The Spirit of Perverseness
The theme of Edgar Allan Poe’s tale, “The Black Cat” is perverseness. Unfortunately I found this out the hard way. In my World Literature class, our UCLA professor had an assigned reading list for his final exam, with Poe’s “The Black Cat” among the list. The final exam consisted of a single question: what is the theme of “The Black Cat”? Explain how it is used in the story. I drew a complete blank and almost flunked the class because of that one question.
I’ve had occasion to reread “The Black Cat” many times since my embarrassing incident in the classroom. It is a superb example of a short story format, embracing all the elements necessary to make a gripping tale. Years ago I found a vinyl recording of Basil Rathbone reading “The Black Cat” and selected tales from Edgar Allan Poe. As I listened to Mr. Rathbone’s melodic voice turn Poe’s words into high drama, I’ve come to respect Poe’s writing above all others.
A couple of weeks ago our Pastor at church remarked about perverseness: an inclination to do harm to others, including those we love, knowing that it is wrong to do so. Poe’s description is eloquent.
He speaks of ‘the spirit of perverseness.’
Of this spirit philosophy takes no account. Yet I am not more sure that my soul lives, than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart – one of the indivisible primary faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of Man. Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such?
I think Poe had great insight into the psychology of man. Why do we sometimes hurt others when we know it is wrong? Is this act of perverseness followed by guilt? I believe it is, at least it was for me. I committed an act of perverseness on the one person who I love most in this world, my wife.
A week ago, my son, his wife and my grandson met me, my wife and my mother at a favorite BBQ restaurant for lunch. Prior to our leaving to meet them at the restaurant, my wife told me of a remark my mother said to her during a previous visit from my son and his wife. The remark she made to my wife was nasty, mean spirited and caused my wife pain and anguish. After hearing this, I became very upset. I could not confront my mother because the incident occurred three months ago and at age 94, she would not remember any details.
As the day progressed I diverted my anger at my wife, ostensibly for waiting so long to inform me of this incident. After arriving home from a two hour meeting, I was still upset, but realized that my misdirected anger at my wife was perverse. She was not the culprit in this unfortunate incident; my mother was the instigator. When I walked in the bedroom, my wife grabbed me, hugged me while pressing her body against mine. When we kissed I realized she was shaking and visibly upset. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she asked me if I was still mad at her. I was struck dumb by guilt and remorse for what I had done. I begged her for forgiveness. She acquiesced and we were united in our love for each other. I’ve learned that guilt does not easily dissipate.
If you have engaged in a perverse act and feel a need to discuss it, please write to me about your experience and how you felt afterwards. My email is: karaoke@vcnet.com.
