Insanity And The End Of Two Lives: A Comparison Of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Black Cat" And Charlotte Perkins Gilman "The Yellow Wallpaper"
On the surface, generally speaking, one could say that both stories, Edgar Allen Poe's, The Black Cat and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's, The Yellow Wall-Paper are two completely different short stories. Poe's tale is about a man's descent into madness, while on the other hand, Gilman's story is about a woman's attempt to crawl out of her insanity. Other differences between the two are that they are writers of the opposite sex, and lived during two different periods of time. This all makes for a strong case for an analysis of the differences between the two tales.
Upon closer inspection instead of differences, we find many similarities. One of the most interesting similarities between the two tales surfaces due to a critique of Gilman's work by Elaine Hedges. Poe, of course, is well known for his masterful tales of horror. In particular, Charlotte Gilman's, The Yellow Wall Paper is also noted for its bent toward horror. Note what Hedges says about this work, "In its timeĀ
the story was read essentially as a Poe-esque tale of chilling horror". This is where the similarities begin. Upon delving even further into both these stories and the lives of both authors, we find many other interesting similarities.
Both Gilman and Poe, through their narrators, write about a shared similar experience: madness (or some would call it insanity). Both experienced madness in their personal lives. Poe had a long-time struggle with drinking and drugs. He also "suffered from bouts of depression and madness and attempted suicide in 1848" (http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/eapoe.htm, p 3). As for Gilman, after the birth of her first daughter, she also suffered depression (which we would now diagnose as post partum depression) and "she ended her own life by taking an overdose of chloroform" (http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/gilman.htm, p 2).
The point of view of both stories lies with the narrator. The narrators share with the reader a set of extraordinary events...
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