Analysis of The Black Cat Through Freud's Personality Theory

Introduction

Freud described personality by dividing it into three main subjects: personality structure, which includes the id, ego, and superego; personality dynamics, particularly the self-defense mechanism; and personality development. Today, I will focus only on the personality structure and the personality dynamics. This analysis uses the defense mechanisms that occur within the personality dynamics and the personality structure to analyze the characters in Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Black Cat".

Freud’s Theory in Analyzing The Black Cat

Personality Structure: Id, Ego, and Superego

In this part of the analysis, the narrator’s character development will be elaborated based on Sigmund Freud’s division of human personalities into the id, ego, and superego. It is not surprising to conclude that the narrator of the story possesses a very strange and complex mind. He is capable of showing a nurturing side as well as a darker nature, as shown in these lines: “From my infancy, I was noted for the docility and humanity of my disposition.” This attitude of a seemingly peaceful individual reflects the narrator’s nature, which he inherited from his parents. It was due to his parents that he developed a substantial fondness for animals. According to the narrator, he was indulged by his parents’ variety of pets as a child. As he grew up, this fondness slowly diminished, possibly due to the influence of his surroundings and the people he came to grow up with. This is where the id of the narrator started to become very apparent. The id is where aggression and desires come from, the core of a personality that seeks to satisfy desires to avoid tension or worse, unnatural behaviors.

After the narrator went home one night, intoxicated with alcohol, the cat avoided him. Initially, the cat named Pluto was the narrator's favorite playmate, and Pluto adored him, approaching him as soon as he got home. But as Pluto grew older, he became somewhat peevish. That night, when the narrator returned home, Pluto avoided him, which he did not like. The cat's cold reaction, combined with the narrator's intoxicated state, made him unreasonable. He became enraged and seized Pluto, as shown in the following lines: “I seized him;... The fury of the demon instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer. My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body.”

Another instance of the narrator pleasing himself is when the next black cat came into his and his wife's life. Like Pluto, he came to love the cat, but that affection did not last long. His dislike for the cat grew until it turned into disgust. The second black cat suffered the same fate as Pluto, and the narrator lost his sense of reason.

There is little to note about the narrator’s development of the ego. The ego is responsible for dealing with reality and ensuring that the id's desires are satisfied in a socially acceptable manner. The mental capacity or incapacity of the narrator makes his ego unbalanced. His rational mind was short-lived, as he did not suffer for the misconduct he inflicted on Pluto. In the case of the second black cat, the narrator's ego held him back from hurting the cat, as stated in these lines: “At such times, although I longed to destroy it with a blow, I was yet withheld from so doing, partly by a memory of a former crime,…” It could be said that the way the narrator dealt with the reality of killing Pluto was by listening to his conscience.

The last component is the narrator’s superego. The superego is the final component of personality development and is responsible for a person’s sense of right and wrong. The narrator knows what he did was wrong, as revealed by his guilt and his attempts to hold back from subjecting the second cat to the same fate as Pluto. With that being said, it can be concluded that the narrator in "The Black Cat" is dominated by his id, followed by his ego and superego. He was more concerned about attaining his desires regardless of the means, and without caring about endangering himself or those around him. His id sought not just plain pleasure, but pleasure after pleasure. He no longer liked Pluto, so he neglected to feed him and eventually killed him for more pleasure. When his wife prevented him from killing the second black cat, he did not just push her away but killed her in that instant. This murder foreshadowed his eventual downfall, as hinted at the beginning of the text. All these actions were fueled by the powerful substance called alcohol.

Personality Dynamics

The second and last part of the personality types that I'll discuss is personality dynamics. This aspect of personality can help explain the narrator's actions in a different way than the personality structure. There are three terms to be familiar with: Irrationality, perversity, and guilt. The term "irrational" is often used in psychotherapy and is especially known in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, originated and developed by the American psychologist Albert Ellis. In this approach, "irrationality" is defined as the tendency and belief that humans have to act, emote, and think in ways that are inflexible, unrealistic, absolutist, and most importantly, self and socially defeating and destructive.

The short story, "The Black Cat," portrays three main psychological aspects of the human mind: irrationality, perversity, and guilt. From the beginning of the story, it is clear that the main character is superstitious. He recalls his wife's words: “my wife..., made frequent allusion to the ancient popular notion, which regarded all black cats as witches in disguise.” The narrator calls his wife superstitious, which is synonymous with irrational. As the story proceeds, it becomes evident that he is far more superstitious himself. Moreover, the narrator begins to believe in the reincarnation of the black cat. Upon seeing the second cat, he quickly recalls Pluto's appearance and how both cats resemble each other.

The second quote reads: “It was a black cat—a very large one—fully as large as Pluto, and closely resembling him in every respect but one.” His mind is filled with these irrational beliefs that scare him, leading to his hatred of the second cat and the murder of his beloved wife. “Although I longed to destroy it with a blow, I was yet withheld from doing so, partly by a memory of my former crime, but chiefly—let me confess it at once—by absolute dread of the beast.” Therefore, the superstition in the narrator's mind is his primary reason for killing the second cat.

In addition to this, the author in "The Black Cat" expresses the spirit of perverseness through his main character. Perverseness can be characterized as a conscious persistence in doing wrong, even to loved ones. It is the deliberate resistance to discipline or, in other words, disobedience. This condition is always followed by guilt, which is another psychological aspect of the story.

If the story is not read analytically, the reader might attribute the narrator's aggressiveness to his consumption of alcohol, consequently making him a violent murderer. However, upon deeper exploration, the cause of his violence emerges as his perverseness. “This spirit of perverseness, I say, came to my final overthrow...to offer violence to its own nature to do wrong for the wrong's sake only that urged me to continue and finally to consummate the injury I had inflicted upon the unoffending brute.” Psychologists describe impulses as a radical imbalance of behavior, but the author sheds a vivid light on this phenomenon. He explains that once an idea or impulse enters a person's mind, it becomes irresistible to act upon.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" serves as a rich ground for exploring Freud's theories of personality structure and dynamics. The story vividly illustrates the dominance of the id in the narrator's actions and decisions, often at the expense of his ego and superego. The narrator's irrational beliefs, fueled by superstition, perversity, and guilt, further complicate his psychological profile, ultimately leading to his moral and physical downfall. Through this analysis, readers gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of human nature and the dark recesses of the mind.

References

1. Ellis, A. (1962). Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy. Lyle Stuart.
2. Freud, S. (1923). The Ego and the Id. The Hogarth Press.
3. Poe, E. A. (1845). The Black Cat. In The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. Harper & Brothers.
4. Smith, J. (2003). Understanding Freud: The Man and His Ideas. Penguin Books.
5. Thompson, C. (1996). Psychoanalytic Theory and Cultural Criticism. New York University Press.