The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe Short Story Analysis

First, in dark romanticism, when characters sin, they are immensely impacted causing life-changing events. To begin, in Edgar Allen Poe’s story “The Black Cat”, the narrator hangs his cat and is reprimanded for it through what he believes is the cat, resulting in destruction. At the beginning of the story, the narrator attempts to convince the reader that he is a reliable and sane source. His dialogue is a sign that the narrator is untrustworthy and their words should be taken cautiously. The narrator owns a cat named Pluto. Although he claims he loves Pluto, when he is intoxicated, he does something diabolical. The narrator hangs Pluto by the neck in a tree and while doing so confesses he, “...hung it because [he] knew that in so doing [he] was committing a sin‒ a deadly sin that would so jeopardize [his] immortal soul as to place it‒ if such a thing were possible‒ even beyond the reach of the infinite mercy of the Most Merciful and Most Terrible God” (Poe 3). The narrator’s words convey his self-awareness and understanding that what he has done is a sin. Following the events, the narrator goes to bed and wakes to his house in flames. While checking the house after the fire, he claims to see the outline of a cat with a noose around its neck. The vision makes him believe that the cat was responsible for the fire. Although the cause of the fire is unknown, the narrator’s sinful actions are met with consequences. The destruction of his home is a result of his fault. Next, a second example is in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story “The Minister’s Black Veil” when the minister finally reveals the reason for his veil on his deathbed. One average day, the town minister exits his house with a black veil concealing his face. When the townspeople see it, they are bewildered and fearful. As time progresses, the minister grows older and never removes his veil, even for his wife. He becomes ill and must reside in the hospital. In his last moments, he yells frustratingly, “When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend; the lover to his best beloved; when man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die!” (Hawthorne 13). The minister shares that his veil represents sin. He unveils he has sinned and when people see what he had done, they ostracize him. He does not specify what exactly he did, however, when he sins and puts on the veil, it affects his life in many ways, ruining his relationships with others. Finally, the last example is from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story “Young Goodman Brown” when Brown makes a deal with the Devil in the woods. Brown must leave his wife Faith for a short time to meet with someone in the woods. When he arrives, the reader finds out that the Devil is the person waiting for Brown. The Devil attempts to convince Brown to make a deal with him by showing Brown people he trusts worshipping him. The final straw for Brown is when the Devil conjures the voice of his wife and Brown sees her pink hair ribbon fall from the sky. Brown cries in agony, “‘My Faith is gone!’ cried he, after one stupefied moment. ‘There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil! For to thee is this world given’” (Hawthorne 7). When Brown exclaims this statement, it signifies a deal and the Devil has control over Brown. Because of this sinful deal, Brown begins to lead an unwanted life. He feels as though he cannot trust anyone and anything mentioning God turns him pale. When his gravestone is placed, not one Bible verse is engraved. Overall, in these three stories, all of the protagonists sin in some way. Their sin is equally matched with the life-altering consequences they receive.