The motif of remorse is quite prevalent in the compositions The Tell-Tale Heart and The Black Cat, both written by Edgar Allan Poe. Mysterious, otherworldly events seem to happen to both main characters of the narratives, but upon further analysis, these are the regretful fabrications of their respective unstable minds, illustrating to readers that both men are deeply shaken by their appalling decisions. Through devices such as the fictitious beating of the heart in The Tell-Tale Heart and the main character’s demise in The Black Cat, Poe crafts a feeling of guilt throughout both pieces. In The Tell-Tale Heart, the main character clearly feels remorse after killing the old man. As demonstrated in paragraph sixteen, “But, ere long, I felt myself
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For example, after his house smoulders to the ground, the main character views his cat’s impression on the only remaining wall. On page seven, he recollects, “I approached and saw, as if graven in bas-relief upon the white surface, the figure of a gigantic cat. The impression was given with an accuracy truly marvellous. There was a rope about the animal’s neck. When I first beheld this apparition—for I could scarcely regard it as less—my wonder and my terror were extreme.” Later, on page 8, the main character recounts his guilt after he killed the cat. This seemingly supernatural outline, therefore, serves as a reminder to the killer of what he has done. Later, the main character describes that because of this regret, he drove himself to the point of insanity when finally, after nearly killing his new cat, he turns to his wife and murders her. Four days later, the police come to investigate. On page 14, he recalls the situation, “I rapped heavily with a cane which I held in my hand, upon that very portion of the brickwork behind which stood the corpse of the wife of my bosom. But may God shield and deliver me from the fangs of the Arch-Fiend! No sooner had the reverberation of my blows sunk into silence, than I was answered by a voice from within the tomb!” Thus, it can be inferred that because of his subconscious remorse, the main character hit his wife’s makeshift
For example, after his house smoulders to the ground, the main character views his cat’s impression on the only remaining wall. On page seven, he recollects, “I approached and saw, as if graven in bas-relief upon the white surface, the figure of a gigantic cat. The impression was given with an accuracy truly marvellous. There was a rope about the animal’s neck. When I first beheld this apparition—for I could scarcely regard it as less—my wonder and my terror were extreme.” Later, on page 8, the main character recounts his guilt after he killed the cat. This seemingly supernatural outline, therefore, serves as a reminder to the killer of what he has done. Later, the main character describes that because of this regret, he drove himself to the point of insanity when finally, after nearly killing his new cat, he turns to his wife and murders her. Four days later, the police come to investigate. On page 14, he recalls the situation, “I rapped heavily with a cane which I held in my hand, upon that very portion of the brickwork behind which stood the corpse of the wife of my bosom. But may God shield and deliver me from the fangs of the Arch-Fiend! No sooner had the reverberation of my blows sunk into silence, than I was answered by a voice from within the tomb!” Thus, it can be inferred that because of his subconscious remorse, the main character hit his wife’s makeshift