Edgar Allan Poe explored the
psychology of the criminal mind; in addition, he often investigated evil in the
hearts of men. “The Black Cat” becomes then an example of Poe’s probing the
mind of someone so obsessed that he commits murder for no sane reason.
The narrator of the story is the
main character, a nameless murderer. As in many of Poe’s stories, the
speaker intends to convince the reader that he is not insane, and he should not
be held responsible for the crimes of which he is accused. Of course, since
he is to be hanged the next day, he is desperate to persuade the reader of his
innocence.
Poe provides few details about his
settings. Unlike many of his stories with elaborate decorations, this
story focuses more on the action of the main character. There are several
settings:
the jail cell
This is a small space where the
narrator is forced to examine his actions
and his life. He still refuses to take responsibility for his actions.
the
narrator’s home
The first house becomes a prison
cell for the wife and the pets. The reader discovers that the family has been
rich and even had servants. When the house is destroyed by fire, after years of
abuse, the pets finally escape their awful "home," and die tortured
by the flames.
The bedroom wall that is left
standing after the fire with its raised image of the cat foreshadows the second
cat’s arrival in the man’s life. It also represents the psychological
hold that Pluto has on the narrator.
the
yard of the burned house
This is the place where Pluto is
hung. This foreshadows the death of the narrator as he will be hung the
next day after his story is completed.
the
new house
The second house is old and
depressing. The family has lost their wealth in the fire.
the
bar where the second cat is found
The bar is a dirty, dank place
where the narrator notices the cat sitting atop a huge barrel of wine.
the
cellar
The cellar is another important
aspect of setting.
One day she [the wife] accompanied
me, upon some household errand, into the cellar of the old building which our
poverty compelled us to inhabit…
It becomes a horrific scene because
the wife innocently tries to protect her pet but is brutally killed. Her tomb
becomes the cellar wall where her body will decompose and eventually be
mutilated by the second cat, who has to live there for four days
It is unclear how much time elapses
during the story. The span of time is detected only by the narrator’s perverted
thoughts and actions which determine the course of the story.
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