Ray Poe Blog

       

       The way nature (i.e. external nature) and human nature (i.e. internal nature) are presented in Poe differs in tone from the way they are presented by the Puritanical writers we have read thus far. The Puritan view of physical nature and the content of character (a.k.a. human nature) is that these natural states of being should be suppressed/controlled. Poe illustrates how elements of depravity are present in everyone and are all around us, much like Mary Rowlandson felt contained by the vast walls of nature (associated with savagery in Rowlandson’s eyes) all around her. However, the concept of pre-destination seems to give Rowlandson a more optimistic tone than Poe seems to possess; Poe’s work has a more nostalgic and hopeless mood. Poe laments the imperfectability of humans while Rowlandson attempts to make herself more complete and to withstand God’s tests (i.e. become more perfect) through the discipline of faith and scripture.  Rowlandson’s fear and resistance of nature opposes Poe’s approach of nature involving the sense of awe, the macabre, and blurring the line between nature and the praeternatural. 

      The Black Cat gives us what is perhaps the most violent human act of violence-and, thus, depravity-in the selections we have read from Poe. Poe himself acknowledges the fantastical/ridiculous nature of the work in the introductory paragraph. After gouging out his beloved cat’s eye in a drunken rage, there is a point where the narrator could step back, realize that was certainly a breach of the line of decency regarding pets and their owners. The narrator, however, notes this point and seemingly passes right by it, developing this unprovoked hatred for the cat that loves him so much. The narrator comments on his feelings about the gross deed in a very self-serving manner: 

“I had so much of my old heart left, as to be at first grieved by this evident dislike on the part of a creature which had once so loved me.” (Black Cat, p.2) 

The breaking point of humanity is also noted by the narrator himself: 

“my wife, who, as I have already said, possessed, in a high degree, the humanity of feeling which had once been my distinguishing trait,” (Black Cat, p.4) 

      The unexpected violence in the behavior of the owner of the black cat opposes unexpected perpetrator of violence in The Murders in the Rue Morgue. In The Black Cat readers are familiar with the man, and do not expect the violent outburst. Contrastingly, in The Murders in the Rue Morgue, readers are familiar with the violent deed performed, and do not know who the perpetrator is. The brutal nature of the crime itself leads investigators to believe that the killer was a human deliberately carrying out whatever act of revenge or robbery they had plotted. The violence of the crime, leading investigators to believe it an intentional crime, caused police and witnesses to overlook what seem like red flag clues in hindsight. If they considered the strength required for the deed, and had no problem discerning the two voices-one clearly French-why had the thought of an animal attack not crossed their mind? Things escalated far enough for a completely innocent man to be arrested for the crime with no evidence showing his guilt. Everyone expected the perpetrator to be human, since the crime was so depraved in nature. The brutality of the orangutan’s crime is what protected his identity until the end of the story:  

Departing from the severity of The Black Cat and The Murders on the Rue Morgue, we take a breath with the comparatively mild poem The Raven. Mild in form and method relative to the other works, The Raven uses more subtle elements of horror such as a simple, mysterious rap at the door that inspire:

     

      “fantastic terrors never felt before.” (The Raven, p. 1)

This comparatively quiet poem has a more haunting tone than the direct, excited terror and wonder of The Black Cat or The Murders on the Rue Morgue. The regal raven flies into a civilized space from the mysterious natural world outside; nature’s messenger sent to distress the homeowner.

      After taking a calm breath with The Raven, Ligeia gently steps from the quiet and mysterious out into the realm of the fantastical and awesome. It is ironic that the narrator undercuts the story with regular mentions of his addiction to opium. The mention of this addiction and drug usage makes readers wonder whether the supernatural happenings are due to actual supernatural activity or the effects of the drug. The addiction shows the depravity/mental weakness of the narrator. Nature (the ethereal realm) took Ligeia from the narrator, and desecrated Rowena’s body by allowing Ligeia to return, transform, and occupy it:

“can I never-can I never be mistaken-these are the full, and the black, and the wild eyes-of my lost love-of the Lady- of the LADY LIGEIA.” (Ligeia, p.11)

      Finally, we step off of the mythical pedestal of Ligeia and turn to The Masque of the Red Death. A group of aristocrats attempts to cheat nature by quarantining themselves off against a plague sweeping their community. 

      “There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without as the “Read Death.” (The Masque of the Red Death, p. 1)
 

The majority of the story involves the healthy group participating in debauchery while avoiding a fatal disease quickly passing amongst their neighbors. The accusatory nature of the party guests/refugees came into play all too late, once they realized the mysterious party guest had transmitted the Red Death to them.