r criticism (Canby 144).The two cats in The Black Cat are very closely related. It was a black cat a very large one fully as large as Pluto, and closely resembling him in every respect but one (The Black Cat 226). The happiness of the narrator is being blocked by the two cats. He believes that the two cats are assessing and blaming him (Knapp 146). In Poes life there were many things that prevented him from having happiness. His foster parents did not show him the love and affection that a young boy needs. Poe was miserable from the moment he became a part of their family. Also, Poes first fianc left him for someone else. The Allans and his first fiance represent the two cats in the story.Poe was introduced to death and betrayal throughout his young life leaving him in a very depressed state, and these traits are present throughout his short stories and poems. Most of the mystery of Poe is gone; however, some is still left (Canby 144).We know, in fact almost too much about Poe or rather, too many Poes for a clear picture of the man and an easy comprehension of his work. There is no mystery left in him except the mystery of art, and yet it is as a man of mystery that he is constantly presented. Contradictory, extraordinary, perverse, he certainly is, but not mysterious except in so far as the sources of beauty are always mysterious. Few writers have left more abundant evidence of the workings of their minds. Few writers have had the nature of their minds, with the impact of circumstances upon them, so elaborately analyzed and explained (Canby 144).Circumstances throughout Poes life are illustrated throughout the short story The Black Cat. His impotence is symbolized by the hanging of the first cat. The fire that burned down the narrators house represents the fire at the Richmond Theater. Finally, Poe was a miserable man that led a tough life and left him in eternal grievance as shown by the melancholy in his writings....
