Insanity In Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat

Oftentimes, the word “insane” is associated with serial killers or patients in a mental asylum. The Black Cat was written to demonstrate a man’s rapid spiral into insanity, in which he eventually kills his cat and even murders his wife. Giving a deathbed confession, the narrator of The Black Cat reveals a horrendous story of abuse and cold-blooded murder. An alcoholic, the man develops a bad temper, resulting in verbal and physical abuse towards his pets and wife. One night, arriving home while intoxicated, the man impulsively cuts his cat’s eye out, and eventually hangs it. The narrator’s bad attitude, now only directed towards his wife, results in an axe buried in her head. Overconfident, the man buries his wife in a wall in his cellar. The police soon arrive to investigate the disappearance of the woman. Leaving no corner unchecked, the wife still isn’t found. The narrator cockily hits the wall where he’d hidden the body, commenting on the fantastic …show more content…
After he kills his wife, he makes a scheme to hide the body. “This hideous murder accomplished, I set myself forthwith, and with entire deliberation to the task of concealing the body. I knew that I could not remove it from the house, either by day or by night, without the risk of being observed by the neighbours. Many projects entered my mind. At one period I thought of cutting the corpse into minute fragments, and destroying them by fire. At another, I resolved to dig a grave for it in the floor of the cellar. Again, I deliberated about casting it in the well in the yard -- about packing it in a box, as if merchandize, with the usual arrangements, and so getting a porter to take it from the house. Finally, I hit upon what I considered a far better expedient than either of these. I determined to wall it up in the cellar -- as the monks of the middle ages are recorded to have walled up their victims.” (Poe, 5) These actions demonstrate very sneaky, sly