAugusteDupin The Murders in the Rue Morgue]]", which was first published in April 1841. "The Man of the Crowd" is thus a transitional hybrid of the two genres and the story actually has two distinct halves. For the first twelve paragraphs, the narrator sits alone deducing the identities and natures of the people passing by on the street. Hereafter, the narrator spots the mysterious Man of the Crowd and obsessively follows him for nearly 24 hours as the man, without loss of energy, only ever seeks out new crowds to join.
Seated at the window of the D— Coffee-House, part of the D—Hotel in London, the narrator is subject to an unusual sense of personal energy stemming from his recent recovery from a months-long illness. As the evening proceeds, he observes the people walking by and makes a game out of identifying their positions in life. The more into the night, the rougher the elements that make up the crowd until the narrator spots one man whom he can't categorize except that he'd make an excellent visage for the devil. Intrigued, the narrator stalks the man to see where he's headed. But for all the hours until the next evening that the narrator follows along, the man doesn't go anywhere except where there are crowds. Once the workers have petered out of the streets, he heads for the late-night bazaar, then for the masses leaving the theaters, then for the outskirts where the bars are open until dawn, then back to downtown where the workers once more head out. The narrator gives up at this point, concluding that he'll learn nothing more and that the evil the man hides is best left undisclosed.
There are many ways to interpret the Man of the Crowd as well as the narrator and the story's genre duality does nothing to make one more likely than the other. It might be that the Man of the Crowd is an [[FlyingDutchman eternal wanderer]], cursed by an alluded-to crime. Or he is a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent psychic vampire]] that feeds on the energy of multiple people at once. He might be the embodiment of the city both in his apparent sole existence as crowd filler and as the quintessential holder of secrets. Rationally, the man could be just an earthly crook in the midst of criminal dealings. It's also been proposed that the Man of the Crowd is a {{doppelganger}} to the narrator or that the narrator himself is the doppelganger. Because the Man of the Crowd's alluded-to crime and the narrator's sickness could have happened concurrently, the narrator may be the Man of the Crowd's guilt haunting him. Or, given that the narrator by his own admission is not in a right state of mind, it might be that the Man of the Crowd's refusal to go home and his need to be in a crowd is just his way of keeping himself safe from that creep that's stalking him.
Seated at the window of the D— Coffee-House, part of the D—Hotel in London, the narrator is subject to an unusual sense of personal energy stemming from his recent recovery from a months-long illness. As the evening proceeds, he observes the people walking by and makes a game out of identifying their positions in life. The more into the night, the rougher the elements that make up the crowd until the narrator spots one man whom he can't categorize except that he'd make an excellent visage for the devil. Intrigued, the narrator stalks the man to see where he's headed. But for all the hours until the next evening that the narrator follows along, the man doesn't go anywhere except where there are crowds. Once the workers have petered out of the streets, he heads for the late-night bazaar, then for the masses leaving the theaters, then for the outskirts where the bars are open until dawn, then back to downtown where the workers once more head out. The narrator gives up at this point, concluding that he'll learn nothing more and that the evil the man hides is best left undisclosed.
There are many ways to interpret the Man of the Crowd as well as the narrator and the story's genre duality does nothing to make one more likely than the other. It might be that the Man of the Crowd is an [[FlyingDutchman eternal wanderer]], cursed by an alluded-to crime. Or he is a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent psychic vampire]] that feeds on the energy of multiple people at once. He might be the embodiment of the city both in his apparent sole existence as crowd filler and as the quintessential holder of secrets. Rationally, the man could be just an earthly crook in the midst of criminal dealings. It's also been proposed that the Man of the Crowd is a {{doppelganger}} to the narrator or that the narrator himself is the doppelganger. Because the Man of the Crowd's alluded-to crime and the narrator's sickness could have happened concurrently, the narrator may be the Man of the Crowd's guilt haunting him. Or, given that the narrator by his own admission is not in a right state of mind, it might be that the Man of the Crowd's refusal to go home and his need to be in a crowd is just his way of keeping himself safe from that creep that's stalking him.
to:
During the late 1830s, Poe had a high output of supernatural horror stories and "The Man of the Crowd" is regarded as among that line-up. It also has elements of DetectiveFiction and may be considered a precursor to "[[Literature/CAugusteDupin The Murders in the Rue Morgue]]", which was first published in April 1841. "The Man of the Crowd" is thus a transitional hybrid of the two genres and the story actually has two distinct halves. For the first twelve paragraphs, the narrator sits alone deducing the identities and natures of the people passing by on the street. Hereafter, the narrator spots the mysterious Man of the Crowd a striking wanderer and obsessively follows him for nearly 24 hours as the man, without loss of energy, only ever seeks out new crowds to join.
Seated at the window of the D— Coffee-House, part of the D—Hotel in London, the narrator is subject to an unusual sense of personal energy stemming from his recent recovery from a months-long illness. As the evening proceeds, he observes the people walking by and makes a game out of identifying their positions in life. The more into the night, the rougher the elements that make up the crowd until the narrator spots oneman wanderer whom he can't categorize except for the notion that he'd make an excellent visage for the devil. Intrigued, the narrator stalks the man wanderer to see where he's headed. But for all the hours until the next evening that the narrator follows along, the man wanderer doesn't go anywhere except where there are crowds. Once the workers have petered out of the streets, he heads for the late-night bazaar, then for the masses leaving the theaters, then for the outskirts where the bars are open until dawn, then back to downtown where the workers once more head out. The narrator gives up at this point, concluding that he'll learn nothing more and that the evil the man wanderer hides is best left undisclosed.
There are many ways to interpret theMan of the Crowd wanderer as well as the narrator and the story's genre duality does nothing to make one more likely than the other. It might be that the Man of the Crowd wanderer is an [[FlyingDutchman eternal wanderer]], cursed by an alluded-to crime. Or he is a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent psychic vampire]] that feeds on the energy of multiple people at once. He might be the embodiment of the city both in his apparent sole existence as crowd filler and as the quintessential holder of secrets. Rationally, the man wanderer could be just an earthly crook in the midst of criminal dealings. It's also been proposed that the Man of the Crowd wanderer is a {{doppelganger}} to the narrator or that the narrator himself is the doppelganger. Because the Man of the Crowd's wanderer's alluded-to crime and the narrator's sickness could have happened concurrently, the narrator may be the Man of the Crowd's wanderer's guilt haunting him. Or, given that the narrator by his own admission is not in a right state of mind, it might be that the Man of the Crowd's wanderer's refusal to go home and his need to be in a crowd is just his way of keeping himself safe from that creep that's stalking him.
Seated at the window of the D— Coffee-House, part of the D—Hotel in London, the narrator is subject to an unusual sense of personal energy stemming from his recent recovery from a months-long illness. As the evening proceeds, he observes the people walking by and makes a game out of identifying their positions in life. The more into the night, the rougher the elements that make up the crowd until the narrator spots one
There are many ways to interpret the
Changed line(s) 20,21 (click to see context) from:
"The Man of the Crowd" has been adapted to comic form thrice. The first is a straight adaptation published in ''Psycho'' #23. The second was published in ''Creepy'' #70 and constitutes a rewrite to explicitly portray the Man of the Crowd as a psychic vampire. The third is also a straight adaptation published by Creator/DarkHorseComics. The first feature film adaptation is ''O Homem das Multidões'' and three more short films exist. Of these, the 2008 adaptation mixes "The Man of the Crowd" with "Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado".
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"The Man of the Crowd" has been adapted to comic form thrice. The first is a straight adaptation published in ''Psycho'' #23. The second was published in ''Creepy'' #70 and constitutes a rewrite to explicitly portray the Man of the Crowd wanderer as a psychic vampire. The third is also a straight adaptation published by Creator/DarkHorseComics. The first feature film adaptation is ''O Homem das Multidões'' and three more short films exist. Of these, the 2008 adaptation mixes "The Man of the Crowd" with "Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado".
Changed line(s) 25,30 (click to see context) from:
* CharacterNarrator: Not only is the story told from the perspective of its protagonist, for the most part without the protagonist there would be no story. Over half of "The Man of the Crowd" is nothing but his observations of the city's population as they go about their day. The other semi-half could be an actual story, but just as likely the protagonist is attributing significance to what has none. Even if there is a story, however, the narrator comes no closer to its content than his own observations and he gives up before he receives answers.
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: The Man of the Crowd is almost hidden away in a "closely-buttoned and evidently second-handed roquelaire," though a rent in the fabric allows the narrator a glimpse at a diamond and a dagger. A roquelaire is a type of cloak, so the description evokes the "cloak and dagger"-motif.
* CueTheSun: The narrator chases the Man of the Crowd all throughout the night into the Londonian outskirts and when they return to downtown it is dawn and the area comes alive again with the citizens going about their business. Although the narrator continues to follow until evening falls, it is at dawn that he stops the detailed description of the pursuit and the mystery of the Man of the Crowd is effectively given up on.
* {{Epigraph}}: "The Man of the Crowd" opens with "Ce grand malheur, de ne pouvoir être seul," a quote ascribed to Jean de La Bruyère and found in ''The Characters''. This isn't the exact line, but a modification of "Tout notre mal vient de ne pouvoir être seuls," which Poe earlier quoted in "Metzengerstein" as "vient de ne pouvoir être seuls." The paraphrase means as much as "Such a great misfortune, not to be able to be alone," while the original line translates to about "All of our ills come from our inability to be alone." The epigraph relates to the nature of the Man of the Crowd, who despairs whenever he's not part of a crowd and by the protagonist's reasoning therefore is a being of evil.
* FlyingDutchman: One possible interpretation for the Man of the Crowd is that he's an eternal wanderer. The prime argument for this is that the narrator follows him for nearly 24 hours and all the Man of the Crowd does is seek out news crowds to join when his previous ones disperse. He has no apparent home and he doesn't grow tired. As to how he would've become an eternal wanderer, the dagger and diamond the Man of the Crowd has hidden beneath his roquelaire might be related.
* AFoggyDayInLondonTown: Right when the narrator goes to follow the Man of the Crowd through London's streets, "a thick humid fog" sets in, which eventually makes way for heavy rain. All the same, the fog is still bad enough that the narrator opts to tie a handkerchief about his mouth.
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: The Man of the Crowd is almost hidden away in a "closely-buttoned and evidently second-handed roquelaire," though a rent in the fabric allows the narrator a glimpse at a diamond and a dagger. A roquelaire is a type of cloak, so the description evokes the "cloak and dagger"-motif.
* CueTheSun: The narrator chases the Man of the Crowd all throughout the night into the Londonian outskirts and when they return to downtown it is dawn and the area comes alive again with the citizens going about their business. Although the narrator continues to follow until evening falls, it is at dawn that he stops the detailed description of the pursuit and the mystery of the Man of the Crowd is effectively given up on.
* {{Epigraph}}: "The Man of the Crowd" opens with "Ce grand malheur, de ne pouvoir être seul," a quote ascribed to Jean de La Bruyère and found in ''The Characters''. This isn't the exact line, but a modification of "Tout notre mal vient de ne pouvoir être seuls," which Poe earlier quoted in "Metzengerstein" as "vient de ne pouvoir être seuls." The paraphrase means as much as "Such a great misfortune, not to be able to be alone," while the original line translates to about "All of our ills come from our inability to be alone." The epigraph relates to the nature of the Man of the Crowd, who despairs whenever he's not part of a crowd and by the protagonist's reasoning therefore is a being of evil.
* FlyingDutchman: One possible interpretation for the Man of the Crowd is that he's an eternal wanderer. The prime argument for this is that the narrator follows him for nearly 24 hours and all the Man of the Crowd does is seek out news crowds to join when his previous ones disperse. He has no apparent home and he doesn't grow tired. As to how he would've become an eternal wanderer, the dagger and diamond the Man of the Crowd has hidden beneath his roquelaire might be related.
* AFoggyDayInLondonTown: Right when the narrator goes to follow the Man of the Crowd through London's streets, "a thick humid fog" sets in, which eventually makes way for heavy rain. All the same, the fog is still bad enough that the narrator opts to tie a handkerchief about his mouth.
to:
* CharacterNarrator: Not only is the story told from the perspective of its protagonist, for the most part without the protagonist there would be no story. Over half of "The Man of the Crowd" is nothing but his observations of the city's population as they go about their day. The other semi-half half could be an actual story, but just as likely the protagonist is attributing significance to what has none. Even if there is a story, however, the narrator comes no closer to its content than his own observations and he gives up before he receives answers.
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: TheMan of the Crowd wanderer is almost hidden away in a "closely-buttoned and evidently second-handed roquelaire," though a rent in the fabric allows the narrator a glimpse at a diamond and a dagger. A roquelaire is a type of cloak, so the description evokes the "cloak and dagger"-motif.
* CueTheSun: The narrator chases theMan of the Crowd wanderer all throughout the night into the Londonian outskirts and when they return to downtown it is dawn and the area comes alive again with the citizens going about their business. Although the narrator continues to follow until evening falls, it is at dawn that he stops the detailed description of the pursuit and the mystery of the Man of the Crowd wanderer is effectively given up on.
* {{Epigraph}}: "The Man of the Crowd" opens with "Ce grand malheur, de ne pouvoir être seul," a quote ascribed to Jean de La Bruyère and found in ''The Characters''. This isn't the exact line, but a modification of "Tout notre mal vient de ne pouvoir être seuls," which Poe earlier quoted in "Metzengerstein" as "vient de ne pouvoir être seuls." The paraphrase means as much as "Such a great misfortune, not to be able to be alone," while the original line translates to about "All of our ills come from our inability to be alone." The epigraph relates to the nature of theMan of the Crowd, wanderer, who despairs whenever he's not part of a crowd and by the protagonist's reasoning therefore is a being of evil.
* FlyingDutchman: One possible interpretation for theMan of the Crowd wanderer is that he's an eternal wanderer. The prime argument for this is that the narrator follows him for nearly 24 hours and all the Man of the Crowd wanderer does is seek out news crowds to join when his previous ones disperse. He has no apparent home and he doesn't grow tired. As to how he would've become an eternal wanderer, the dagger and diamond the Man of the Crowd wanderer has hidden beneath his roquelaire might be related.
* AFoggyDayInLondonTown: Right when the narrator goes to follow theMan of the Crowd wanderer through London's streets, "a a thick humid fog" fog sets in, which eventually makes way for heavy rain. All the same, the fog is still remains bad enough that the narrator opts to tie a handkerchief about his mouth.
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: The
* CueTheSun: The narrator chases the
* {{Epigraph}}: "The Man of the Crowd" opens with "Ce grand malheur, de ne pouvoir être seul," a quote ascribed to Jean de La Bruyère and found in ''The Characters''. This isn't the exact line, but a modification of "Tout notre mal vient de ne pouvoir être seuls," which Poe earlier quoted in "Metzengerstein" as "vient de ne pouvoir être seuls." The paraphrase means as much as "Such a great misfortune, not to be able to be alone," while the original line translates to about "All of our ills come from our inability to be alone." The epigraph relates to the nature of the
* FlyingDutchman: One possible interpretation for the
* AFoggyDayInLondonTown: Right when the narrator goes to follow the
Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
%%* HatesBeingAlone: The Man of the Crowd cannot stand to be alone and anything less than a crowd to disappear into makes him hesitant, despondent, anxious, and desperate. All in all, he acts as if his life is on the line. The speed with which he makes for other locations in London where he reasonably may expect a crowd to be confounds the narrator. I saw the old man gasp as if for breath while he threw himself amid the crowd;
to:
%%* HatesBeingAlone: The Man of the Crowd wanderer cannot stand to be alone and anything less than a crowd to disappear into makes him hesitant, despondent, anxious, and desperate. All in all, When on his own, he acts behaves as if his life is on the line. The speed with which he makes for other locations in London where he reasonably may expect a crowd to be confounds the narrator. I saw the old man gasp as if for breath while he threw himself amid the crowd;
Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: There are many peculiarities about the Man of the Crowd. They may be signs of the supernatural, but just as likely his oddness is perfectly explainable. There is only one peculiarity, by necessity revealed at the end of the story, that is in favor of the supernatural. After following the Man of the Crowd for nearly 24 hours, the narrator is exhausted and ceases his pursuit. The Man of the Crowd, however, is none the worse for wear and keeps going.
to:
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: There are many peculiarities about the Man of the Crowd. They wanderer. These may be signs of the supernatural, but just as likely his oddness is perfectly explainable. There is only one peculiarity, by necessity revealed at the end of the story, peculiarity that is in favor of the supernatural. After following the Man of the Crowd wanderer for nearly 24 hours, the narrator is exhausted and ceases his pursuit. The Man of the Crowd, wanderer, however, is none the worse for wear and keeps going.
Changed line(s) 36,37 (click to see context) from:
%%* ShoutOut:
** "The Man of the Crowd" opens and closes with a refence to the ''Hortulus Animæ'', which Poe describes as a book that doesn't allow itself to be read ("er lasst sich nicht lesen").
** "The Man of the Crowd" opens and closes with a refence to the ''Hortulus Animæ'', which Poe describes as a book that doesn't allow itself to be read ("er lasst sich nicht lesen").
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** "The Man of the Crowd" opens and closes with
Changed line(s) 39,40 (click to see context) from:
%%* SpellMyNameWithABlank: The narrator is staying in the D—— Hotel in London.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The second half of "The Man of the Crowd" is a near-24 hour pursuit of the Man of the Crowd by the narrator. The narrator is fascinated by the man's unsettling and contrary appearance and eventually his behavior. He seeks to discover the man's identity and motivations, but finds only secrecy that is beyond him to crack.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The second half of "The Man of the Crowd" is a near-24 hour pursuit of the Man of the Crowd by the narrator. The narrator is fascinated by the man's unsettling and contrary appearance and eventually his behavior. He seeks to discover the man's identity and motivations, but finds only secrecy that is beyond him to crack.
to:
** The narrator describes the wanderer as having the kind of face that Retzsch would have preferred over his own depiction of the fiend. Friedrich August Moritz Retzsch was a graphic artist known in particular for his illustrations to ''Theatre/{{Faust}}''.
* SpellMyNameWithABlank: The narrator is staying in the D—— Hotel in
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The second half of "The Man of the Crowd" is a near-24 hour pursuit of the
Changed line(s) 42,43 (click to see context) from:
* UnreliableNarrator: Precious little is revealed about the narrator himself. It follows that he's male, he's educated, and he does not belong to any of the categories of people he observes in the streets. More emphasis is given to the fact that he's only just recovered from a months-long illness and now finds himself in a state of high energy where "merely to breathe [is] enjoyment" and he "derive[s] positive pleasure even from many of the legitimate sources of pain". Later, he isn't bothered by the rain because "the lurking of an old fever in [his] system [renders] the moisture somewhat too dangerously pleasant." His obsession with the Man of the Crowd is therefore not something that necessarily comes from a healthy mind and it's furthermore possible to read the Man of the Crowd's ongoing search for crowds as a means to evade the narrator who is stalking him.
* WhamShot: The narrator regularly makes assertions that the Man of the Crowd doesn't notice him and that this is due to the narrator's own skills and the occasional luck. Within eight paragraphs, five lines relate to this belief. In the final paragraph, the narrator reaches the end of his rope when after following the Man of the Crowd for nearly 24 hours he is barely closer to knowing anything about him. Marking the sixth line, the narrator throws caution to the wind and stands still in front of the wanderer. The Man of the Crowd does not regard him and walks past, as people in crowds do.
* WhamShot: The narrator regularly makes assertions that the Man of the Crowd doesn't notice him and that this is due to the narrator's own skills and the occasional luck. Within eight paragraphs, five lines relate to this belief. In the final paragraph, the narrator reaches the end of his rope when after following the Man of the Crowd for nearly 24 hours he is barely closer to knowing anything about him. Marking the sixth line, the narrator throws caution to the wind and stands still in front of the wanderer. The Man of the Crowd does not regard him and walks past, as people in crowds do.
to:
* UnreliableNarrator: Precious little is revealed about the narrator himself. It follows that he's male, he's educated, and he does not belong to any of the categories of people he observes in the streets. More emphasis is given to the fact that he's only just recovered from a months-long illness and now finds himself in a state of high energy where "merely to breathe [is] enjoyment" and he "derive[s] positive pleasure even from many of the legitimate sources of pain". Later, he isn't bothered by the rain because "the lurking of an old fever in [his] system [renders] the moisture somewhat too dangerously pleasant." His obsession with the Man of the Crowd wanderer is therefore not something that necessarily comes from a healthy mind and it's furthermore possible to read the Man of the Crowd's wanderer's ongoing search for crowds as a means to evade the narrator who is stalking him.
narrator.
* WhamShot: The narrator regularly makes assertions that theMan of the Crowd wanderer doesn't notice him and that this is due to the narrator's own skills and the occasional luck. Within eight paragraphs, five lines relate to this belief. In the final paragraph, the narrator reaches the end of his rope when after following the Man of the Crowd wanderer for nearly 24 hours he is barely closer to knowing anything about him. Marking the sixth line, the narrator throws caution to the wind and stands still in front of the wanderer. The Man of the Crowd wanderer does not regard him and walks past, as people in crowds do.
* WhamShot: The narrator regularly makes assertions that the
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Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
%%* HatesBeingAlone: The Man of the Crowd cannot stand to be alone and anything less than a crowd to disappear into makes him hesitant, despondent, anxious, and jittery. All in all, he acts as if his life is on the line. The speed with which he makes for other locations in London where he reasonably may expect a crowd to be confounds the narrator. I saw the old man gasp as if for breath while he threw himself amid the crowd;
to:
%%* HatesBeingAlone: The Man of the Crowd cannot stand to be alone and anything less than a crowd to disappear into makes him hesitant, despondent, anxious, and jittery.desperate. All in all, he acts as if his life is on the line. The speed with which he makes for other locations in London where he reasonably may expect a crowd to be confounds the narrator. I saw the old man gasp as if for breath while he threw himself amid the crowd;
Deleted line(s) 41 (click to see context) :
%%* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: "I at length came within sight of him, approached, and followed him closely, yet cautiously, so as not to attract his attention.", "Never once turning his head to look back, he did not observe me." "once nearly detecting me as he came round with a sudden movement. " "it required much caution on my part to keep him within reach without attracting his observation." "At no moment did he see that I watched him.'
Changed line(s) 43 (click to see context) from:
* UnreliableNarrator: Precious little is revealed about the narrator himself. It follows that he's male, he's educated, and he does not belong to any of the categories of people he observes in the streets. More emphasis is given to the fact that he's only just recovered from a months-long illness and now finds himself in a state of high energy where "merely to breathe [is] enjoyment" and he "derive[s] positive pleasure even from many of the legitimate sources of pain". Later, he isn't bothered by the rain because "the lurking of an old fever in [his] system [renders] the moisture somewhat too dangerously pleasant." His obsession with the Man of the Crowd is therefore not something that necessarily comes from a healthy mind and it's furthermore possible to read the Man of the Crowd's ongoing search for crowds as a means to evade the narrator who is stalking him.
to:
* UnreliableNarrator: Precious little is revealed about the narrator himself. It follows that he's male, he's educated, and he does not belong to any of the categories of people he observes in the streets. More emphasis is given to the fact that he's only just recovered from a months-long illness and now finds himself in a state of high energy where "merely to breathe [is] enjoyment" and he "derive[s] positive pleasure even from many of the legitimate sources of pain". Later, he isn't bothered by the rain because "the lurking of an old fever in [his] system [renders] the moisture somewhat too dangerously pleasant." His obsession with the Man of the Crowd is therefore not something that necessarily comes from a healthy mind and it's furthermore possible to read the Man of the Crowd's ongoing search for crowds as a means to evade the narrator who is stalking him.him.
* WhamShot: The narrator regularly makes assertions that the Man of the Crowd doesn't notice him and that this is due to the narrator's own skills and the occasional luck. Within eight paragraphs, five lines relate to this belief. In the final paragraph, the narrator reaches the end of his rope when after following the Man of the Crowd for nearly 24 hours he is barely closer to knowing anything about him. Marking the sixth line, the narrator throws caution to the wind and stands still in front of the wanderer. The Man of the Crowd does not regard him and walks past, as people in crowds do.
* WhamShot: The narrator regularly makes assertions that the Man of the Crowd doesn't notice him and that this is due to the narrator's own skills and the occasional luck. Within eight paragraphs, five lines relate to this belief. In the final paragraph, the narrator reaches the end of his rope when after following the Man of the Crowd for nearly 24 hours he is barely closer to knowing anything about him. Marking the sixth line, the narrator throws caution to the wind and stands still in front of the wanderer. The Man of the Crowd does not regard him and walks past, as people in crowds do.
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Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
%%* HatesBeingAlone:
to:
%%* HatesBeingAlone: The Man of the Crowd cannot stand to be alone and anything less than a crowd to disappear into makes him hesitant, despondent, anxious, and jittery. All in all, he acts as if his life is on the line. The speed with which he makes for other locations in London where he reasonably may expect a crowd to be confounds the narrator. I saw the old man gasp as if for breath while he threw himself amid the crowd;
** "The Man of the Crowd" opens and closes with a refence to the ''Hortulus Animæ'', which Poe describes as a book that doesn't allow itself to be read ("er lasst sich nicht lesen").
** Poe compares beautiful women in their prime with "the statue in Lucian, with the surface of Parian marble, and the interior filled with filth." This is a reference to the Aphrodite of Knidos, one of the first life-sized representations of the nude female form in Greek history and a predecessor to all other nude Aphrodite/Venus statues. The statue is famously described in Lucian's ''Erotes''. The filth-filled interior refers to the story of a man who used the statue as a sex toy, which left a permanent stain on the statue's leg.
** Poe compares beautiful women in their prime with "the statue in Lucian, with the surface of Parian marble, and the interior filled with filth." This is a reference to the Aphrodite of Knidos, one of the first life-sized representations of the nude female form in Greek history and a predecessor to all other nude Aphrodite/Venus statues. The statue is famously described in Lucian's ''Erotes''. The filth-filled interior refers to the story of a man who used the statue as a sex toy, which left a permanent stain on the statue's leg.
Changed line(s) 38,40 (click to see context) from:
%%* StalkerWithoutACrush:
%%* TitleDrop:
* UnreliableNarrator: Precious little is revealed about the narrator himself. It follows that he's male, he's educated, and he does not belong to any of the categories of people he observes in the streets. More emphasis is given to the fact that he's only just recovered from a months-long illness and now finds himself in a state of high energy where "merely to breathe [is] enjoyment" and he "derive[s] positive pleasure even from many of the legitimate sources of pain". His obsession with the Man of the Crowd is therefore not something that necessarily comes from a healthy mind and it's furthermore possible to read the Man of the Crowd's ongoing search for crowds as a means to evade the narrator who is stalking him.
%%* TitleDrop:
* UnreliableNarrator: Precious little is revealed about the narrator himself. It follows that he's male, he's educated, and he does not belong to any of the categories of people he observes in the streets. More emphasis is given to the fact that he's only just recovered from a months-long illness and now finds himself in a state of high energy where "merely to breathe [is] enjoyment" and he "derive[s] positive pleasure even from many of the legitimate sources of pain". His obsession with the Man of the Crowd is therefore not something that necessarily comes from a healthy mind and it's furthermore possible to read the Man of the Crowd's ongoing search for crowds as a means to evade the narrator who is stalking him.
to:
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The second half of "The Man of the Crowd" is a near-24 hour pursuit of the Man of the Crowd by the narrator. The narrator is fascinated by the man's unsettling and contrary appearance and eventually his behavior. He seeks to discover the man's identity and motivations, but finds only secrecy that is beyond him to crack.
%%*StalkerWithoutACrush:
%%* TitleDrop:
SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: "I at length came within sight of him, approached, and followed him closely, yet cautiously, so as not to attract his attention.", "Never once turning his head to look back, he did not observe me." "once nearly detecting me as he came round with a sudden movement. " "it required much caution on my part to keep him within reach without attracting his observation." "At no moment did he see that I watched him.'
* TitleDrop: In the final lines, the narrator gives up his pursuit of the wanderer and draws a conclusion about his identity based on what is all he'll ever learn of him. He believes him to be "the type and the genius of deep crime" and deems him "the man of the crowd."
* UnreliableNarrator: Precious little is revealed about the narrator himself. It follows that he's male, he's educated, and he does not belong to any of the categories of people he observes in the streets. More emphasis is given to the fact that he's only just recovered from a months-long illness and now finds himself in a state of high energy where "merely to breathe [is] enjoyment" and he "derive[s] positive pleasure even from many of the legitimate sources of pain". Later, he isn't bothered by the rain because "the lurking of an old fever in [his] system [renders] the moisture somewhat too dangerously pleasant." His obsession with the Man of the Crowd is therefore not something that necessarily comes from a healthy mind and it's furthermore possible to read the Man of the Crowd's ongoing search for crowds as a means to evade the narrator who is stalking him.
%%*
%%* TitleDrop:
* TitleDrop: In the final lines, the narrator gives up his pursuit of the wanderer and draws a conclusion about his identity based on what is all he'll ever learn of him. He believes him to be "the type and the genius of deep crime" and deems him "the man of the crowd."
* UnreliableNarrator: Precious little is revealed about the narrator himself. It follows that he's male, he's educated, and he does not belong to any of the categories of people he observes in the streets. More emphasis is given to the fact that he's only just recovered from a months-long illness and now finds himself in a state of high energy where "merely to breathe [is] enjoyment" and he "derive[s] positive pleasure even from many of the legitimate sources of pain". Later, he isn't bothered by the rain because "the lurking of an old fever in [his] system [renders] the moisture somewhat too dangerously pleasant." His obsession with the Man of the Crowd is therefore not something that necessarily comes from a healthy mind and it's furthermore possible to read the Man of the Crowd's ongoing search for crowds as a means to evade the narrator who is stalking him.
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Changed line(s) 5 (click to see context) from:
[[caption-width-right:350:Became a lot less interested in crowdfunding when he learned it isn't what he thought it to be.]]
to:
[[caption-width-right:350:Became a lot less interested in crowdfunding when he learned it isn't what he thought assumed it to be.]]
Changed line(s) 7 (click to see context) from:
->His clothes, generally, were filthy and ragged; but as he came, now and then, within the strong glare of a lamp, I perceived that his linen, although dirty, was of beautiful texture; and my vision deceived me, or, through a rent in a closely-buttoned and evidently second-handed roquelaire which enveloped him, I caught a glimpse both of a diamond and of a dagger.
to:
Changed line(s) 25 (click to see context) from:
%%* CharacterNarrator:
to:
Changed line(s) 28,29 (click to see context) from:
* {{Epigraph}}: "The Man of the Crowd" opens with "Ce grand malheur, de ne pouvoir être seul," a line ascribed to Jean de La Bruyère, but which
%%* FlyingDutchman:
%%* FlyingDutchman:
to:
* {{Epigraph}}: "The Man of the Crowd" opens with "Ce grand malheur, de ne pouvoir être seul," a line quote ascribed to Jean de La Bruyère, Bruyère and found in ''The Characters''. This isn't the exact line, but which
%%*a modification of "Tout notre mal vient de ne pouvoir être seuls," which Poe earlier quoted in "Metzengerstein" as "vient de ne pouvoir être seuls." The paraphrase means as much as "Such a great misfortune, not to be able to be alone," while the original line translates to about "All of our ills come from our inability to be alone." The epigraph relates to the nature of the Man of the Crowd, who despairs whenever he's not part of a crowd and by the protagonist's reasoning therefore is a being of evil.
* FlyingDutchman: One possible interpretation for the Man of the Crowd is that he's an eternal wanderer. The prime argument for this is that the narrator follows him for nearly 24 hours and all the Man of the Crowd does is seek out news crowds to join when his previous ones disperse. He has no apparent home and he doesn't grow tired. As to how he would've become an eternal wanderer, the dagger and diamond the Man of the Crowd has hidden beneath his roquelaire might be related.
* AFoggyDayInLondonTown: Right when the narrator goes to follow the Man of the Crowd through London's streets, "a thick humid fog" sets in, which eventually makes way for heavy rain. All the same, the fog is still bad enough that the narrator opts to tie a handkerchief about his mouth.
%%*
* FlyingDutchman: One possible interpretation for the Man of the Crowd is that he's an eternal wanderer. The prime argument for this is that the narrator follows him for nearly 24 hours and all the Man of the Crowd does is seek out news crowds to join when his previous ones disperse. He has no apparent home and he doesn't grow tired. As to how he would've become an eternal wanderer, the dagger and diamond the Man of the Crowd has hidden beneath his roquelaire might be related.
* AFoggyDayInLondonTown: Right when the narrator goes to follow the Man of the Crowd through London's streets, "a thick humid fog" sets in, which eventually makes way for heavy rain. All the same, the fog is still bad enough that the narrator opts to tie a handkerchief about his mouth.
Added DiffLines:
%%* TitleDrop:
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Added DiffLines:
%%
%% Image by Fritz Eichenberg from the 1944 Random House Inc edition of "Tales of Edgar Allan Poe".
%%
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/feichenbergart_themanofthecrowd.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Became a lot less interested in crowdfunding when he learned it isn't what he thought it to be.]]
%%
->His clothes, generally, were filthy and ragged; but as he came, now and then, within the strong glare of a lamp, I perceived that his linen, although dirty, was of beautiful texture; and my vision deceived me, or, through a rent in a closely-buttoned and evidently second-handed roquelaire which enveloped him, I caught a glimpse both of a diamond and of a dagger.
-->--The narrator's main description of the Man of the Crowd.[[note]]In the ''Atkinson's Casket'' version only, the glimpse is of either a diamond or a dagger.[[/note]]
"The Man of the Crowd" is a ShortStory by Creator/EdgarAllanPoe penned in November 1840. It premiered simultaneously in the December 1840 issues of ''Atkinson's Casket'' and ''Burton's Gentleman's Magazine'' in anticipation of their merging into ''Graham's Magazine'' later that month. "The Man of the Crowd" was first published in book form when Poe included it in his ''Tales'' collection in 1845.
During the late 1830s, Poe had a high output of supernatural horror stories and "The Man of the Crowd" is regarded as among that line-up. It also has elements of DetectiveFiction and may be considered a precursor to "[[Literature/CAugusteDupin The Murders in the Rue Morgue]]", which was first published in April 1841. "The Man of the Crowd" is thus a transitional hybrid of the two genres and the story actually has two distinct halves. For the first twelve paragraphs, the narrator sits alone deducing the identities and natures of the people passing by on the street. Hereafter, the narrator spots the mysterious Man of the Crowd and obsessively follows him for nearly 24 hours as the man, without loss of energy, only ever seeks out new crowds to join.
Seated at the window of the D— Coffee-House, part of the D—Hotel in London, the narrator is subject to an unusual sense of personal energy stemming from his recent recovery from a months-long illness. As the evening proceeds, he observes the people walking by and makes a game out of identifying their positions in life. The more into the night, the rougher the elements that make up the crowd until the narrator spots one man whom he can't categorize except that he'd make an excellent visage for the devil. Intrigued, the narrator stalks the man to see where he's headed. But for all the hours until the next evening that the narrator follows along, the man doesn't go anywhere except where there are crowds. Once the workers have petered out of the streets, he heads for the late-night bazaar, then for the masses leaving the theaters, then for the outskirts where the bars are open until dawn, then back to downtown where the workers once more head out. The narrator gives up at this point, concluding that he'll learn nothing more and that the evil the man hides is best left undisclosed.
There are many ways to interpret the Man of the Crowd as well as the narrator and the story's genre duality does nothing to make one more likely than the other. It might be that the Man of the Crowd is an [[FlyingDutchman eternal wanderer]], cursed by an alluded-to crime. Or he is a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent psychic vampire]] that feeds on the energy of multiple people at once. He might be the embodiment of the city both in his apparent sole existence as crowd filler and as the quintessential holder of secrets. Rationally, the man could be just an earthly crook in the midst of criminal dealings. It's also been proposed that the Man of the Crowd is a {{doppelganger}} to the narrator or that the narrator himself is the doppelganger. Because the Man of the Crowd's alluded-to crime and the narrator's sickness could have happened concurrently, the narrator may be the Man of the Crowd's guilt haunting him. Or, given that the narrator by his own admission is not in a right state of mind, it might be that the Man of the Crowd's refusal to go home and his need to be in a crowd is just his way of keeping himself safe from that creep that's stalking him.
Because "The Man of the Crowd" directly precedes "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" in the detective genre, its narrator may also retroactively be interpreted as being Dupin or his unnamed companion. In any case, the fact that the narrator is staying at a hotel suggests he's not a Londoner.
"The Man of the Crowd" has been adapted to comic form thrice. The first is a straight adaptation published in ''Psycho'' #23. The second was published in ''Creepy'' #70 and constitutes a rewrite to explicitly portray the Man of the Crowd as a psychic vampire. The third is also a straight adaptation published by Creator/DarkHorseComics. The first feature film adaptation is ''O Homem das Multidões'' and three more short films exist. Of these, the 2008 adaptation mixes "The Man of the Crowd" with "Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado".
----
!! "The Man of the Crowd" provides examples of the following tropes:
%%* CharacterNarrator:
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: The Man of the Crowd is almost hidden away in a "closely-buttoned and evidently second-handed roquelaire," though a rent in the fabric allows the narrator a glimpse at a diamond and a dagger. A roquelaire is a type of cloak, so the description evokes the "cloak and dagger"-motif.
* CueTheSun: The narrator chases the Man of the Crowd all throughout the night into the Londonian outskirts and when they return to downtown it is dawn and the area comes alive again with the citizens going about their business. Although the narrator continues to follow until evening falls, it is at dawn that he stops the detailed description of the pursuit and the mystery of the Man of the Crowd is effectively given up on.
* {{Epigraph}}: "The Man of the Crowd" opens with "Ce grand malheur, de ne pouvoir être seul," a line ascribed to Jean de La Bruyère, but which
%%* FlyingDutchman:
* GreedyJew: The people-watching narrator mentions the "Jew pedlars" he sees on the street, who have flashing "hawk eyes" that betray the humble facade they affect. The narrator ranks them among society's lesser people along street beggars, invalids, women, and drunkards.
%%* HatesBeingAlone:
%%* HiddenInPlainSight:
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: There are many peculiarities about the Man of the Crowd. They may be signs of the supernatural, but just as likely his oddness is perfectly explainable. There is only one peculiarity, by necessity revealed at the end of the story, that is in favor of the supernatural. After following the Man of the Crowd for nearly 24 hours, the narrator is exhausted and ceases his pursuit. The Man of the Crowd, however, is none the worse for wear and keeps going.
%%* ObviouslyEvil:
%%* ShoutOut:
%%* SpellMyNameWithABlank: The narrator is staying in the D—— Hotel in London.
%%* StalkerWithoutACrush:
* UnreliableNarrator: Precious little is revealed about the narrator himself. It follows that he's male, he's educated, and he does not belong to any of the categories of people he observes in the streets. More emphasis is given to the fact that he's only just recovered from a months-long illness and now finds himself in a state of high energy where "merely to breathe [is] enjoyment" and he "derive[s] positive pleasure even from many of the legitimate sources of pain". His obsession with the Man of the Crowd is therefore not something that necessarily comes from a healthy mind and it's furthermore possible to read the Man of the Crowd's ongoing search for crowds as a means to evade the narrator who is stalking him.
%% Image by Fritz Eichenberg from the 1944 Random House Inc edition of "Tales of Edgar Allan Poe".
%%
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/feichenbergart_themanofthecrowd.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Became a lot less interested in crowdfunding when he learned it isn't what he thought it to be.]]
%%
->His clothes, generally, were filthy and ragged; but as he came, now and then, within the strong glare of a lamp, I perceived that his linen, although dirty, was of beautiful texture; and my vision deceived me, or, through a rent in a closely-buttoned and evidently second-handed roquelaire which enveloped him, I caught a glimpse both of a diamond and of a dagger.
-->--The narrator's main description of the Man of the Crowd.[[note]]In the ''Atkinson's Casket'' version only, the glimpse is of either a diamond or a dagger.[[/note]]
"The Man of the Crowd" is a ShortStory by Creator/EdgarAllanPoe penned in November 1840. It premiered simultaneously in the December 1840 issues of ''Atkinson's Casket'' and ''Burton's Gentleman's Magazine'' in anticipation of their merging into ''Graham's Magazine'' later that month. "The Man of the Crowd" was first published in book form when Poe included it in his ''Tales'' collection in 1845.
During the late 1830s, Poe had a high output of supernatural horror stories and "The Man of the Crowd" is regarded as among that line-up. It also has elements of DetectiveFiction and may be considered a precursor to "[[Literature/CAugusteDupin The Murders in the Rue Morgue]]", which was first published in April 1841. "The Man of the Crowd" is thus a transitional hybrid of the two genres and the story actually has two distinct halves. For the first twelve paragraphs, the narrator sits alone deducing the identities and natures of the people passing by on the street. Hereafter, the narrator spots the mysterious Man of the Crowd and obsessively follows him for nearly 24 hours as the man, without loss of energy, only ever seeks out new crowds to join.
Seated at the window of the D— Coffee-House, part of the D—Hotel in London, the narrator is subject to an unusual sense of personal energy stemming from his recent recovery from a months-long illness. As the evening proceeds, he observes the people walking by and makes a game out of identifying their positions in life. The more into the night, the rougher the elements that make up the crowd until the narrator spots one man whom he can't categorize except that he'd make an excellent visage for the devil. Intrigued, the narrator stalks the man to see where he's headed. But for all the hours until the next evening that the narrator follows along, the man doesn't go anywhere except where there are crowds. Once the workers have petered out of the streets, he heads for the late-night bazaar, then for the masses leaving the theaters, then for the outskirts where the bars are open until dawn, then back to downtown where the workers once more head out. The narrator gives up at this point, concluding that he'll learn nothing more and that the evil the man hides is best left undisclosed.
There are many ways to interpret the Man of the Crowd as well as the narrator and the story's genre duality does nothing to make one more likely than the other. It might be that the Man of the Crowd is an [[FlyingDutchman eternal wanderer]], cursed by an alluded-to crime. Or he is a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent psychic vampire]] that feeds on the energy of multiple people at once. He might be the embodiment of the city both in his apparent sole existence as crowd filler and as the quintessential holder of secrets. Rationally, the man could be just an earthly crook in the midst of criminal dealings. It's also been proposed that the Man of the Crowd is a {{doppelganger}} to the narrator or that the narrator himself is the doppelganger. Because the Man of the Crowd's alluded-to crime and the narrator's sickness could have happened concurrently, the narrator may be the Man of the Crowd's guilt haunting him. Or, given that the narrator by his own admission is not in a right state of mind, it might be that the Man of the Crowd's refusal to go home and his need to be in a crowd is just his way of keeping himself safe from that creep that's stalking him.
Because "The Man of the Crowd" directly precedes "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" in the detective genre, its narrator may also retroactively be interpreted as being Dupin or his unnamed companion. In any case, the fact that the narrator is staying at a hotel suggests he's not a Londoner.
"The Man of the Crowd" has been adapted to comic form thrice. The first is a straight adaptation published in ''Psycho'' #23. The second was published in ''Creepy'' #70 and constitutes a rewrite to explicitly portray the Man of the Crowd as a psychic vampire. The third is also a straight adaptation published by Creator/DarkHorseComics. The first feature film adaptation is ''O Homem das Multidões'' and three more short films exist. Of these, the 2008 adaptation mixes "The Man of the Crowd" with "Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado".
----
!! "The Man of the Crowd" provides examples of the following tropes:
%%* CharacterNarrator:
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: The Man of the Crowd is almost hidden away in a "closely-buttoned and evidently second-handed roquelaire," though a rent in the fabric allows the narrator a glimpse at a diamond and a dagger. A roquelaire is a type of cloak, so the description evokes the "cloak and dagger"-motif.
* CueTheSun: The narrator chases the Man of the Crowd all throughout the night into the Londonian outskirts and when they return to downtown it is dawn and the area comes alive again with the citizens going about their business. Although the narrator continues to follow until evening falls, it is at dawn that he stops the detailed description of the pursuit and the mystery of the Man of the Crowd is effectively given up on.
* {{Epigraph}}: "The Man of the Crowd" opens with "Ce grand malheur, de ne pouvoir être seul," a line ascribed to Jean de La Bruyère, but which
%%* FlyingDutchman:
* GreedyJew: The people-watching narrator mentions the "Jew pedlars" he sees on the street, who have flashing "hawk eyes" that betray the humble facade they affect. The narrator ranks them among society's lesser people along street beggars, invalids, women, and drunkards.
%%* HatesBeingAlone:
%%* HiddenInPlainSight:
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: There are many peculiarities about the Man of the Crowd. They may be signs of the supernatural, but just as likely his oddness is perfectly explainable. There is only one peculiarity, by necessity revealed at the end of the story, that is in favor of the supernatural. After following the Man of the Crowd for nearly 24 hours, the narrator is exhausted and ceases his pursuit. The Man of the Crowd, however, is none the worse for wear and keeps going.
%%* ObviouslyEvil:
%%* ShoutOut:
%%* SpellMyNameWithABlank: The narrator is staying in the D—— Hotel in London.
%%* StalkerWithoutACrush:
* UnreliableNarrator: Precious little is revealed about the narrator himself. It follows that he's male, he's educated, and he does not belong to any of the categories of people he observes in the streets. More emphasis is given to the fact that he's only just recovered from a months-long illness and now finds himself in a state of high energy where "merely to breathe [is] enjoyment" and he "derive[s] positive pleasure even from many of the legitimate sources of pain". His obsession with the Man of the Crowd is therefore not something that necessarily comes from a healthy mind and it's furthermore possible to read the Man of the Crowd's ongoing search for crowds as a means to evade the narrator who is stalking him.