point of view (a perspective that Poe used quite frequently), intensifies the
effect of moral shock and horror. Once again, the reader is invited (as was the
case in both “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado”) to delve into
the inner workings of the dark side of the mind. Style and Interpretation “‘The
Black Cat’ is one of the most powerful of Poe’s stories, and the horror stops
short of the wavering line of disgust” (Quinn 395). Poe constructed this story
in such a way that the events of the tale remain somewhat ambiguous. As the narrator
begins to recount the occurrences that “…have terrified–have tortured–have
destroyed [him],” he reminds the reader that maybe “…some intellect more calm,
more logical, and far less excitable than [his] own,” will perceive “…nothing
more than an ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects.” As the narrator
begins to tell his story (flashback), the reader discovers that the man’s personality
had undergone a drastic transformation which he attributes to his abuse of alcohol
and the perverse side of his nature, which the alcohol seemed to evoke. The reader
also discovers (with the introduction of Pluto into the story) that the narrator
is superstitious, as he recounts that his wife made “…frequent allusion to the
ancient popular notion, [that] all black cats [are] witches in disguise.” Even
though the narrator denies this (much as the narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart”
denies that he or she is insane), the reader becomes increasingly aware of his
superstitious belief as the story progresses. Superstition (as well as the popular
notion to which the man’s wife refers) has it that Satan and witches assume the
form of black cats. For those who believe, they are symbols of bad luck, death,
sorcery, witchcraft, and the spirits of the dead. Appropriately, the narrator
calls his cat, Pluto, who in Greek and Roman mythology was the god of the dead
and the ruler of the underworld (symbolism). As in other Poe stories ( “The Tell-Tale
Heart,” “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Gold Bug”), biting and mutilation
appear. The narrator of “The Black Cat” first becomes annoyed when Pluto “inflicted
a slight wound upon [the] hand with his teeth.” After he is bitten by the cat,
the narrator cuts out its eye. Poe relates “eyes” and “teeth” in their single
capacity to take in or to incorporate objects. This dread of being consumed often
leads the narrator to destroy who or what he fears (Silverman 207). Poe’s pronounced
use of foreshadowing leads the reader from one event to the next (”one night,”
“one morning,” “on the night of the day,” etc.). Within the first few paragraphs
of the story, the narrator foreshadows that he will violently harm his wife (”At
length, I even offered her personal violence.”). However, are the events of the
story, as the narrator suggests, based upon “…an ordinary succession of very
natural causes and effect,” or are they indeed caused by the supernatural? By
using, three main events in this story (the apparition of the first cat upon the
burned wall, the appearance of the gallowslike pattern upon the chest of the second
cat, and the discovery of the second cat behind the cellar wall), a convincing
case can be presented for both sides. While making a case for the logical as well
as the supernatural, one must remember the state of mind of the narrator. All
events are described for the reader by an alcoholic who has a distorted view of
reality. The narrator goes to great lengths to scientifically explain the apparition
of the cat in the wall; however, the chain of events that he re-creates in his
mind are so highly coincidental that an explanation relying on the supernatural
may be easier to accept. Once again, the reader wonders if the narrator’s perceptions
can be believed as he describes the gallowslike pattern upon the chest of the
second cat. Maybe what he sees is just a hallucination of a tormented mind. The
markings of an adult cat surely would not change that much, unless maybe the pattern
was not part of the animal’s fur, but only a substance on its surface which, with
time, could wear off and disappear (a substance such as plaster?). Afterall, the
second cat is also missing an eye. Poe is very careful to avoid stating if it
is the same eye of which Pluto was deprived. Are there really two cats in this
story, or did Pluto (possibly “a witch in disguise”) survive, and return for retribution.
Of all the incidents, the discovery of the cat (first or second) behind the cellar
wall is the easiest to believe. The cat was frightened by the man, and logically,
sought shelter. What is somewhat strange is the fact that the police searched
the cellar several times, and not one time did the cat make a sound. It was not
until the narrator rapped heavily with a cane upon the wall, that the cat responded.
Was it a series of natural causes and effects, or was it what the narrator described?
“Upon its head, with red extended mouth and solitary eye of fire, sat the hideous
beast whose craft had seduced me into murder, and whose informing voice had consigned
me to the hangman. I had walled the monster up within the tomb.” Theme “The Black
Cat” is Poe’s second psychological study of domestic violence and guilt (the first
being “The Tell-Tale Heart”); however, this story does not deal with premeditated
murder. The reader is told that the narrator appears to be a happily married man,
who has always been exceedingly kind and gentle. He attributes his downfall to
the “Fiend Intemperance” and “the spirit of perverseness.” Perverseness, he believes,
is “…one of the primitive impulses of the human heart.” “Who has not, a hundred
times, found himself committing a vile or a stupid action for no other reason
than because he knows he should not?” Perverseness provides the rationale for
otherwise unjustifiable acts, such as killing the first cat or rapping with his
cane upon the plastered-up wall behind which stood his wife’s corpse “…already
greatly decayed and clotted with gore.” We might argue that what the narrator
calls “perverseness” is actually conscience. Guilt about his alcoholism seems
to the narrator the “perverseness” which causes him to maim and kill the first
cat. Guilt about those actions indirectly leads to the murder of his wife who
had shown him the gallows on the second cat’s breast. The disclosure of the crime,
as in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” is caused by a warped sense of triumph and the conscience
of the murderer. What makes this story different from “The Tell-Tale Heart” is
that Poe has added a new element to aid in evoking the dark side of the narrator,
and that is the supernatural. Now the story has an added twist as the narrator
hopes that the reader, like himself, will be convinced that these events were
not “…an ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects.” [See Style
and Interpretation] Martha Womack Related Information Poe Perplex on the Black
Cat Do Black Cats cause bad luck? Comment on Poe’s “The Black Cat” “I am Safe”
- David Grantz
Levine, Stuart and Susan, editors. The Short Fiction
of Edgar Allan Poe: An Annotated Edition. Chicago: University of Illinois Press,
1990. Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. New York: D.
Appleton-Century Company, 1941. Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and
Never-Ending Remembrance. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. The United
States in Literature: “All My Sons” Edition. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman
and Company, 1973.