Evidence in Poe's Works

Evidence in Poe's Works

"A Tell Tale Heart"

In this short story written by Edgar Allan Poe in January of 1843, he talks of a man (the main character) who murders an old man whom he had known of for quite some time. Although it may sound like it, this wasn't your typical murder mystery by any means. The main character in this story is actually severely mentally ill, which can be observed throughout the story. Within the first few paragraphs of "A Tell Tale Heart", the man explains to the reader why he had committed such a horrid act: "It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye" (Poe 4-5). Right from the beginning of the story, the reader is able to understand just how mentally ill this man truly is. He explains how he actually loved the old man and how the old man had never done anything wrong to him to warrant something of this magnitude. He even stresses that it wasn't for money or any motive for that matter. He seems extremely unsure of why he had murdered the man but then claims that he believes it was the man's eye that had bothered him so much that he felt inclined to commit such a heinous act. Towards the end of the story, the man's house is searched by police officers as the old man's heart lies under the planks of the man's floor. They search the house and find nothing, but have yet to leave. This makes the man extremely nervous, as he begin to have what many would call a mental breakdown due to his mental illness. He believes he hears the old man's heart beating under the floor, even though it is physically impossible, and convinces himself that the police officers hear it too. In the last line of the story, he finally breaks saying, "Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart" (Poe 64). Through this final line, one can come to the conclusion that he is definitely suffering from some sort of mental illness, most likely schizophrenia, and that is what caused him to commit such a horrible act on an innocent old man.

"The Black Cat"

In this short story, Poe writes about a man who loved animals his entire life, married a woman who also had the same love for animals, and grew up to have many different pets in his household. One pet that becomes particularly important in this short story is their black cat, Pluto. After a night out on the town drinking, the man comes home to his cat Pluto, who bites him. The man quickly snaps and he begins to show his underlying mental illness when he claims, "The fury of a demon instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer. My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fibre of my frame" (Poe 26-27). The man believes the demon spirit of the cat possessed him as he goes on to pull out his pocket-knife and cut out one of the cat's eyeballs. The man later hangs the cat on a tree and continues to go on about his life. A few nights later, after drinking, he finds another black cat with a white spot on its chest, also missing an eye. His wife loves the cat but he still does not feel the same way, and claims to see the gallows in the white spot on the cat's chest. This is another sign that this man is suffering from some sort of mental illness as he is clearly hallucinating. Towards the end of this story, he attempts to kill the cat with an axe, only to strike his wife, killing her, and then hiding her body behind the wall of his cellar. This story is another great display of Poe showcasing mental illness in one of his most famous works.

“The Raven”

In Poe’s most famous poem, which released in January of 1845, he depicts a man who begins to lose his sanity and hope for a better life, after his true love Lenore passed away. A raven visits him and continuously responds to his questions with “Nevermore”, thus implanting this hopeless attitude into the man.  Although he seemed healthy in the beginning of the poem, by the end of the poem, it is apparent that he has fell into a deep depression and lost all hope for a better life: “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted—nevermore” (Poe 107-108). This was Poe’s most famous work and it utilizes mental illness as the forefront of the poem.