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** spoiler alert ** Bon-Bon is another dark satire that takes on philosophical ideas, including the soul (where it is located, how much a soul can be worth, etc). In addition, Poe plays with the archetypal deal with the devil as the frame for these philosophical discussions.

Bon-Bon is a French chef and restaurateur who fancies himself a philosopher of equal standing to Voltaire, Plato and Aristophanes. One winter night, Bon-Bon finds himself discussing philosophy with the Devil. The Devil has a ledger and green glasses; one assumes the ledger is his way of keeping track of who he comes across in Hell and the glasses allow him to see the soul. In fact, the Devil eats souls and through the night he and Bon-Bon have a rousing discussion about souls, the culinary arts and philosophy. The Devil claims to have eaten the souls of many famous philosophers and compares them to different culinary experiences, not all of them good. Interesting commentary there. Bon-Bon wants to engage the Devil with the hopes of publishing his own philosophical ideas in a book and becoming famous. The Devil is less than impressed by poor Bon-Bon, who has preceded to get obnoxiously drunk. After refusing to eat Bon-Bon’s soul, which Bon-Bon feels equivalent to a soufflé or a stew, the Devil takes his leave. Bon-Bon, feeling affronted, attempts to throw a wine bottle at the Devil’s head and only succeeds in knocking himself out.

I love a good Devil’s deal piece. This one is funnier than most. I love the satire. The discussion of different philosophers and the weight of the soul is thought-provoking and funny at the same time. I would put this story as the equivalent of the story The Duc de L’Omelette - satire, funny, deal with the Devil. Both great stories and different from Poe’s more famous pieces.