에드가 앨런 포의 「검은 고양이」: 가정과 남성성, 그리고 공포
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat”: Domesticity, Masculinity, and Horror
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Poe’s “The Black Cat” reveals the terror inherent to 19th-century hegemonic ideologies—the cult of domesticity and True Manhood. With his narration, the storyteller initially intends to restore his masculinity, which has been destroyed by the black cat, by rationalizing his atrocities as ordinary household events. Right after his early marriage, the narrator’s alienation not only from the market but also from the domestic sphere transforms his faltering masculinity into “perverseness” in the claustrophobic space of the home. The logic of “perverseness”—i.e., that of irrationality, irresponsibility, and illogicality—morbidly reestablishes his masculinity and domesticity. In other words, he achieves the domestic ideal of separate spheres, and therefore his manhood, by abusing and killing his wife and walling up her corpse in the house. The beast, however, reveals the narrator’s violence hidden behind the veneer of his flawless domesticity and masculinity with its seemingly supernatural powers, as evidenced by the repeated appearance of the image of the gallows. Indeed, the narrator’s houses are destroyed and his narrative—or his masculinity—breaks down because the terrifying presence of the black cat physically, sexually, and mentally dominates him. This short story thus highlights the precarious state of masculinity and domesticity by portraying the violence inherent in the power dynamics among the market, home, and gender in antebellum America.
Abstract
Poe’s “The Black Cat” reveals the terror inherent to 19th-century hegemonic ideologies—the cult of domesticity and True Manhood. With his narration, the storyteller initially intends to restore his masculinity, which has been destroyed by the black cat, by rationalizing his atrocities as ordinary household events. Right after his early marriage, the narrator’s alienation not only from the market but also from the domestic sphere transforms his faltering masculinity into “perverseness” in the claustrophobic space of the home. The logic of “perverseness”—i.e., that of irrationality, irresponsibility, and illogicality—morbidly reestablishes his masculinity and domesticity. In other words, he achieves the domestic ideal of separate spheres, and therefore his manhood, by abusing and killing his wife and walling up her corpse in the house. The beast, however, reveals the narrator’s violence hidden behind the veneer of his flawless domesticity and masculinity with its seemingly supernatural powers, as evidenced by the repeated appearance of the image of the gallows. Indeed, the narrator’s houses are destroyed and his narrative—or his masculinity—breaks down because the terrifying presence of the black cat physically, sexually, and mentally dominates him. This short story thus highlights the precarious state of masculinity and domesticity by portraying the violence inherent in the power dynamics among the market, home, and gender in antebellum America.
참고문헌 (17)
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