Dark Romanticism Assignment 4: The Black Cat

The story is somewhat disturbing. Poe's character is the opposite of the transcendentalist idea, as he begins with a good nature, but gradually grows, within his natural instinct, in an averse direction. He says he hung the cat simply out of perverseness, to do what he knew was wrong, and that this is inherent to human nature, saying that "I am not more sure that my soul lives, than 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." This ultimately leads to the killing of his wife, not in premeditated murder but simply in an irritable reaction to her blocking his swing at the cat.

This contradicts transcendentalism completely, the human nature is expressed within the story is impetuously cruel, vengeful, and somehow fragile. The character began describing himself as being noted for the "docility and humanity" of his disposition, which is through the course of events completely contorted. There is something in the nature of the character that is understood and recognizable, yet these are put within the context of something revolting and grotesque. Poe frames these things with an almost intentional naivety, as if luring the reader to identify with the horror and contortion of the characters madness.