My Psychoanalysis of “The Black Cat”

My Psychoanalysis of “The Black Cat”

    For today’s blog post I will be answering a writing prompt in an attempt to psychoanalyse “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe. The prompt I chose is as follows:

What unconscious motive might be operating in the main character?

Throughout, the story the narrator seems to have an unconscious motive to alleviate his emotional turmoil. In an attempt to escape from his reality, as all heavy drinkers do, the narrator uses alcohol as a mode of alleviation. Despite entering a seemingly entranced alcoholic state, the narrator demonstrates usage of his ego by describing his alcoholism as “a terrible disease”. The author portrays that the narrator is making a conscious—albeit illogical—decision to nurture this disease of alcoholism. But why? The answer is revealed later in the passage when the narrator is discussing the abnormality of human behaviour when he says “There is something...evil thing”. In this passage, the narrator explains his need to hurt himself. I believe that the unconscious motive behind his destructive behaviour is his inability to manage the underlying pain and sorrow in his life. Thus, he inflicts pain upon himself and others in a futile attempt to avoid facing his emotions and woes.

As the story develops the narrator's destructive behaviour is heightened. From stabbing a cat's eye to murdering his wife, it is undeniable that his actions are both insane and deplorable. Yet, the most destructive action may have been an unconscious one. When the narrator knocks on the wall which encapsulates his wife’s corpse, he is being compelled to do so by what Sigman Freid considers a “death drive”. He is seeking relief from his emotions and his actions that he deeply regrets; which he unconsciously feels he will find in the ultimate cleansing—death.  In this case, the narrator's fear of intimacy and facing his emotions was the catalyst for his demise. 

The author, Edgar Allan Poe, is using this story as a form of catharsis. Similarly to the narrator, Poe faced emotional turmoil and used alcohol to drown his sorrows. (Look to my second blog post) Destructive behaviour was a recurring theme in Poe’s life. Several times throughout Poe’s life, when faced with deep sadness, he began consciously pursuing self-destructive behaviour. Perhaps, Poe uses this short story as a form of catharsis, a way to delve into his own death drive, which is rooted in the woeful events of his life. Or perhaps, his work is a cry for help. A tragic portrayal of how, despite understanding the consequences of his destructive behaviour, he is unconsciously seeking death.  

Sorry that this post is pretty dreary and long. I kind of waffled :) on. Anyways, thanks to those who actually read the whole post.