"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allen Poe - Mr. P Reads Stuff - Ep. 06

I've always been a fan of Egar Allen Poe's work and one of my favorite memories growing up was finding an Illustrated Classics edition of several of his works. The illustrations captivated me and I tore through that book several times. "The Cask of Amontillado" being a personal favorite. Speaking of burying things in the walls, "The Black Cat" is another great story of his that I first heard as an edited speech for a fine arts competition. I hadn't thought much about it for years until I read "The Cats of Ulthar" by H.P. Lovecraft. So, with it being spooky season yet again, I decided I would try my hand (or voice) at doing a reading of "The Black Cat".

The story is decent length and certainly captures the spirit of Poe's work. Even more interesting is that the narrator had some of the same issues Poe had, alcohol addiction being the main one. Even more interesting is the way that Poe actually includes some decent theology in his narrative:

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. Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such? This spirit of perverseness, I say, came to my final overthrow. 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 -- that urged me to continue and finally to consummate the injury I had inflicted upon the unoffending brute.

Later on, the narrator says the following of himself as a person:

And now was I indeed wretched beyond the wretchedness of mere Humanity. And a brute beast -- whose fellow I had contemptuously destroyed -- a brute beast to work out for me -- for me a man, fashioned in the image of the High God -- so much of insufferable woe!

In the former selection, we have a very astute and very accurate depiction of man's inherent nature. We often plunge into sin precisely because we know we aren't supposed to. Not to spoil the story, but the next section in the story has the narrator commit an action which he says would: 

...so jeopardize my 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.

Even though he realized and admitted that this was something worthy of the damnation of his soul, there would still be no way to place it far enough away from God's mercy. Of course, that mercy is only properly availed of through repentance, but notice the equal description of "Most Terrible God". People frequently talk about the "fear of the Lord" being simply a term for respect and awe, which it certainly does mean. However, simply put "fear means fear". It can certainly include the aspects of respect, awe, and reverence, but it will never not also mean "fear". After all:

And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28 NASB2020)

In the second section I copied, the one about being made in the image of God, the point the author makes is that this cat, a mere beast, was being used to torment and punish someone who was made in the image of God. He had fallen so low that a lesser creature was being used to show him the depths of his evil. When you understand the biblical basis behind what Poe was writing, something which was certainly opposed to the views of Transcendentalists like Thoreau, the words take on a great deal of poignance. Even though Poe's life was less than exemplary, especially concerning how he died, even he didn't seek to rationalize and promote his own vices. He very much seemed to recognize the evils of addiction and alcoholism and did not portray it as anything but that.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little foray into the text and scriptural basis for what is in the story, and hope you enjoy the reading of the story as well.