Footnotes to the TV series
LORELAI: That reminds me – Yale, best drama school bar none. Put that in the pro column.
The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, founded in 1924, and providing training in theatre arts. It is a partner of the Yale Repertory Theatre, and is ranked as one of the very best theatre conservatories in the US. The Juilliard School in New York is usually said to be the best of all, however.
RORY: He was a troubled man. He enjoyed a little bit too much of the hmm-hmm. [makes a drinking gesture]
Edgar Allan Poe has been described as a drunkard or an alcoholic, but many of these stories about him were spread by his rivals and enemies. He did sometimes drink too much, and didn’t handle alcohol very well (so that even a little was probably too much for him), but it was often months or even years between bouts of drinking. He might perhaps be best described as a binge drinker. It is sometimes speculated that alcohol played some part in his death, but this cannot be verified.
LORELAI: [quietly to Rory] That Poe was downright funalicious.
Funalicious, American slang, meaning “excitingly fun”. A portmanteau word combining “fun” with “delicious”.
[A man dressed as Poe is reciting The Raven at the front of the room.]
“The Raven”, narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe. Noted for its musicality, stylised language, and supernatural atmosphere, it tells of a distraught lover who is paid a mysterious visit by a talking raven. The poem makes use of folk, mythological, religious, and classical references.
“The Raven” was first attributed to Poe in print in the New York Evening Mirror in 845. Its publication made Poe popular in his lifetime, although it did not bring him much financial success. Critical opinion is divided as to the poem’s literary status, but it nevertheless remains one of the most famous poems ever written.
MANAGER: [to Luke]Hey. Saw you jawboning with our boy there.
Jawboning, informal American English meaning to influence or pressure by strong persuasion, usually used in a political context. Luke wasn’t really doing anything like that with Jess, so either the manager is being very protective of his star worker, or he is confusing the word with jawing, meaning “to talk, to scold”.
MANAGER: You know him as a trooper, our Mr. Reliable. The first time this young man sat down on that forklift, well, it was like an extension of himself. And yeah, he’s not one for small talk, but this boy’s production is out of sight. It’s Jess Mariano everybody.
We’ve only ever seen adults angry and disappointed with Jess, but here we discover that Jess is thriving in his job at Wal-Mart, the manager describing him as “Mr Reliable”. A hard worker and capable forklift operator, who is always ready to cover the shifts of other workers if they call in sick, he is a valauble member of the team. The manager is aware that Jess isn’t much of a talker, but his taciturn manner doesn’t offend anyone here – he more than makes up for it with his work ethic.
It’s another side to Jess that perhaps doesn’t come as much of a surprise, he’s never been afraid of hard work that comes with a pay packet, but is nice to see him being appreciated for once.
LORELAI: You said you were with the Poe Society.
FRED: Yeah, but it’s just a hobby. We’re not Trekkies.
Trekkies, previously discussed.
In this episode, the Poe Society members seem to be exactly like Trekkies!
LORELAI: Well, welcome to the Independence Inn. There will be a complimentary cask of amontillado on the table in your room, and if you’re expecting your friends Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, I’ll send up another one.
Lorelai references two other short stories by Poe here:
“The Cask of Amontillado” is set in an unnamed Italian city at carnival time, and is about a man taking revenge on a friend who, he believes, has insulted him. Like several of Poe’s stories, and in keeping with the 19th-century fascination with the subject, the narrative follows a person being buried alive – in this case, by trapping him in the family vaults, which serve as catacombs. As in “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe conveys the story from the murderer’s perspective. The story was first published in Godey’s Lady’s Book in 1846.
“The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether” is a dark comedy short story which centres on a naïve and unnamed narrator’s visit to a mental asylum in the southern provinces of France, where staff and patients have exchanged roles. It was first published in Graham’s Magazine in November 1845.
LORELAI: Okay, I’ve got you right here. Well, once again, welcome, and let me assure you there are no human body parts buried in the floor of your room to keep you awake tonight. Sound good?
MR. HATLESTAD: I guess …
LORELAI: The Tell-Tale Heart. That’s a Poe story. Did they not get that?
“The Tell-Tale Heart”, a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It is related by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator’s sanity while simultaneously describing a murder of an old man the narrator committed.
The narrator emphasizes the careful calculation of the murder, attempting the perfect crime, complete with dismembering the body in the bathtub and hiding it under the floorboards. Ultimately, the narrator’s actions result in hearing a thumping sound, which the narrator interprets as the dead man’s beating heart.
The story was first published in The Pioneer in 1843. It is considered a classic of Gothic fiction, and is one of Poe’s best known short stories.
LORELAI: Oh, is this everyone from the Edgar Allan Poe Society?
The Edgar Allen Poe Society was established in Baltimore, Maryland on January 19 1923, the 114th anniversary of Poe’s birth. Their headquarters are The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, which was the home of Poe during the 1830s. The Poe Society are all volunteers who aim to provide educational resources on the author, and are not as quirky as this episode portrays. Perhaps the ones in this episode are a different Edgar Allan Poe Society.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 