In "Some Words with a Mummy" Poe openly mocks the pride that his compatriots took in their progressive thinking and technological advancements. Educated men are now pushed off their high horse after they used galvanization to bring back a mummy from the dead.

In Poe's day, people were fascinated by the polytheism and death cults of Ancient Egypt. They were amazed by their awe-inspiring creations and their scientific knowledge, yet of course they regarded their own civilization as highly superior. Allamistakeo teaches them about the real extent of his people's knowledge. Not only did men of his day live for about a thousand years, they were able to preserve the body so that they could go to sleep for centuries and return later. He emphasizes that their perceived paganism was in fact a monotheism whose different deities represent aspects of the one true God. And their technology and architecture – the Americans cannot even begin to image their glory!

Compared to some of the very dense other works collected here, the first story ever to be published on a revived mummy (a popular trope later on) is a surprisingly light read. Its themes won't blow your mind, but it's written in an elegant prose that doesn't take itself too seriously. An approach that renders the story simply enjoyable, a trait I wouldn't attribute to many of Poe's writings.