Gothic Tales Are Dominated By Fear English Literature Essay

The use of symbols and omens in The Black Cat is unique to the Gothic genre. The title The Black Cat is symbolic in itself as a black cat often carries the superstitious belief that they are evil and symbolise death. The first cat was named Pluto an allusion to the god of the dead and ruler of the underworld in Roman mythology thus creating an omen of the death and an ominous tone. Both cats in the short-story are symbols of punishment for the narrator.

Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events are also elements of the Gothic novel evident in Poe’s The Black Cat. The first cat punishes the narrator by supernaturally, after he was hung, alighting his house. The cat’s figure appears with a rope around its neck as an impression on a wall however the narrator continues to deny anything supernatural occurring and tries to justify what happened with science. The purpose of the second cat is also to punish the narrator by reminding him of the hanging of the first cat. The cat looks almost exactly the same as Pluto, and it follows the man everywhere, thus punishing him. Through his symbolic character of the black cat, which continually punishes the narrator because of his actions, Poe has used the Gothic genre to convey one of his main purposes of exploring superstitious beliefs and omens. He also explores the theme of cruelty to animals. The cat’s punishment of his narrator amplifies the fact that what Poe’s madman did to the first cat was a terrible crime and deserves punishment which is ironically performed by the cat.

Through the common viewpoint of Poe’s main character his audience is able to enter the mind of a madman. Poe’s narrator suffers from the devilish effects of alcoholism leading him to murder his beloved and long suffering wife. Poe’s madman was driven insane by both alcohol and an over-affectionate cat. He went from a man that loved his wife and the cat to a psychotic animal torturer and murderer. When he became addicted to alcohol he became “moody, more irritable, and more regardless of other people’s feelings.” This complete loss of sense and control is often used in Gothic novels. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, for example, defines the Gothic genre and uses this idea of something having complete domination over another. This is evident in the characters of Victor Frankenstein and Walton whose ambitions blinded them from what was right and wrong. Poe’s madman is blinded because of alcohol leading him to perform actions out of character and horrifying. Poe successfully enters the mind of a killer to shock and horrify his reader and covey his purpose of educating the reader on the character changing effects of alcohol.

The theme of perverseness is carried throughout the short-story reflecting another Gothic belief used in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that depicts human beings as prone to evil and failure. The narrator claims that “perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart” and that his actions were not entirely his fault blaming it on mans instinctive nature. He uses this in a way of justifying his actions however the calmness and rational explanation throughout the story convinces the reader that this man in mad and that what he has done has nothing to do with the “character of man” but the effects of alcohol and madness.

The setting is another important Gothic convention. The setting plays an important role in The Black Cat to establish Poe’s idea of creating a dark, highly Gothic novel but also to emphasise the madness of his narrator and the evil actions performed. The story takes place in a house burned to the ground, a dark tavern and a cellar. This atmosphere makes the reader feel scared and creates a certain element of suspense. The cellar where the narrator hides the body of his wife in the walls is the perfect Gothic setting. It is dark and gloomy which isolated one from the rest of the world. It was described as “for a purpose such as this the cellar was well adapted” a place where a body could easily be hidden. Poe created a perfect Gothic scene for a body to be found in this place of “dampness” and where it would be easy to “insert the corpse” of his wife in the walls. This gruesome and horrifying environment successfully terrifies the reader.

Poe’s purpose of exploring the themes of madness, sanity and denial are cleverly adapted into the Gothic genre again through the use of setting as well as symbolic characters. The dark environment convinces the reader that the narrator is insane as well as his actions and sense of accomplishment as achieving what he believed was the perfect murder. The narrator’s wife is a classic Gothic female, a long suffering wife who is eventually destroyed by the madness that consumes her husband. The use of these two characters amplifies the madness of the narrator whose actions were unprovoked by a woman who did nothing but love him.

Through the uses of such Gothic devices such as settings, omens and symbols and classic characters Edgar Allen Poe has effectively written a highly Gothic tale. Throughout The Black Cat Poe has achieved his purpose of conveying the effects of alcoholism, the evil of cruelty to animals, superstitious beliefs referring to black cats being evil, perverseness and the results of madness. Through the viewpoint of a madman the reader is directly drawn into the experience of the murder and encounters the horrors of the Gothic genre.