One may ponder the significance of materialistic wealth to humans—how it may or may not sculpt an individual's life— or the one ultimate destiny that accompanies mankind. Shelley’s The Mortal Immortal: A Tale portrays the value of physical riches to society, while also showing the inevitability of human decease with Winzy, as he witnesses those he loves facing their destiny with death, causing him emotional pain and suffering. Poe’s The Red Masque expresses how human mortality cannot be prolonged even by the wealthy, causing all the individuals at Prince Prospero’s masquerade to be taken by the plague, known as the “Red Death”. Tolstoy’s How Much Land Does a Man Need? emphasizes the consequences of human greed for tangible possessions with
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Winzy loves Bertha, but due to poverty he is in, he is unable to marry her, he claims that he is “‘too poor to marry’” (Shelley 42), showing the importance of riches in their society. Bertha sets aside the value of wealth to society when she begs Winzy to let her “‘leave the detested luxuries and wretchedness’” of her wealthy abode (Shelley 46); she wants to be in “‘poverty and happiness’” (Shelley 46). She associates poverty to joy due to her ability to find delight in the intangible aspect of life, in her situation, it is the love shared between her and Winzy. Shelley’s story contains a contradiction: a mortal immortal. While Winzy is immortal, he is also mortal: the potion he drank is unable to “‘proof against fire—sword— and the strangling waters’” (Shelley 52). Humanity’s bind to death is expressed when Winzy exclaims, “‘My habitual credence was, that I should meet the face of all the children of Adam at my appointed time—a little late, but still at a natural age’” (Shelley 48). He describes death’s relationship to life as a “‘mysterious, ill-visaged friend of weak humanity’” (Shelley 51). Mankind is described as an enigma: “‘born to perish’” (Shelley 52). Death remains a mystery to man, but there is one known fact: it is
Winzy loves Bertha, but due to poverty he is in, he is unable to marry her, he claims that he is “‘too poor to marry’” (Shelley 42), showing the importance of riches in their society. Bertha sets aside the value of wealth to society when she begs Winzy to let her “‘leave the detested luxuries and wretchedness’” of her wealthy abode (Shelley 46); she wants to be in “‘poverty and happiness’” (Shelley 46). She associates poverty to joy due to her ability to find delight in the intangible aspect of life, in her situation, it is the love shared between her and Winzy. Shelley’s story contains a contradiction: a mortal immortal. While Winzy is immortal, he is also mortal: the potion he drank is unable to “‘proof against fire—sword— and the strangling waters’” (Shelley 52). Humanity’s bind to death is expressed when Winzy exclaims, “‘My habitual credence was, that I should meet the face of all the children of Adam at my appointed time—a little late, but still at a natural age’” (Shelley 48). He describes death’s relationship to life as a “‘mysterious, ill-visaged friend of weak humanity’” (Shelley 51). Mankind is described as an enigma: “‘born to perish’” (Shelley 52). Death remains a mystery to man, but there is one known fact: it is