Meg Strauss

14 February 2017
Response Paper 1

The Tell-Tale Heart: The Father

Edgar Allan Poe is not known to stray away from vagueness, particularly in

regards to his short stories. This, in return, has created many different interpretations of

the ultimate meanings behind his texts. One of his most notable short stories, The Tell-

Tale Heart, has sparked much debate over the question, What is this story about?

Written in 1843, scholars have had over a decade and a half to mull over the main

statement Poe wanted to convey in The Tell-Tale Heart. Some claim this is a story about

guilt and consciousness, others say it is a story written to depict the harsh realities of

insanity; however, the meaning cannot be clearer. This text is meant to portray an

unhealthy father and son relationship, one where the thirst for power and superiority is so

strong that the only proper ending for the story results in murder.

Poe never explicitly states that the man living with the narrator was his father or

even that the old man is considered a father-figure to the narrator. In fact, the only quote

linked to the relationship between the narrator and the old man states, Passion, there was

none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult.

From the start of the story, the reader knows that this old man is not a lover, as

there is said to be no passion. However, the reader is then left to ask, Is the old man just
a friend? A roommate? If the old man were simply a friend or roommate, it would be

much harder to validate the reason for the killing, as the narrator repeatedly claims his

sanity, justifying his only explanation for the murder was because of the old mans eye.

Thus, if the narrator is sane, there is no proper defense for killing a friend or a roommate

based upon something as trivial as an eye of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with film over

it.

However, the underlying message Poe illustrates is that this killing was not over

an eye. This killing was over a relationship that has been a competition for the narrator

from the time he was an infant. Being an author long before his time, Poe essentially

highlights Sigmund Freuds Father Complex theorya theory that was discovered

decades after The Tell-Tale Heart was written. This theory virtually states that a father

and a son will never be equals, as there is an unrelenting and unconscious desire for a

father to stay in the dominant role and the same desire for a son to step into the dominant

role.

In the narrators mind, he is not crazy. He simply wants to get rid of the feeling he

gets when he notices the old mans eye. However, this eye represents something far

beyond a grotesque-looking organ. It ultimately represents the unconscious detest the

narrator has for his fathers superiority.

Due to Poes vagueness, the reader is unsure as to how old the narrator is, but can

assume that the narrator is old enough to kill and dismember a grown man. This can also

lead to the assumption that the narrator is living under his fathers power, supervision,
and roof. For instance, the narrator states that the old man keeps the shuttersclose

fastened, which lends to the idea that this is the old mans house, meaning that the

narrator is living with his dad as the head of the household.

The narrator clearly loves the old man, in a way that goes far beyond a friendship,

as he kills the man and immediately confesses. Killing is also almost always caused by

hate, and it is said that hate is only one step beyond love. Thus, knowing that the old man

was not the narrators lover, the only logical explanation for the murder would be the

Father Complex.

This is a story not about insanity, as the narrator never claims to be sane. Rather,

this story depicts a father and son relationshipa relationship where anger over

superiority and power beat out a sons love for his father.