Edgar Allan Poe's Berenice: Symptoms Of Schizophrenia

There are many aspects of Edgar Allan Poe’s work that leave his audience feeling disturbed. These works often have themes of horror brought on my mental illnesses. In Poe’s short story “Berenice,” the main character Egaeus is a reclusive, self-diagnosed monomaniac who is haunted with obsessive thoughts. Monomania is a form of partial insanity in an otherwise sound mind; it is when an individual becomes fixated on an idea, urge, object or person. But Egaeus’ behaviors throughout the story point to him being schizophrenic, not a monomaniac. Schizophrenia has multiple symptoms; according to the World of Health Organization, these symptoms include “delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior [as well as depressive behavior].” Monomania

This delusion contributes to his negative symptoms which include lack of interest and social isolation. Egaeus says that he “loitered away my boyhood in books, and dissipated my youth in reverie -- it is singular that as years rolled away, and the noon of manhood found me still in the mansion of my father’s,” (333). This quote shows that over the years Egaeus has been a recluse and has been isolating himself from the rest of the world; not partaking in human relationships and shutting himself inside his study. It also shows that he doesn’t feel like he’s missing out because he is more interested in his own

Egaeus demonstrates this most notably when a “menial” came in and told him in a “tremulous” voice that Berenice’s grave was violated and that Berenice was still alive (336). After finding out this news, Egaeus didn’t say a word and the man “took [him] gently by the hand” and then seemingly kindly walked him through the clues in the room, such as the spade on the wall, that hinted at that night’s events (336). Instead of shouting in disbelief or horror, his words are then disjointed and reflect enthusiasm that seems uncharacteristic looking at his previous dialogue. Then, with a shriek he went towards the table that had the box with the teeth in it. The shriek isn’t the only display of alogia but also the fact that it was the only thing Egaeus could verbally