Household Horror: Domestic Masculinity in Poe's The Black Cat

Citation

Title:

Household Horror: Domestic Masculinity in Poe's The Black Cat.

Language:

English

Authors:

Bliss, Ann V. ⁽¹⁾

Source:

Explicator; Winter2009, Vol. 67 Issue 2, p96-99, 4p

Document Type:

Literary Criticism

Publication Information:

Taylor & Francis Ltd

Subject Terms:

BLACK Cat, The (Short story)
CRITICISM
POE, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849
MASCULINITY in literature
MURDER in literature

Author-Supplied Keywords:

femininity
hypermasculinity
violence

Abstract:

A literary criticism is presented of the short story "The Black Cat," by Edgar Allan Poe. The story is set in the household, traditionally a feminine sphere where, according to the author, the male character fails to affirm his own masculinity. The character's attention to his pets is similar to that shared by his wife, linking the maternal aspects of both, however, the husband becomes a violent drunkard who murders his wife because he lacks a masculine identity.

Document Information:

Essay last updated: 20090319

Author Affiliations:

¹ University of California, Merced

ISSN:

00144940

Accession Number:

36984637

Persistent link to this record (Permalink):

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=36984637&site=lrc-live

Database:

Literary Reference Center