I've been already familiar with numerous Poe's novels. But the one that caught my eye is a special one...
"For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen..." that's how the story opens. The very beginning sets the right tone and atmosphere for the entire story.
Frankly speaking, Poe is always very precise with details and settings for his stories (recollect at least "The Fall of the House of Usher". But it's not the case with our story. I came across several settings while reading the story, but all of them are not vividly described.
Firstly comes the narration from the cell. The narrator himself is imprisoned and sentenced to death. He is eager to release his burden and to reveal his story before he dies: "I would unburthen my soul". He details his story from the cell as something natural and something that must-have-happened "as a natural cause".
Then comes a vague description of the narrator's house. After the hanging of his favourite cat Pluto, he finds his house burning: "The curtains of my bed were in flames. The whole house was blazing. The destruction was complete". Judging by the description of the burning house, we may assume that the narrator is rather well-off. He has a servant and his house is rather big and old. No hints for defining the narrator's profession are provided. An important detail is that the only wall that survives the great fire is "a compartment wall, not very thick, which stood about the middle of the house, and against which had rested the head of my bed". The fact is that all the other walls "had fallen in". This wall is crucial - "the figure of gigantic cat" is seen from the wall. In a new house a new cat (or the old one - his third life) still appears to be found on the wall. The wall possesses a special symbolic meaning (which will be revealed further).
The last setting is provided by the cellar, where the narrator kills and immures in the wall his wife. The cellar is hidden under the new house and represents the subconsciousness of the narrator, where his darkest secrets are hidden. The process of plastering the wall remind me of the preparations of the other Poe's protagonist from "Tell-Tale Heart" for hiding the corpse, when he claims he is not lunatic proving the fact by his thorough preparations (the process is nearly the same as in "The Black Cat").
To cut it short, there are rather few details for the thorough analysis of the setting. Still, some conclusions can be drawn out: there is a reason for such a vague description of the house, as this house could be any house found in any place. Such generalised image of the home contributes to the general tense and gloomy atmosphere of the story.
"For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen..." that's how the story opens. The very beginning sets the right tone and atmosphere for the entire story.
Frankly speaking, Poe is always very precise with details and settings for his stories (recollect at least "The Fall of the House of Usher". But it's not the case with our story. I came across several settings while reading the story, but all of them are not vividly described.
Firstly comes the narration from the cell. The narrator himself is imprisoned and sentenced to death. He is eager to release his burden and to reveal his story before he dies: "I would unburthen my soul". He details his story from the cell as something natural and something that must-have-happened "as a natural cause".
Then comes a vague description of the narrator's house. After the hanging of his favourite cat Pluto, he finds his house burning: "The curtains of my bed were in flames. The whole house was blazing. The destruction was complete". Judging by the description of the burning house, we may assume that the narrator is rather well-off. He has a servant and his house is rather big and old. No hints for defining the narrator's profession are provided. An important detail is that the only wall that survives the great fire is "a compartment wall, not very thick, which stood about the middle of the house, and against which had rested the head of my bed". The fact is that all the other walls "had fallen in". This wall is crucial - "the figure of gigantic cat" is seen from the wall. In a new house a new cat (or the old one - his third life) still appears to be found on the wall. The wall possesses a special symbolic meaning (which will be revealed further).
The last setting is provided by the cellar, where the narrator kills and immures in the wall his wife. The cellar is hidden under the new house and represents the subconsciousness of the narrator, where his darkest secrets are hidden. The process of plastering the wall remind me of the preparations of the other Poe's protagonist from "Tell-Tale Heart" for hiding the corpse, when he claims he is not lunatic proving the fact by his thorough preparations (the process is nearly the same as in "The Black Cat").
To cut it short, there are rather few details for the thorough analysis of the setting. Still, some conclusions can be drawn out: there is a reason for such a vague description of the house, as this house could be any house found in any place. Such generalised image of the home contributes to the general tense and gloomy atmosphere of the story.
I like the way you empathize the details of the story.
ОтветитьУдалитьAnd those illustrations fit it like a glove :)
Oh, I enjoy your usage of our Active Vocabulary)) besides, the first picture is taken from a PC-game, which deals with the "hidden objects"-technique and is based on the Poe's novels.
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