Poe’s short story “The Black Cat” is far more than a simple tale about a frightening animal.
It explores the psychological breakdown of a man who collapses at the threshold of cruelty, terror, guilt, and madness.
It explores the psychological breakdown of a man who collapses at the threshold of cruelty, terror, guilt, and madness.
The narrator—who begins by insisting he once loved animals—confesses how he gradually destroys the very beings he cherished, abusing a young cat and spiraling deeper into violence and self-deception.
This story is not an outdated piece of old-fashioned horror.
It holds a timeless force, revealing the darker impulses that continue to haunt human nature in every age.
It holds a timeless force, revealing the darker impulses that continue to haunt human nature in every age.