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

case, Freud’s Oedipus Complex would fit the main character perfectly. The Oedipus Complex believes that a child, a boy in this case, has a “desire to sleep with the mother and to kill the father” (Definition). Even though the main character’s father “had never wronged” (Poe 2) him, he had to find something wrong with his father to justify killing him. This thought process is flawed and unjustified, just like the anger Poe felt towards his foster father while he was in college.
While in college, Poe felt Mr. Allan wasn’t sending him enough money so he began to gamble. After acquiring “a debt of $2,000” (John), Mr. Allan “refused to cover his debts” (John). Again, Poe found himself upset at his foster father instead of taking the blame himself, in complete denial of his own wrong doings. Correspondingly, the denial of the main character in this short story of taking responsibility for killing his father makes him the same. Psychoanalytic criticism “argues that, literary texts, like dreams, express the secret unconscious desires and anxieties of the author” (Psychoanalytic). Here, the desires and anxieties combine for the main character in his intentions to kill the man with the “Evil Eye” (Poe 3). Another form of denial is present throughout the story as the main character tries to have the reader understand that he is not “mad” (Poe 1). His denial is so great that he constantly asks the reader if they “still think (him) mad” (Poe 12). The reader is made to believe, since the main character took his time in “concealment of the body” (Poe 12), that he is sane. The denial is so great in the main character that he entertains questioning officers while standing on the scene of the crime. It is not a far stretch to say Poe wound not have admired the main character’s ability to stand up to authority, seeing how Poe was court marshalled from the U.S. Army (Edgar).
Poe and Mr. Allan corresponded through letters throughout Poe’s time in school and in the Army. In one letter, Poe tells his foster father that he sent Poe to the Army “like a beggar” (Text) and expressed that he “never valued” (Text) Mr. Allan’s love. In the same letter, Poe stated all of his expenses and why the money sent by Mr. Allan was not enough. This projection of feelings from Poe on to his foster father is similar to the projection that the main character places on the policemen who come to investigate his home. In the beginning of the visit, the main character feels that the “manner” (Poe 16) he is projecting is convincing enough to get away with the crime. However, the tell-tale heart begins to effect his manner. The main character’s “head ached” (Poe 16) and there was “a ringing in his ears” (Poe 16). The projection of the heart beat onto the main character generates a different projection onto the policemen. Soon after, the main character exclaims, “I admit the deed! (Poe 18)” and turns himself in. Psychoanalytical criticism “seeks evidence of unresolved emotions, psychological conflicts, (and) guilt. (Psychoanalytic)” The ending to this story resolves all of these questions. The main character’s emotions, conflicts, and guilt all combine to create a sound a lot like “a watch makes when enveloped in cotton” (Poe 17). The policemen seem to recognize the conflict within the main character, possibly smiling at him like Freud would a client.
Edgar Allan Poe is known for his gothic short stories and poems.

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

one.