A man who describes himself as a docile youth with a love of animals, yet it is clear from the beginning of the story that the narrator is telling his story from prison. The duality of his personality, passionate but temperamental becomes clearer and clearer as he loses patience with his loved ones and commits horrific acts of violence. His guilt affects him hugely, as does his paranoia, superstition and, like many of Poe’s characters, vices like alcohol and opium. In the end, his crimes haunt and condemn him to the gallows, just as he feared.
Narrator (The Black Cat) Quotes in Poe's Stories
The Poe's Stories quotes below are all either spoken by Narrator (The Black Cat) or refer to Narrator (The Black Cat). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Black Cat
Quotes
I took from my waistcoat-pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket! I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity.
Related Characters:
Narrator (The Black Cat) (speaker), The Black Cat (speaker)
Related Symbols:
Eyes
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Narrator (The Black Cat) Character Timeline in Poe's Stories
The timeline below shows where the character Narrator (The Black Cat) appears in Poe's Stories. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Black Cat
The narrator of "The Black Cat" begins by saying that we probably won’t believe what he is about to tell us....
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The narrator of "The Black Cat" tells us of his boyhood, which was easy. He had a particular love of animals...
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This cat was unusually large and intelligent. The narrator of "The Black Cat" remembers how his wife used to talk about the superstition that black cats are all...
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Meanwhile, though, the mood of the narrator of "The Black Cat" became progressively worse. He drank a lot and suffered from bouts of very bad temper,...
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In the morning, the narrator of "The Black Cat" felt horrible about the cruel act. The cat’s eye socket healed, but he now knew...
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That very night, the narrator of "The Black Cat" and his wife were awoken by the sound of flames. The house was on fire....
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The narrator of "The Black Cat" tries to logically explain how it could have happened. The cat must have been thrown...
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One day, in a den of disrepute, the narrator of "The Black Cat" suddenly spots a cat atop a barrel of alcohol he’s been staring at. The cat...
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The narrator of "The Black Cat" starts to avoid the creature, partly out of this hatred but also from shame at...
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The narrator of "The Black Cat" tries to explain that this dread is not because of the apparent evil of the...
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In this state of permanent torture, all the goodness that the narrator of "The Black Cat" had in his heart has disappeared. His evil instincts take over, and even his wife...
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The plan works. The narrator of the "Black Cat" removes the bricks covering the fireplace, and puts the body in and covers it again....
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...some policemen arrive to search the property, but knowing that his stowing place is perfect, the narrator of the "Black Cat" is not embarrassed and leads the officers in a full tour of the house. He...
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