Crandle 1
Sinead Crandle
Dr. Swender
Eng. 520.01
June 11, 2009
Edgar Allan Poe: A Reality of Human Nature – What Causes it and What Should Society Do About it?
What is madness, and how is it perceived? How does one know if he is mad? What is the cause of madness? Finally, how do we determine whether or not, or the way in which, one should be punished when he/she is deemed mad? These are all questions that we are familiar with in today’s society, and like today, these were questions that intrigued scholars and upset the justice system in previous centuries.
During the nineteenth century, society was faced with questions about religion and issues of morality, and as a result, there was a growing concern about madness and the chaos that it creates. In The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe explores the complexities of the human mind. He questions the underlying causes of madness, as well as what defines madness, and he demonstrates the reality of the greatest fear of all, which is that we, as humans, are all on the brink of madness; In addition, he exposes the fact that it is likely that there is no explanation for the horrible acts we are all capable of committing, but in order to have a “sane” society, we must removefrom societythose who have descended into madness.
The many questions surrounding madness are explored through the questions associated with sin, crime, motive, and the human will. The emerging struggle between religion and science has a major effect on Poe, and his interest in the cause of man’s sin is quite evident in his works. Poe’s literature comes during a time in which “America was dominated by ‘a resurgent evangelicalism and conservative Natural Theology’ but increasingly challenged by ‘a positivist science that was to have its nineteenth-century culmination in Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species’” (qtd. in Stark 256). These different theories and ideologies had a major impact on nineteenth century society. According to Frank’s thesis (qtd. in Stark 256), many nineteenth century naturalistic theologians incorporated the nebular hypothesis into their theism. The nebular hypothesis suggested that the cooling of heated gas could form the stars and the solar system apart from divine intervention. This hypothesis, along with Darwin’s idea that there were similarities between irrational animals such as the Ourang-Outang and rational humanity, led to the conclusion that the universe, including humanity, may be motiveless, irrational, and physically determined (qtd. in Stark 256). This idea of mankind being motiveless and irrational is what Poe explores in his works. However, he also considers the evangelical view, which is also significant during this time because of the major shift in the beliefs associated with human depravity or the moral corruption of humans. Evangelicals once believed that humans had a sinful nature inherited by Adam, but new philosophy suggestedthat sin could be controlled by human will. This conclusion determined that the human will had the power to overcome sin and crime (Stark 257). As a result of the major conflict between the scientific and religious views associated with sin, crime, and madness,Poe is intrigued, and he uses his literature to depict scenarios that explore the different theories.
One of the best examples of Poe’s literature that explores his opinion of irrationality and the human will is The Black Cat. This is an excellent example because Poe directly addresses the power of perversity – the act of behaving contrary to reason, or the desire to do wrong for the hell of it – and the tendency it has to overcome the human will to reason. During the story, in the midst of describing his irrational behavior, the narrator attributes it to perversity: “Yet I am not more sure that my soul lives, than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart – one of the indivisible primary faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of man” (194). This passage is extremely important because the narrator blames perversity for his actions. He has no other excuse to offer. He cannot understand why he would behave so irrationally and so cruelly towards a creature, other than to simply follow the impulse to do it. Therefore, Poe is arguing that the spirit of perverseness exists in humans, and sometimes this spirit prevails over the human will to reason. In The Black Cat, the narrator knew that torturing the animal was wrong; yet, he did not have the willpower to control himself. The following passage demonstrates the narrator’s struggle between the human will to do the right thing and the impulse to follow the spirit of perversity:
[…], I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree; -
hung it with the tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest
remorse of my heart; […] hung it because I knew that in so doing I was
committing a sin – a deadly sin that would jeopardize my immortal soul as
to place it […] even beyond the reach of the infinite mercy of the Most
Merciful and Most Terrible God. (194-195)
The narrator deliberately murders the cat just because it is a sin. He knows that what he is doing is an act against God, and yet he does it anyway. He is obsessed with this idea that the cat is bothering him, and his obsession in turn leads to madness. In his madness, he commits horrendous sins that he cannot control because of his impulse to deliberately partake in wrongdoing. The whole idea is, in itself, mad – but it must be true! Otherwise, why would one commit horrendous acts knowing that he will be punished? Poe argues that this is the struggle of a madman, and this spirit of perversity truly exists. According to Stark (260), the problem with accepting the narrator’s explanation of perversity in The Black Cat is that there is no philosophical account for it to exist, and there is no explanation by the narrator for the cause behind it. In response to that argument, one may conclude that Poe is arguing that some questions about human nature simply cannot be answered; they are simply a reality.
This theme of perversity is also present in The Tell-Tale Heart. Although it is not specifically mentioned by the narrator as it is in The Black Cat, the narrator does specifically inform the reader that his only reason for murdering the old man is due to an obsession that he has with the man’s eye:
Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture […]. (187)
This passage clearly demonstrates that the narrator is mad. He admits that the man has never done anything to him, and more importantly, he claims to love the old man. It is simply irrational for the narrator to kill the old man because he does not like his eye; yet, these are the thoughts of this madman. The only thing that urgeshim to kill the old man is the impulse to do it, which is a result of his own obsession. Poe again establishes that one who is mad commits horrendous acts for no logical reason other than the spirit of perverseness, and there simply is no explanation for this. If this argument is valid, then it follows that Poe disagrees with the evangelical view that the human will to use reason has the power to overcome sin and crime. It also follows that Poe agrees with Darwin’s idea that there are some similarities between the irrationality of animals and the rationality of humans. Although humans are creatures of reason, they also possess natural animalistic impulses that may not always be controlled, which may therefore lead to motiveless crimes such as those committed in The Black Cat and The Tell-Tale Heart. When one loses his ability to reason as a rational creature, and he is overpowered by an impulse to give in to perversity, he is deemed mad, and he is therefore unfit for society.
Crime, sin and madness were all related subjects of great interest during the nineteenth century, and there are many different approaches that can be taken towards understanding the cause of them. Therefore, it is quite possible that Poe takes more than one approach to understanding the cause of madness. In the examples previously mentioned, Poe addresses the most prominent issues that are facing society – that of human nature and instinct vs. human depravity and the will to reason. This conflict with reason and impulse was a major concern in relation to crime and the punishment of the criminally insane. Society was faced with the reality that the asylum housed those who were in need of separation from society. In a study of the nineteenth-century asylum, Karen Halttunen notes:
If the social privatization of punishment in the asylum meant that the
notoriously deviant were hidden from the sight of the properly self-
restrained, the psychic privatization of bourgeois social discipline meant that the deviant impulses within each individual were buried from acknowledgement. Middle-class culture was haunted by the fear that human nature was not really perfectible, that respectability was a mere sham, the outward show of “confidence men” and “painted women.” (55-56)
The fear that human nature is subject to imperfection and deviant impulses is a valid fear, and Poe does an excellent job of depicting the reality of deviant impulses in relation to crime as he demonstrates in The Black Cat and in The Tell-Tale Heart. However, it is possible that Poe is also influenced by some of the medical doctrine such as Dr. Isaac Ray’s theory of “irresistible impulse,” a form of “moral insanity.” This theory stated that:
the moral (affective) and rational (intellectual) functions of the brain were physically separate, located in different mental organs and each independently susceptible to disease and deformation. Thus, an individual suffering a disease of the moral organs could become a victim of “moral insanity” in which “no delusion is present to disturb the mental vision” and yet he “finds himself urged, perhaps, to the commission of every outrage, and though perfectly conscious of what he is doing, unable to offer the slightest resistance to the overwhelming power that impels him.” (qtd. in Cleman 629)
The argument that Poe supports Ray’s theory about madness is a valid one because it explains Poe’s deliberate attempt to demonstrate to the reader the intelligence of the madman who narrates each story. In The Black Cat, the following passage demonstrates the intelligence of the narrator, as well as his ability to think rationally:
“When I had finished, I felt satisfied that all was right. The wall did not present the slightest appearance of being disturbed. The rubbish on the floor was picked up with the minutest care. I looked around triumphantly, and said to myself – ‘Here at least, then, my labor has not been in vain.’” (199)
This passage refers to the narrator’s efforts to hide his wife’s body in the wall, and he does so successfully. He does a remarkable job of covering up his horrible sin, and it is only discovered due to his own overconfidence. This passage supports Ray’s theory that the moral and rational functions of the brain are separate. The narrator knows that what he has done is wrong, and he is able to use reason and intelligence to hide the crime; yet, he is unable to control his impulse to act immorally. This same scenario is depicted in The Tell-Tale Heart. After the narrator has killed the old man, he brilliantly covers up his crime:
I then took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber, and
deposited all between the scantlings. I then replaced the boards so
cleverly, so cunningly, that no human eye – not even his – could have
detected anything wrong. There was nothing to wash out – no stain of any
kind – no blood-spot whatever. I had been too wary for that. A tub had
caught all – ha! ha! (190)
This example is significant because it describes the great detail involved in covering up the crime. In addition, it shows how well thought-out the narrator’s plan is. He thinks of everything and then commends himself for being so smart. Poe provides us with a perfect example of a homicidal maniac. This example supports Ray’s theory that a madman commits horrendous,motiveless acts based on impulse and obsession that are a result of an illness; however, the madman still has the ability to use logical and rational thinking.
Interestingly, Ray’s theory was very important during the nineteenth century because motiveless crimes were gaining more attention due to the changes in the insanity defense in both England and America. In the eighteenth century a madman was described as: “a man that is totally deprived of his understanding and memory, and doth not know what he is doing, no more than an infant, than a brute, or a wild beast” (qtd. in Cleman 628). However, in the nineteenth century, judges began to accept the partial insanity plea which allowed attorneys to use medical testimony to determine insanity. In addition, the deterministic view of human nature was presented, and the accused could be insane, not culpable for their crime, and still have every appearance of rationality (Cleman 625-626). Evidence suggests that Poe was interested in physical determinism, the mysteries of the will, the irrationality of perverseness, and the battle between instinct and reason (Stark 257). All of these things are associated with the causes for motiveless crimes, and Poe considers all of this in his analysis on the subject. Through his literature, Poe depicts the fragile mind of a madman, and he explores the connection between irrational human behavior and the horror of motiveless crimes. In the article, Poe and the Insanity Defense, Cleman states that in her research, “Elizabeth Phillips has demonstrated that the narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart resembles the homicidal maniacs described by Ray and Rush in several aspects, including his singular lack of rational motive, his unusual cruelty, his remaining at the scene of the crime, his symptoms of delusions and hallucinations, and his acuteness of the senses, headaches, and ringing in the ears” (632). This analysis is quite correct and can also be used in analyzing the narrator in The Black Cat. Poe’s narrators possess all of the symptoms of madness that are being presented in court by nineteenth century attorneys defending clients on the basis of partial insanity. In fact, in reference to the narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart, Cleman states: “Even the narrator’s insistent denial of the charge of insanity fits the pattern of symptoms of the homicidal maniac […]” (632). Once again, this statement applies to the narrator in The Black Cat as well. Therefore, Poe specifically uses his literature to provide insight as to the way the homicidal maniac thinks, functions, and commits motiveless crimes of horror. This leads one to the conclusion that Poe supports the theory that one can be partially insane. However, his depiction of extremely bizarre, senseless, motiveless crimes, also leads one to the conclusion that Poe is emphasizing the need to remove homicidal maniacs from society. In addition, Poe questions the rationality of allowing those of an irrational nature to escape adequate punishment for their crimes. However, Poe travels beyond this line of thought and reasoning.
Poe does more than address the legal rationale of crimes committed by madmen and the issues surrounding the causes of sin and immoral crimes resulting from madness.He also points out that madness is a fact of human nature, and is therefore a threat to all of us. In fact, Poe argues that we are all on the brink of madness. In The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe uses a first-person narration in order to allow the reader into the mind of the narrator. This technique is extremely important because the reader is exposed to the narrator’s innermost thoughts, as well as his thought process. As the reader witnesses the actions of the alter-ego, he feels as if he, too, is a part of the narrator’s mind. For example, in the following passage from The Black Cat, the narrator describes the beginning stages of his madness: “I grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others. I suffered myself to intemperate language to my wife. At length, I even offered her personal violence” (193). The narrator’s account is very effective because the reader is able to relate to the narrator’s experience. In George E. Haggerty’s book entitled Gothic Fiction/Gothic Form, he discusses the way that Poe uses this narrative technique in The Fall of the House of Usher as well as other tales. Haggerty comments:
The first-person narrator records his experiences so as to make the reader