Tell Tale Heart Psychological Analysis

Jake Schoonhoven

Frank Albert

English Comp 2

23 April 2012                                

Tell Tale Heart Psychological Analysis

In the story “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator spends a lot of time trying to prove to the reader that his actions could have only been committed by someone who is sane. Through an account of the story, we get not only a side of the story but the state of mind of our narrator. The main character in the Tell Tale Heart exhibit’s behaviors that seem to be very similar to the behaviors of a person with a psychological disease called schizophrenia.  It’s difficult to tell if Poe knew traits of psychological diseases like schizophrenia, because Modern psychology was just in its infancy at the time that this story was written. This fact does not rule out the fact that Poe would know about psychological diseases but it deserves a comparison against modern psychological definitions.

The narrator of the Tell Tale Heart recounts his behaviors and thoughts over an eight day period, from the conception of an idea to the act of murder. Charles E. May gives us insight into the head of our narrator in his overview of The Tell Tale Heart.

 Although there are ostensibly two characters in “The Tell-Tale Heart”—an old man and the younger man who lives with him—the story is really about only one character psychically split in half. To understand the ingenious way Poe develops this story about a split in the self, one must examine the nature of the narrator's obsession. He insists that he loves the old man, has no personal animosity toward him, does not want his money, has not been injured by him. Instead, he says he wishes to kill the old man because of his eye. Although there is no way to understand this kind of motivation except to declare the narrator mad, the reader must try to determine the method and meaning of the madness. For Poe, there is no such thing as meaningless madness in fiction.(01)

 May’s view brings the reader closer to understanding the mind of the narrator. He sees that the narrator’s mind is split, insinuating there is something mentally wrong with our narrator.

        Through the statements and behaviors of the narrator, we get an idea of the thoughts our narrator is experiencing. Edgar Allen Poe writes “It is impossible to say how the idea first entered my brain, but once conceived it haunted me day and night.” I believe this is the first look in to the fact that our character has a mental illness.  Poe goes on to state “You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded- with what caution- with what foresight- with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.” The story continues on as the narrator explains himself.”