Award Date

1-1-2002

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Committee Member

Robert Dodge

Number of Pages

77

Abstract

This study focuses on an examination of madness in four short stories by American author Edgar Allan Poe: "Ligeia," "Eleonora," "The Black Cat," and "The Fall of the House of Usher." Using Walter Fischer's theoretical communication framework, the Narrative Paradigm, the four stories are examined for narrative fidelity and narrative probability in an effort to more fully understand Poe's treatment of madness in first person narrators; "Ligeia" and "Eleonora" are compared as stories of a lost lover and the subsequent possibilities for madness due to guilt over marrying someone else. Next, "The Black Cat" is examined with a focus on the narrator's madness driving him to seek more and more severe forms of self-punishment due to guilt over violent abuse of his pet cat. Finally, "The Fall of the House of Usher" is examined as a look into the process of folie a deux, or shared madness.

Keywords

Edgar Allan Poe; Mad; Narrative; Paradigms; Reality

Controlled Subject

American literature

File Format

pdf

File Size

1730.56 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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