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In Edgar Allan Poe's 1838 novel, shipwrecked sailors draw lots and kill and eat one of their own, Richard Parker. In 1884 real survivors of the sunken yacht Mignonette killed and ate a 17-year-old cabin boy with the same name.

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The story behind the card

In Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, Richard Parker is the sailor who suggests drawing lots to decide who will be eaten, and then draws the losing lot himself. In 1884 the yacht Mignonette sank in the South Atlantic on its way from England to Australia. After nearly three weeks in a lifeboat, Captain Tom Dudley and mate Edwin Stephens killed the cabin boy, Richard Parker, who had fallen ill after drinking seawater, and the men ate his body; no lots were drawn. Back in England, Dudley and Stephens were sentenced to death, later reduced to six months in prison. The case, R v Dudley and Stephens, established in English law that necessity is no defence to a charge of murder.

Türkçe oku
Edgar Allan Poe'nun 1838'de yayımlanan romanında, gemi kazasından kurtulan denizciler kura çeker ve aralarından Richard Parker'ı öldürüp yer. 1884'te Mignonette yatının batışından sağ kurtulan gerçek denizciler de aynı adı taşıyan 17 yaşındaki bir miçoyu öldürüp yedi.

Poe'nun tek romanı Arthur Gordon Pym'in Hikâyesi'nde Richard Parker, kimin yeneceğine kurayla karar verilmesini öneren denizcidir; kurada kaybeden de kendisi olur. 1884'te İngiltere'den Avustralya'ya giden Mignonette yatı Güney Atlantik'te battı. Neredeyse üç hafta bir filikada kaldıktan sonra kaptan Tom Dudley ile ikinci kaptan Edwin Stephens, deniz suyu içtiği için hastalanan miço Richard Parker'ı öldürdü ve adamlar onun etiyle beslendi; kura çekilmemişti. İngiltere'ye dönünce Dudley ve Stephens ölüm cezasına çarptırıldı, ceza sonradan altı ay hapse indirildi. R v Dudley and Stephens adıyla bilinen dava, İngiliz hukukunda zorunluluk hâlinin cinayet suçlamasına karşı savunma olamayacağını kesinleştirdi.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: R v Dudley and Stephens
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