Insanity In The Black Cat

When the narrator in the Black Cat begins his story, he insists upon his sanity, and clarifies for the reader that the sole purpose of the narration is to unburden his soul. As he continues, it becomes evident that his aim is instead focused upon reliving and understanding the murders he committed. At first read, this narrative seems to simply be that of a man expressing his remorse to relieve himself of guilt before he dies, but throughout the narrative, he contextualizes his guilt by denying the agency of his thoughts while claiming ownership of his actions.
The very style of this story suggests to the reader that the narrator still has something to say. After the crimes were committed and the criminal was sentenced, the man had still had …show more content…
In saying this, he acknowledges the insanity of which his story embodies, but holds that it is one of mere events governed by facts while insisting upon his own standard state of mind. The narrator of this story appears to hold himself responsible for the crimes he committed, but when the reader looks more closely, they can find him shrugging his mental culpability onto other parties. The man is adamant about his sanity, but to actually commit the crimes he did requires a reason. As the man has no true reason, he must find one in order to avoid being recognized as crazy. He does this by blaming a demon, alcohol, the cat itself, and the innate human spirit of perverseness. Each scapegoat is able to explain a portion of his behavior by stripping the agency of his thoughts. He speaks about stumbling home intoxicated and claims, “The fury of a demon possessed me” (Poe 3). Apparently, the narrator’s soul left his body, and he was able to maim the cat without pause. Later, when the man murders the cat, he claims that it was the spirit of perverseness that finally overthrew him. In fact, he had done his best to resist all temptations of violence from the cat, but ultimately his raw humanity took …show more content…
He never disassociates himself with the physicality of his actions, and he very clearly states, “…I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe into her brain” (Poe, 8). Other authors have employed strategies such as disconnecting a character’s body from the character itself, but Poe deliberately allows the narrator of The Black Cat to assume responsibility of the physical destruction he caused. Even though a disassociation still occurs in this story, it is between the mind and the body instead of the body and the action. In taking the time to remove his guilt by denying his mental liability, the narrator actually proves himself as insane instead of confirming his rationality. If claiming a demon possessed him didn’t already rid him of sanity, showing such a disassociation between mind and body quickly shows the reader the man’s irregular