The Tell Tale Heart Psychoanalytic Analysis

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe aims to reach into the stratosphere of mythological patricidal figures. Even though the main character of this story isn’t as ill-fated as Oedipus, or as godly as Cronus, his inner conflict is just as epic. The main character’s inner conflict is just as interesting as Poe’s actual life is. In particular, Poe’s relationship with his foster father may shed some light on the reason why the main character’s disposition is so hostile, murderous, and yet, oddly loving towards is father. Psychoanalytical criticism will help shed light on the repression, denial, and intellectualization of the main character and how it corresponds with Poe himself.

Edgar Allan Poe’s life is known to be fraught with strife and struggle. After losing his parents early in his life, Poe is taken in by the “Allan family from Richmond, Virginia” (Edgar). Poe’s relationship with his foster father, John Allan, “was marked by volatility” (John). His relationship with his foster mother, on the other hand, “was marked by affection” (John). The volatility towards his foster father may have been repressed, deciding to come out in Poe’s literature. Sigmund Freud is the father of psychoanalytical criticism and this story falls into his theories on the human psyche. In this

Poe’s literary contributions are great for criticism, especially psychoanalytical criticism. The main character in “The Tell-Tale Heart” shows signs of the repression that Poe himself held inside for so long towards his foster father. The ability of Poe to deny responsibility of his own transgressions rubs off on the main character’s inability to see he is mad. Lastly, projecting his feelings onto his foster father the same way the heart beat projects its feelings onto the main character. If Poe would have taken responsibility for his transgressions all those years ago, it is possible we would not have stories like this