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.
Horrified and afraid, the narrator tries to kill the new cat with an axe. His wife tries to stop him, and he kills her. He hides her corpse in the wall of his house, and for a few days, thinks that he has gotten away with his crime. Soon, police arrive to question him about his wife's disappearance.
What is done with the wife's corpse in The Black Cat?
He tries to kill the cat with an axe, but his wife stops him; infuriated at her interference, he kills her instead and hides her corpse in a cellar wall.
Why does the narrator blame the cat for his wife's death?
The narrator effectively blames the cat for his killing of his wife. It was the cat—the second cat—that reminded him of his first cat, Pluto, the one he got mad at and hanged. He was just about to hand his second cat a one-way ticket to kitty heaven when his wife interrupted him.
More than any of Poe's stories, "The Black Cat" illustrates best the capacity of the human mind to observe its own deterioration and the ability of the mind to comment upon its own destruction without being able to objectively halt that deterioration.
THE BLACK CAT by Edgar Allan Poe Summary & Analysis
What is the hidden message of The Black Cat?
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.
In many Eastern cultures, the spiritual meaning of black cats can equate to a spiritual protector. It's believed that keeping a black cat in your home can even offer you protection from dark or evil spirits. According to SpiritualUnite.com, black cats are also said to symbolize medicine and health.
Edgar Allan Poe's story, “The Black Cat,” is a tale of violence and an internal battle with alcoholism. The narrator starts off loving animals and his wife, but unfortunately turns to alcohol and starts abusing his wife and animals, sparing only a black cat: Pluto.
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.
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.
Other theories suggest that during this time, people started to see black cats as a sign of death and bad luck simply because of their black fur, just like ravens and crows. Sadly, mass killings of black cats spread across Europe as people tried to rid the streets of these bad omens, especially during the Great Plague.
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.
Quick answer: In "The Black Cat," the wife symbolizes faithfulness and common decency. She also represents those aspects of the narrator's character, which he is driven to destroy.
The story ends when the police find the dead body of the man's wife, with the cat on her head. On the one hand it's outrageous, and even funny. At the same time, when we think about just how close these details can come to our own reality, it's sad and frightening. There is always some bizarre tragedy in the news.
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.
What happened to the narrator's wife in The Black Cat?
The wife of the narrator of "The Black Cat," she shares his love of animals and fills their house with pets. 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.
Edgar Allan Poe's short story “The Black Cat,” first published in the August 19, 1843, issue of the Saturday Evening Post, is a chilling story written through the eyes of a man awaiting death for the murder of his wife.
He did not regret killing his wife because he is insane and doesn't feel remorse. Why does the narrator mention the construction of the walls and house to the police? Because he was proud of killing his wife and hiding her and fooling the police.
Why is the narrator in The Black Cat an alcoholic?
the narrator is observed to suddenly flip into a blind rage towards his animals and wife to which he then later quickly swaps back to a more depressive and slower state. To quell this sudden shift in the psyche, he then turns to drink excessively as a means to alleviate these self-destructive tendencies.
In some European folklore, black cats are considered common companions of witches and bringers of misfortune if they happened to cross your path. In contrast, Welsh folklore depicts black cats would bring luck to a home and could even be a reliable weather predictor (3).
