Pedro Antonio de Alarcón and the Maelstrom

Pedro Antonio de Alarcón's short story "Los ojos negros" ends with the death of two rivals in the Maelstrom. That Arctic Ocean whirlpool has been the setting of many literary depictions of disaster or survival from almost certain death. Edgar Allan Poe used it as the focal point in his famous tale "A Descent into the Maelstrom." Alarcón's praise of Poe's description of a sailor's escape from the Maelstrom and his essay on the introduction of the American writer into Spain have suggested Poe's short story as a source for "Los ojos negros." Yet, the dates of these writings do not correlate and have perplexed scholars. The present study reveals more likely background and models for Alarcón's tale in two little examined Spanish periodicals, models that have textual similarities with "Los ojos negros" and pose no problems with respect to publication dates.