The final irony, of course, is that the cat which he had come to so despise — the cat that might have been the reincarnation of Pluto — serves as a figure of retribution against the murderer.
The story ends when police investigate the narrator's wife's disappearance. The protagonist knocks on the wall that hides her corpse, inadvertently causing the new cat to yowl as it has been accidentally sealed inside the wall. This seals the narrator's fate.
From the walls come a muffled sound, which leads the police to discover the dead wife and the black cat. Thus, the narrator ironically gets himself arrested in a bid to appear innocent.
Though she sticks by the narrator despite his abuse and murder of Pluto, their cat, the narrator ultimately kills her after she stops him from kill the second black cat that mysteriously appears in their life. The narrator shows no grief upon killing her—instead taking pride in how well he hides her body.
What led to the narrator's downfall in The Black Cat?
Surprisingly, the narrator insists he feels no remorse after his wife's murder, citing that he is able to sleep. Nevertheless, when offering the police a tour of the house, he focuses on the very spot he hid her body, banging on it and bringing about his own downfall.
THE BLACK CAT by Edgar Allan Poe Summary & Analysis
What does The Black Cat symbolize?
Most of Europe considers the black cat a symbol of bad luck, particularly if one walks across the path in front of a person, which is believed to be an omen of misfortune and death. The black cat in folklore has been able to change into human shape to act as a spy or courier for witches or demons.
The storyline in "The Black Cat" effectively shows the obscurity in every human being. This story shows how every individual has the potential for ethical significance, and inscrutable immorality. The equilibrium of these forces can vary among every person, but the presence is true.
One night in a fit of rage, he gauges out Pluto's eyeball. Horrified with his action, he hangs Pluto to prove that he is really a terrible person. That night, his house burns down and Pluto's image haunts him. He finds another cat who he treats well until Pluto starts haunting him through this cat.
After a night of heavy drinking, he believes that Pluto is avoiding him and seizes the cat, only to suffer a bite on his hand. Enraged, he gouges out one of the cat's eyes.
The final irony, of course, is that the cat which he had come to so despise — the cat that might have been the reincarnation of Pluto — serves as a figure of retribution against the murderer.
The image of the gallows—the scaffolding from which the condemned are hanged—serves a dual purpose here. On one level, it signifies the narrator's murder of Pluto. On another, it foreshadows the narrator's coming death.
What was the narrator's punishment for killing his wife?
Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Black Cat" is told by a narrator who has been caught after having murdered his wife, and it is implied that he will soon be executed for this crime.
How did the police find his wife's body in The Black Cat?
Commenting upon the solid craftsmanship of the house, he taps on the wall—behind which is his wife's body—with a cane. In response to the tapping, a long, loud cry emanates from behind the wall. The police storm the wall and dismantle it, discovering the hidden corpse. Upon its head sits the missing cat.
Upon hearing the cries, the authorities demolish the false wall, only to find the wife's corpse, and on top of it, the missing cat. "I had walled the monster up within the tomb!" he wails—not realizing that in fact, he and not the cat, is the actual villain of the story.
The eyes can symbolize judgment, persecution, and the action of being observed. Eyes are often described as the window to the soul, and in this story, the black cat is also symbolic of the soul; perhaps the narrator doesn't like what is reflected to him when he sees the cat or the cat sees him.
The Black Cat is short piece of fiction in which the narrator lays out the events that lead to the death of his (SPOILER ALERT) wife. His confession appears to be an attempt to convince the reader that a series of black cats acted upon him in a supernatural manner, possessing him to act violent.
What does The Black Cat symbolize in The Black Cat?
There are two black cats because the second cat has a deep affection for the narrator and seems to forget how he tortured it to death before. The black cat represents the bad luck that leads the narrator to act in his sins.
The events that unfolded in Edgar Allen Poe's, “The black Cat,” are all due to one person, the narrator. It is because of his Mental state, being an alcoholic, and being abusive to his wife and pets that the fault lies heavily on the narrator.
However, he murders one black cat and attempts to murder the other one. The second significant paradox arises from the murders. He viciously murders “The Black Cat”, but he feels remorse and agony after abusing and murdering the cat. The capitalization of perverseness shows the change protagonist's mood.
Is the narrator in The Black Cat remorseful for his crime?
In “The Black Cat,” Poe created a narrator who lacks remorse, empathy, and a conscience, a character who deceives and manipulates those around him because of an impulsive, egocentric personality known as psychopathy.
Despite Poe's insistence that his stories and poems do not contain morals and are designed solely to produce an effect, “The Black Cat” can be read as a cautionary tale about the dangers of alcoholism. The narrator's descent into alcoholism leads him to commit a series of increasingly wicked deeds.
This difference between his initial love for the cat and the violence he later inflicts upon it is an example of irony. Early in the story, it seems that he has found a good match in his wife because she shares his fondness for animals. However, in a fit of rage he kills her as well.
Quick answer: In Poe's short story "The Black Cat," Pluto symbolizes evil and death and, in particular, is the reflection of the narrator's own evil acts against the cat, which seem to be prompted by self-loathing, alcohol, and madness.
