Allegory In Edgar Allen Poe's The Black Cat

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In Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Black Cat” the narrator depicts his life as he is in his last days before his death sentence for the crimes he committed. In Poe’s violent story, many relationships are present such as his relationship with his pets, mostly his cat Pluto and his wife. Many critics say that Poe’s short story is an allegory for marriage and domesticity which can be proven through these relationships. In “The Black Cat” the narrator starts by telling his love that he has for cats and dogs and how he values the relationship he has with his pets. Poe’s character marries someone who has the same interest for pets as he does. Based off the beginning of the story, the readers learn that the narrator singles out his love for …show more content…

The reason for this is that not all marriages have a happy ending. Some marriages, with time grow to be more toxic and lead to abuse and neglect. “I married early, and was happy to find in my wife a disposition not uncongenial with my own”. This quote shows the difference from how he felt at the beginning compared to the end of the story. By the end of the story, the readers are able to see that the narrator went from being loving, to having drinking problems to then killing the only thing he considered family. This cycle is the same cycle as many or similar to many failed marriages and abusive households, domesticity. A study done by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism shows that if one spouse is exposed to heavy drinking that it can lead to a failed marriage. This study is proven in the story as the narrators drinking addiction leads him to take a wrong turn for the worse. His actions lead to abuse, domestic abuse. This story is an example of Uxoricide, the killing of ones wife, most often occurs when childhood trauma or tolerance of addictions leading to domestic violence. In conclusion, “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe is proven to an allegory for marriage and domesticity based off the events in the violent household. The narrator’s character evolution leads to domestic abuse, closely related to failed and abusive marriages. Poe wanted

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