Psychoanalytical Analysis of "The Black Cat"

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In Edgar Allen Poe's short story, The Black Cat, there is a lot of symbolism regarding hidden attributes of his life. The black cat itself represents not only a hidden meaning but a meaning the narrator wished to keep hidden. The black cat symbolizes the narrator's or Poe's alcoholism. Edgar Allen Poe has been accused of being an alcoholic throughout his life and it may have actually lead up to the cause of his death. The short story may give a subtle view at Poe's fight with the disease and the disease's eventual triumph. The black cat may not only be a symbol of the alcoholism that Poe faces but perhaps just his conscious in general regarding most anything deviant. The black cat, Pluto, is at first the narrator's friend. He takes a liking to it over the other pets he has; including other cats, dogs, fish, birds, mostly any other domestic creature. Pluto is his friend because it is loyal and understands the meaning of friendship over most humans. Pluto symbolizes alcohol. It is there for him when he needs it, stays loyal to him, and is his favorite of all other domestic activities. Pluto, in the beginning, may also represent the narrator's conscious as being sane, untarnished, and completely normal. The story then moves on and out of a drunken rage, he thinks that Pluto is avoiding him and tarnishing their loyal friendship so he gouges out the cat's eye. This reflects Poe's bitterness toward alcohol after he has had so much. It is a crazy plot twist and may just be present in the story to shed light on how crazy the narrator is. It can't be easily explained. However, it may also be his conscious getting to him about his drinking and he lashes out at the habit. Progressing, the story continues with this ... ... middle of paper ... ...nd the policeman takes a cane and dismantles it, finding the corpse of the narrator's dead wife and the cat sitting upon her head, concluding the story. The conscience of the man that Poe creates is very interesting. The cat was his conscious all along, hiding in the wall with his wife which was in his mind the entire time, never letting go. Although sometimes the black cats in the story better represent alcoholism than conscience and vice versa, it may be safe to say that they are meant to be interpreted that way. Alcoholism was his conscious and being delirious and insane was his way of thinking. One needed the other to make the man operate the way that he did. The psychoanalytical gestures that Poe presents in this short story are plentiful and it's hard to pinpoint them all, since Poe himself lived within his characters and all were a bit "psycho."

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