How Is Edgar Allan Poe's Self-Destructive Behavior

'The Black Cat' by author Edgar Allan Poe can be analyzed using psychoanalytic lenses to investigate self-destructive behavior caused by unrecognized psychological trauma. The narrator's psychological state is vividly described and conveyed through the use of imagery. Alongside the great use of imagery, the literary device of irony is used to great effect. We see the narrator express his love for animals: "My tenderness of heart was even so conspicuous as to make me the jest of my companions. I was especially fond of animals" (Poe). This is ironic because we learn earlier that the narrator killed his cat, Pluto: "I took from my waistcoat-pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes

The narrator recognizes his self-destructive behavior, but his regression is halted by repressed and unrecognized trauma, which is a common sign of mental illness and ailing the narrator. This theme explores the human brain's ability to recognize self-destructive behavior and its helplessness in dealing with such behavior. "It was this unfathomable longing of the soul to vex itself -- to offer violence to its own nature -- to do wrong for the wrong's sake only" (Poe). The narrator's inability to control himself and his self-destructive behavior is seen here more than ever. He acknowledges his mental deterioration and thus gives in to his cruel nature caused by unrecognized and repressed trauma. We see the narrator's pent-up desire to inflict harm upon what he deems to be love because of the mind's belief to do so. This is inherently ironic because even though the narrator states his fondness and love, he goes and does the opposite, inflicting malevolent acts upon his pets. The narrator does not limit his ironic rage to his pets, but he goes on to murder his wife. The narrator notes his kindness and humility: "From my infancy, I was noted for the docility and humanity of my

Further into the story, it is revealed that the narrator's personality has starkly contrasted with his views of his childhood self. The irony is also presented through Pluto, the cat: "He went about the house as usual, but, as might be expected, fled in extreme terror at my approach. I had so much of my old heart left, as to be at first grieved by this evident dislike on the part of a creature which had once so loved me" (Poe). The cat, although missing an eye, sees the narrator as something to be afraid of. Ironically, with both eyes, the cat is unable to see the narrator's dark and evil nature, but after losing an eye, it finally sees the narrator for what he truly is. The final piece of irony found within 'The Black Cat' is through the Narrator's wife. Following the Narrator's increasing downward spiral into insanity, he is presented with a new set of trauma. The narrator feels the intense guilt of his hanging of the first black cat but continues his self-destructive behaviour and his violent and immoral acts. His now obvious psychological trauma crosses the threshold of animals to humans, in the form of his wife's murder: "But this blow was arrested by the hand of my