Poe's Use of Paranoid Schizophrenia in 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and 'The Black Cat' - Prof. P, Apuntes de Cultura Inglesa

¡Descarga Poe's Use of Paranoid Schizophrenia in 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and 'The Black Cat' - Prof. P y más Apuntes en PDF de Cultura Inglesa solo en Docsity! EDGAR ALLAN POE Childhood – the mother was an actress, abandoned by the husband, and later she died. John and Frances Allan were his adopted parents. Youth – he fell in with Sarah Elmira Royster, but he never could marry her. He published anonimously his first poem book. Adulthood- West Point 1830s (military academy). Matrimony – he married his cousing Virginia Clemn Poe, who was 13 years old when they married and he 27. He was deeply in love with her. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 19, he was devastated. American context. “the legend of sleepy hollow” W. Irving the USA in the 1830s - he took elements from the European gothic → Mary Shelley – E.T.A Hoffman. Transformed it into a genre which became an American genre for excellence, the Short Story. Philosophy of composition 1846 How he composed The Raven. Objective: dismantle the romantic belief in the spontateity of creation. Plot: he starts to see rationality in the supranatural. The threshold separating the “real” from the “supernatural” (superstition) is surpassed – why? There's an excess of suggested meaning: undercurrent of the theme. Emergence of the metaphorical – the never ending mourning of the lover. The end in view – the denouement – he starts writing knowing the end, every thing is perfectly planned to reach that planned end. All the elements are perfectly linked → Unity There's to be a degree of excitement. The effect/impression, the writers knows which wants to get from the ready. Beauty related to sadness and melancholy. How to confront The black cat and The tell-tale heart. – the real and the superstitious (supernatural) – the meaning (not so important, the process. Not only one meaning) – how the metaphorical emerges – the explanation – the rational blending with irrational – TRUTH (the pursuit of reason) AND PASSION – the denouement (what happens in the end) – how do both stories start? With a cronological begginning? Or we know already what happens? – Unity – how closely interrelated all the elements are – the degree of exciment – Narrator / Narrative – death – originality – spaces – Poe, where the story happens? The diff. Spaces in the story, always closed spaces (helps to create an atmosphere of anxiety, mistery) Basic considerations and questions what are the circumstances of the narration? Why is the story being told? Who is the narrator? What they have in common is that the narrator is a murder. A first hand explanation, acces to the mind of the criminal. Is being told as a confession, seeking redemption for what he has done from us, readers. What marks the rhythm of the story? There is a crescendo – hos is this crescendo being built? Cruelty of the narrator at the first, the dimension of this cruelty increases. Does the dimension of the remorse also increases? What is the nature of the crime committed by the narrator/murderer? Who is the victim? How is “remorse” being used in the story? In other words, when does the narrator feel remorse? His main preocupation after killing the cat is being caught, to hide the evidence. What is the interpretation you come up with? Is the narrator mad indeed? How do you account for “the sequence of causes and effects” displayed in the narrative? How many cats are there? What role does the wife play in the story? Opening paragraph of THE BLACK CAT FOR the most wild yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not—and very surely do I not dream. (I know that you are not going to believe me: he is capting the attention of the reader, adressing to him in a very closely way. What I am telling you is true, I am not dreaming and not mad. The reader is already in the story in the very first lines) But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburden my soul. My immediate purpose is to place before the world, plainly, succinctly, and without comment, a series of mere household events (daily routine, no interest). In their consequences, these events have terrified— have tortured—have destroyed me. Yet I will not attempt to expound them. To me, they have presented little but horror—to many they will seem less terrible than baroques. Hereafter, perhaps, some intellect may be found which will reduce my phantasm to the commonplace—some intellect more calm, more logical, and far less excitable than my own, which will perceive, in the circumstances I detail with awe, nothing more than an ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects. Irrational and Rational Challenging the reader – how? To provide a rational interpretation. The narrator i cleverly motioning the reader towards the irrational. Why is the narrator instigating the reader towards the irrational? To endear the reader towards him – to build empathy The Tell-Tale Heart” – Edgar Allan Poe Start with “The Philosophy of Composition” – think about those elements that configure a story according to Poe. From “The Philosophy of Composition” • The real and the superstitious (supernatural) • The “meaning” • How the metaphorical emerges > the explanation > the rational blending with the irrational >Truth and Passion • The denouement – how do both stories start? • Unity > how closely interrelated all the elements are • The degree of excitement >Narrator / Narrative • Death • Originality • Space floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observations of the men --but the noise steadily increased. Oh God! what could I do? I foamed --I raved --I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder --louder --louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled. Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! --no, no! They heard! --they suspected! --they knew! --they were making a mockery of my horror!-this I thought, and this I think. But anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision! I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! and now --again! --hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! "Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart!" Paranoid Schizophrenia Paranoid schizophrenia is the most common type of schizophrenia in most parts of the world. The clinical picture is dominated by relatively stable, often paranoid, delusions, usually accompanied by hallucinations, particularly of the auditory variety, and perceptual disturbances. Disturbances of affect, volition, and speech, and catatonic symptoms, are not prominent. Examples of the most common paranoid symptoms are:  delusions of persecution, reference, exalted birth, special mission, bodily change, or jealousy;  hallucinatory voices that threaten the patient or give commands, or auditory hallucinations without verbal form, such as whistling, humming, or laughing;  hallucinations of smell or taste, or of sexual or other bodily sensations; visual hallucinations may occur but are rarely predominant. Thought disorder may be obvious in acute states, but if so it does not prevent the typical delusions or hallulcinations from being described clearly. Affect is usually less blunted than in other varieties of schizophrenia, but a minor degree of incongruity is common, as are mood disturbances such as irritability, sudden anger, fearfulness, and suspicion. "Negative" symptoms such as blunting of affect and impaired volition are often present but do not dominate the clinical picture. The course of paranoid schizophrenia may be episodic, with partial or complete remissions, or chronic. In chronic cases, the florid symptoms persist over years and it is difficult to distinguish discrete episodes. The onset tends to be later than in the hebephrenic and catatonic forms. Cultural Background – Moral Insanity and Paranoid Schizophrenia The clinical picture is dominated by relatively stable, often paranoid, delusions, usually accompanied by hallucinations, particularly of the auditory variety, and perceptual disturbances > especially delusions of persecution. Wouldn’t you say that this fits the condition of the narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” BUT! this is a description of paranoid schizophrenia as we understand it today, aftermath of Freud, Jung, etc …. Poe’s work was published in 1843, nineteenth-century. Poe and his inspiration for “The Tell-Tale Heart” Zimmerman, Brett. “ ‘Moral Insanity’ or Paranoid Schizophrenia: Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’”. Mosaic. 25.2 (1992), 39-48. [P]oe himself had experienced symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, and used these as the basis for his narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Another hypothesis is that Poe’s portrait is purely a product of his imagination (and it is therefore a matter of coincidence that he portrayed what twentieth-century psychology calls a paranoid schizophrenic). The explanation I would like to advance and support, however, is that Poe acquired his knowledge of the symptoms by familiarizing himself with the scientific theories of his time. (Zimmerman, 44) >Other examples from Poe > “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” (1845) > mesmerism (pseudoscience; magnetism, later on hypnotism) AND “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839) > catalepsis (Madeline) and hypersensitivity to textures, lights, sounds, smells, tastes and hypochondria (Roderick Usher) Abnormal mental states – moral insanity  paranoid schizophrenia > 1898, Emil Kraepelin labeled the disease “Dementia Praecox” and in 1911 finally it was given its present name by Eugen Bleuler.  Spurzheim (phrenologist) “The Imp of the Perverse”  Acquantaince with Pliny Earle (a physician who dealt extensively with the insane in asylums in both Pennsylvania and New York)  The American Journal of Insanity  The Philadelphia publishing house of Carey and Lea published almost twice as many medical books as those in any other category except fiction and mental health was a staple concern in these works  John Haslam’s Observations on Madness and Melancholy (1809) > a specific chapter, “Symptoms of the Disease” > reference to suspiciousness, auditoryhallucinations and violence. Walker, I. M. “The ‘Legitimate Sources’ of Terror in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’”. Modern Language Review 61 (1966): 585-92. With his passion for scientific fact and his interest in abnormal mental states, Poe would have been likely to turn to systems of contemporary psychology in the same way that modern writers have turned to Freud and Jung. Moreover, in Poe’s day … information regarding both mental and physical diseases was readily available to the intelligent layman, not only in the original works of the scientists, but also in popular journals and encyclopaedias. (I. M. Walker, 588) From Zimmerman (44) Contrary to the explanations usually given, I would argue that Poe’s madman revealed his crime not because of a guilty conscience, not because some “imp of the perverse” goaded him into confessing, not because he hates himself and really wanted to be caught –not because he has self-destructive tendencies, in other words –but because he suffers from delusions of persecution. He believed that the officers had discovered his crime and he could not bear the thought that they were mocking him. As Reilly notes “the narrator purged his rage by exposing what he believed was the hypocrisy of the police,” and thus “self-incrimination” was merely the by-product” (Reilly, 7) The symptoms of the narrator  Violence  Delusions of persecution and of grandeur  Mood shifts  Nervousness  Lack of insight into his own psychopathy What do we gain from analyzing “The Tell-Tale Heart” from this scientific approach? 1. We contribute to debunk the myth of Poe as a writer drawn to madness for the sake of madness 2. We contribute to debunk the romantic myth of Poe as a tormented artist who wrote “The Tell-Tale Heart” as a way to explore his own psychotic and self-destructive tendencies. 3. We regard him as a “sophisticated writer who consulted scientific books and journals in an attempt to achieve accuracy and verisimilitude in his own works” (Zimmerman, 47) 4. We place Poe as a precursor of modern artists whose sophisticated approach to science gives power to the human insight exposed in his works > science as an ally, not as a threat > it takes a very good writer to put himself in the shoes of diverse “criminals” and make them believable. o Despite the similarities between the different narrators, the way in which Poe – through the narrator- expresses their peculiar specificity is remarkable. o Narrator – Narration > the key to a successful short story  EXAM – 3 questions of the 3 first readings (choose 2)  2 questions of Short story and poetry  Huck Finn – especific reference   Symptom of the narrator  Madness – custom of a disease or an outcome of pure evil  The Black Cat -  The Tell-tale heart – he … about mental disease  violence     What do we gain from this analysis?  We contribute to debunk the myth of Poe as a writer dawn to madness for the sake of madness  We contribute to debunk the romantic myth of Poe as a tormented artist who wrote The Tell- Tale Heart as a way to explore his own psychotic and self-destructive tendencies.  We regard him as a sophisticated writer, who consulted scientific books and journals in an attempt to achieve accuracy and versimilitude in hiw own works.  We place Poe as a precursor of modern artists whose sophisticated approach to science gives power to the human insight exposed in his works – science as an ally, not as a threat – it takes a very good writer to put himself in the shoes of diverse “criminals” and make them believable.  Despite the similarities between the different narrators, the way in which Poe, through the narrator expresses their peculiar specifity is remarkable.   THE YELLOW WALLPAPER – Charlotte Perkins Gilman  Create a performance: a filmic/television version  Aspects to consider:  Senses  Gothic/Victorian elements  Metamorphosis  Madness   Similarities and differences with Poe's The Black Cat and The Tell-Tale Heart  Madness as diseases – acutenes of the senses  Space – enclosed – domesticity (houses that are supposed to be homes) . The contagion