An encounter with the devil

If The Man who was Used up and The Spectacles constitute a single block in terms of subject and structure, a further grouping can be formed by two other humorous stories: Bon Bon and Le Duc de l’Omelette. These two stories are, in fact, united by the topic: the encounter with the devil, a situation that is certainly more in keeping with Poe’s inspiration. It seems, in fact, that even when he proposes to make people laugh, Poe feels more at home in the world of larvae than in the living rooms and theaters of everyday life.