The Black Cat (Poe) PDF

“THE BLACK CAT” Edgar Allan Poe (1843) EDGAR ALLAN POE (1809-1849) Born in Boston, MA Lived and worked mostly in Baltimore, MD Died young due to mysterious causes, which have been widely debated.  A major figure in the American form of Romanticism A p...

“THE BLACK CAT” Edgar Allan Poe (1843) EDGAR ALLAN POE (1809-1849) Born in Boston, MA Lived and worked mostly in Baltimore, MD Died young due to mysterious causes, which have been widely debated.  A major figure in the American form of Romanticism A pioneer in the short story form Known especially for his dark EDGAR stories of the macabre and Gothic ALLAN POE Also widely regarded as the inventor of detective fiction Wrote early forms of science fiction as well  “THE BLACK CAT” Published in 1843 One of Poe’s darkest short stories Features a pet black cat (one of which Poe owned) Purportedly assails the evils of alcoholism. (Poe was a reputed alcoholic and drug user.) The real focus, though, is the abnormal psychological state of the narrator.  THE STORY Pluto’s death is Then reports his immediately The narrator relates abuse and killing of followed by the his great love of his pet black cat burning down of animals. Pluto. the narrator’s home. He gets a second He hides her body cat, then murders The cat’s cries alert inside a wall, but his wife when she police of the burial actually walls up prevents him from in the wall. the cat as well. killing this cat.  Much of the story is spent building an atmosphere of dread and the unnatural. The narrator’s questionable psychological state Draws upon the reputation of black cats as related to the occult. ATMOSPHERE Possible supernatural events BUILDING The house burning The cat image on the burned house Is the second cat some sort of reincarnation of Pluto? Pluto, of course, is the name of the Greek god of the underworld.  The narrator’s obvious unreliability makes it difficult to know how much of his story is accurate. UNRELIABLE His own reports of his animal abuse NARRATOR and murder of his wife suggest that he might be insane, But, if he is insane, is he a reliable witness?  Could he be pretending to In this case, be insane, in did he really order to abuse and escape legal kill Pluto? responsibility UNRELIABLE ? NARRATOR Did Pluto ever exist? Did he make Did the up his narrator alcohol imagine him? abuse? Invent him?  Poe’s work is often described as “dark Romanticism.” This story is Romantic because it focuses on emotion rather than reason. “THE BLACK It is Romantic because of its focus CAT” AND on the emotional state of the narrator as an exceptional DARK individual. ROMANTICISM It is “dark” because of its subject matter and atmosphere.  AN IMPORTANT STORY “The Black Cat” has been adapted to film many times. The most important “adaptation” is Edgar Ulmer’s The Black Cat (1934) Important because it stars both Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, the two biggest stars of classic horror. Related to Poe’s story mostly just by atmosphere, though it does feature a black cat. LUGOSI AND KARLOFF