MURDER IN THE FAMILY: AN ANALYSIS

OF TWO POE SHORT STORIES*

Gerald H. Z u k

A B S T R A C T : "Learning to be possessed" has been described elsewhere by the writer as a form of pathogenic relating begun when
children are taught by adults that they will receive a lesser penalty
for misbehavior if they can show they were not responsible, such as if
it were caused by an evil agent or the Devil. It was suggested that
"learning to be possessed" can be an underlying cause of psychopathology, the delusion of persecution in particular. Two short stories
by the distinguished American writer Edgar Allan Poe are examined
to develop the formulation of "learning to be possessed", especially
when it has passed to a delusion of persecution. Two propositions are
offered: (1) Where it appears that a family member is murdered by a
delusional assailant by accident, it is not an accident; and (2) the
delusion of persecution entails a memory loss so that the murderer
not only can claim lack of personal responsibility for the act, but also
spares himself the guilt of having broken a fundamental taboo. Further comparison is made between "learning to be possessed" as a
cause of delusion, and the psychoanalytic theory in which the defense
mechanism of projection is central. In the latter theory, interpretation of the delusion is critical; whereas in the former, interpretation
is counterproductive because it merely reinforces the delusion.
Gerald H. Zuk, PhD, is in private practice and consultation at 25316 Pacy Street,
Canyon Country, California 91351. Reprint requests should be sent to him at that
address.
*Probably a note of appreciation is due the writer's daughter Cary, who at age 14
is an expert at badgering her father for help with homework assignments. For several
weeks the writer was alternatively pestered and cajoled to help Cary with her "Poe
Project" for high school English which required an essay analyzing the work of a great
American writer denigrated by the author as "weird" by his recollection formed decades earlier. Cary's persistence required the author to consider Poe anew, to recognize
his unwarranted earlier prejudice, and to recognize that Poe offered him a gift of understanding regarding a topic about which the author had been thinking for several
years, namely that form of pathogenic relating named "learning to be possessed."
Contemporary Family Therapy 12(6), December1990

9 1990HumanSciencesPress

467

468

CONTEMPORARY FAMILY THERAPY

The writer (Zuk, 1989) has continued to define types of pathogenic relating in families, which are forms of relating that can lead to
mental disturbance in members, or even assaultive behavior resulting in serious bodily harm or death. The 1989 paper defines and describes "learning to be possessed" as pathogenic relating which can be
inferred from family interviews, and presents an illustration in "The
Tale of Poor George" of when "learning to be possessed" passes to a
fullblown persecutory delusion which then results in an assault. The
assault is upon George's wife, Honeybun, and occurs when he is startled out of sleep. This paper hopes to correct an impression that was
possible from the previous one that the assault upon Honeybun was
accidental--that George's reaction was a reflex to anyone who would
have startled him. Here it is intended to advance the theory that
when it appears that a family member is accidentally assaulted or
murdered, at least in numerous instances it is not accidental. The
theory contains a proposition that the assaulted or murdered family
member has been a source of stress to the assailant, a continuing and
deepening source; but because it is a taboo to harm a family member,
it is necessary find a means to disguise the wish to do so or the act
itself. "Learning to be possessed" is believed to be one effective means
of disguise.
Murder among family members is a relatively common form of
murder. Law enforcement agencies provide the figure t h a t approximately one-third of all murders in the United States that occurred in
the 1980s, occurred among family members. Certainly not all of these
murders involved mental illness, but it is also certain that some did,
and among these the delusion of persecution, the commonest type of
delusion ( for substantiation see page 200 of the 3rd revised edition of
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published
in 1987 by the American Psychiatric Association), was a contributing
factor. This is the delusion in which the individual believes that he or
she has been singled out as a target of harm by a malevolent agent.
No amount of persuasion can budge the person's belief, and it is frequently the Devil or the Devil's agent that is identified as the source
of harmful intent.
This papers differs from and extends the writer's 1989 paper in
that it focuses on the case where "learning to be possessed" has actually resulted in the murder of a family member, using the delusion of
persecution as the basis by which acts that are ordinarily taboo m a y
be committed and the punishment for them attenuated if the claim of
mental illness prevails in a court of law. To the definition of "learning
to be possessed" in the previous paper, it adds two propositions:

469
GERALD H. ZUK

1. When a delusion of persecution has arisen as a result of the

pathogenic relating intensifying, and an assault is made upon a family member resulting in that member's death, while it m a y appear to
be accidental it is not;
2. The delusion of persecution is a marvel of self preservation in
that it not only attenuates a criminal assault in the eyes of the community, but also produces a memory loss in the assailant so that he or
she can "truthfully" state a denial of being the assailant.

P R O O F OF THE TWO P R O P O S I T I O N S
Evidence to support the two propositions named above will be
sought in the work of a major American writer, Edgar Allan Poe;
more specifically, in two of his short stories, "The Tell-Tale Heart"
and "The Black Cat". Poe's eminence as a writer is established by the
fact that he is required reading at the high school level in the United
States. He is renowned for his short stories and some poems which
are characterized by a macabre aspect; in a certain sense, they are
horror stories. He is acknowledged by critics as a master of English
prose, a pioneer of the detective story genre. His life contained many
tragic elements and was short: He was born in Boston in 1809 and
died in Baltimore in 1849.
Is it legitimate to use the novelistic literature in support of psychological processes? The answer is that it has often been used for
such a purpose, by psychologists and others interested in the various
levels of meaning contained in an artistic work. The psychoanalysts,
in particular, have used the arts as a source of meaning of psychoanalytic concepts; and the journal Imago, published originally in German in 1911, was devoted to a study of the arts from a psychoanalytic
perspective. Later, with the advent of Hitler, it was transferred to the
United States where it became retitled the American Imago.
In "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat" the leading character suffers from what would be diagnosed in modern-day psychiatry
as a delusion of persecution. In the first case, the delusion is that the
eye of a benefactor who is likely a family member is an "evil eye".
The character expresses affection for the benefactor, but fear and hatred of the "evil eye" which must be gotten rid of. But how can one get
rid of one without getting rid of the other? In the second case, the
leading character becomes deluded that a black cat acquired for him
by a loving wife as a pet is the epitome of evil. He brutally murders
the pet, b u t as if by accident acquires another black cat which he also

470
CONTEMPORARY FAMILY THERAPY

seeks to murder. Accidentally, it appears, in his effort to kill the cat

he murders his wife. Despite ingenious efforts to hide his crimes, the
murderer is found out as a direct result of his delusion by what would
appear to be accident.

1. Synopsis of "The Tell-Tale Heart"

This masterpiece, just five or six printed pages long, has endured
for over 150 years. Its longevity is surely not due merely to the fact it
is a horror story. It rivets the reader's attention and evokes horror
and also a kind of pity for the leading character, the murderer. It, like
"The Black Cat", in the writer's estimation at least, has endured because it is essentially a psychological depiction done with great finesse of a compelling psychopathology, namely the delusion of persecution.
A youngish man has a benefactor for whom he cares, and who
m a y be a relative such as an uncle. He describes himself as having a
"nervous" character. He has kindly feelings toward his benefactor but
develops an antipathy toward one of the older man's eyes which to the
younger has the appearance of a vulture. He is increasingly preoccupied with the "evil eye".
While the older sleeps, the younger opens his bedroom door and
attempts to shine the light of a lantern he is holding upon the "evil
eye", but he finds it closed for seven nights. However on the eighth
night he discovers that the old man is restless, not sleeping, and concludes not without pleasure that it must be because the older man
senses danger to be present. This excites the younger, who then becomes aware of a beating sound that he identifies as the rapidly beating heart of the older m a n reacting in terror. Overcome at this point
with excitement, the younger man bursts into the bedroom and strangles the older man.
Calmer following the murder, the younger man decides to bury
the body beneath the bedroom floor, and does so after first dismembering the body. Shortly thereafter he hears a knock at the front door
and finds three policemen who have been called by neighbors who
heard strange noises from the house. Almost arrogantly the younger
m a n shows the policemen about and carries on light conversation.
However at one point when they are in the older man's bedroom
the younger m a n begins to hear a beating sound which alarms him.
He identifies it as the beating heart of the terrified older man, and
wonders why the policemen don't seem to hear it as he does. Finally

471
GERALD H. ZUK

he can bear it no longer and cries out for the policemen not to t a u n t
him any longer; and in an effort to stop them from so doing, he reveals the hiding place of the body.

2. Synopsis of "The Black Cat"

The leading character again is a relatively young man who describes himself as having an "excitable" character, but known to
others from childhood as docile and tenderhearted. He is married to a
woman he describes as "congenial", and thoughtful of him. Knowing
his fondness of animals, she finds him a black cat as a pet.
The years pass and as they do the young man begins to drink
heavily. He becomes irritable, uses intemperate language, and there
is a hint he becomes physically abusive toward his wife. He carries
his hateful attitude into his relationship with his black cat, named
Pluto. Returning home one night after a heavy bout of drinking,
Pluto scratches him; he becomes enraged, takes out a penknife and
cuts one of Pluto's eyes from its socket.
For a while the young man regrets his assault upon the cat, but
then his animosity toward the animal returns. Now perverse in his
state of mind, he hangs the cat by the neck from a tree. Shortly afterwards, the house in which the young man and his wife lived burns to
the ground, and he finds as if engraved on one wall the outline of a
cat hanging by the neck.
Several months pass when accidentally the young man comes
across another black cat who shows him much affection. Strangely,
this animal has lost one of its eyes. Initially friendly and caring, the
young man's attitude toward the animal again changes to one of loathing. One day he is followed by his wife down the cellar steps of their
new home, when he is nearly tripped by the new black cat. The enraged man grabs an axe to kill the animal when his wife intervenes
and, instead of dealing a mortal blow to the animal, his wife receives
it. He looks for the cat but cannot locate it. He then sets about hiding
his wife's body behind a brick wall he erects in the cellar.
On the fourth day after the murder the young man is visited by
police who have been alerted by neighbors to the fact that his wife
has not been seen. They search the house, but find nothing and prepare to leave. As if taunting the police, the young man taps his cane
on the brick wall in the cellar behind which his wife's body lays. Suddenly from behind the wall there is an awful noise, alarming the police and causing them to break into the wall. They then discover the
wife's rotting corpse, and upon it the missing black cat.

472
CONTEMPORARY FAMILY THERAPY

3. C o m m e n t a r y
The earlier-named propositions will be repeated here and elaborated on the basis of what can be deciphered from the Poe stories.
Proposition 1. When the delusion of persecution has arisen as a
result of the pathogenic relating intensifying, and an assault is made
upon a family member resulting in that member's death, while it may
appear to be accidental it is not.
In a more general form, what the proposition means is that anyone who is the victim of an assault by a person acting under a delusion of persecution is, in a fundamental sense, not a random victim
but rather has been selected because he or she represents a major
source of stress felt by the assailant to constitute a real threat. The
delusion accomplishes two major objects: (1) Because it is deemed a
mitigating factor in commission of a crime, it spares the assailant the
worst consequences of retaliation by the community; and (2) because
it clouds the actual crime and events leading up to it, the assailant is
personally spared the agony of recognizing that a person once loved or
even still loved was a direct victim of his or her assault.
How do the Poe stories contribute to the allegations made above?
Well for one thing, despite the assertions of the murderer that he respected the ultimate victims, and held them in esteem and affection,
it is a fact in the stories that they were murdered. It is made to appear that the murders were accidental, that the victims "got in the
way", but it is a fact in the stories that the murderer showed no remorse for his deed, no regret, but proceeded immediately in his attempt to hide the crime. It is also a fact in the stories that the murderer appears to take satisfaction in his skill at disguising the crimes,
and dares the authorities to discover them. It is also a fact in the
stories that the murderer appears relieved from the agony produced
by his delusion only at two moments: (1) immediately following the
murders, and then (2) immediately following the discovery of the
murders. Only at these moments does the quality of possession or
obsession by an evil idea appear to leave the assailant, and he conveys relief. (It occurs to the writer that there may be a direct causal
chain connecting obsessive-complusive behavior and the delusional
states, and that extraordinary figure in American psychiatry, H a r r y
Stack Sullivan, may have been the first to suggest the connection.)
It would appear accidental in both Poe stories that the h u m a n
victims of the assailant were family members or closely related, b u t
this m a y precisely be the challenge he poses the reader, the riddle he

473
GERALD H. ZUK

leaves to be deciphered. Was it a coincidence; was it an accident? How

can one destroy a hated "evil eye" which happens to be that of a benefactor to whom one is indebted? If the eye is destroyed, so is the benefactor. How is it that a "congenial" wife gets in the way of an axe
stroke apparently intended for an animal? She is murdered, but instead of abject remorse the murderer can only think of the best w a y to
get rid of her body.
Proposition 2. The delusion of persecution is a marvel of self preservation in that it not only attenuates a criminal assault in the eyes of
the community, but also produces a memory loss in the assailant so
that he or she can "truthfully" state a denial of being the assailant.
The writer is under no illusion that many crimes, even those
most serious, are committed by persons who are quite aware of what
they are doing. It is also understood and accepted that the authors of
numerous crimes are ingenious in their efforts to disguise what they
have done. Does this signify that in all cases a wish to manipulate the
authorities, a conscious manipulation, is sought by the criminal? The
writer must conclude that in certain cases the answer must be, no;
and that one of these cases must be where the murderer is the victim
of a delusion of persecution. It is accepted knowledge that the delusion appears to displace rational conduct, and that there is a clouding
of consciousness.
Clouding of consciousness so that memory loss occurs serves in
the delusion of persecution to allow an assailant or murderer not only
to evade or attenuate personal responsibility in the eyes of the community, but in his or her own eyes; because it aids one's survival to
avoid the guilt that would otherwise occur when one has transgressed
a fundamental societal taboo (i.e., the taboo against murder), particularly the murder of one's family members.
What is there specifically in the Poe stories that appears to support Proposition 2? At the moment of murder the assailant in both
stories becomes either extremely excitable or enraged, and certainly
the psychologist would agree that these are two mindstates in which
memory is disoriented. After the murders have occurred, the assailant shows that he: (1) Does not fully comprehend the enormity of
his crime, or (2) is so shocked by its enormity that he must distance
himself from it by engaging in some "meaningful" task, in this instance by hiding the bodies so that they are unlikely to be discovered
by the authorities. After the murders, the assailant acts rationally
but reactively or even reflexly, but it is still not at all clear that he is
fully or even vaguely aware of the precise identities of those he has

474
CONTEMPORARY FAMILY THERAPY

killed. The writer would conclude that the murders were committed
in a kind of dream state in which the assailant could not clearly determine what he did, to whom, and what immediately followed his
act.

The writer noted in his 1989 paper that the psychoanalytic theory was the only truly psychological theory of delusion, the delusion
of persecution in particular. Freud's analysis of the delusional Judge
Schreber was remarkable; no less so because it has not met the test as
a general theory of delusion. As the writer pointed out in "The Tale of
Poor George" in his prior paper, the analytic theory provides a good
fit to explain George's behavior after he has become delusional; but
there is an alternative explanation. That explanation insists that
George's delusion of persecution was a direct reaction to prolonged,
intense stress generated by specific individuals, groups, or institutions; and that the delusion was a means available to deal with his
increasing frustration and anger against these individuals or groups
or institutions protected by the community, society or culture with a
taboo against hostility or animosity. The psychoanalytic theory holds
that, in contrast to what has been expressed immediately above, the
delusion of persecution is a pathology resulting from projection,
which is based in unresolved conflict from childhood, and that later
"objects" of the delusion are selected to simulate the original unresolved conflict from childhood.
What is absent from the psychoanalytic theory is what should be
obvious to anyone who has grown up in Western culture, although it
is not limited to Western culture: There is a learning process begun
in children from an early age to teach them about evil, and symbolized in the figure of the Devil. This learning is deemed valuable as a
means by parents to discourage children from unwanted behavior,
and has been reinforced in numerous religious groups for centuries.
Faced with the extraordinary problem of parenting in an ever-morecomplicated society in which the overall impact of institutions has
decreased in the West, parents have been loathe to relinquish their
hold over their children, and one major source of parental control has
been and continues to be instruction regarding the evil figure of the
Devil.
Thus it is not necessary to posit unresolved conflict arising in
early childhood or even before between parents and children as the
ground source for the mechanism of projection ultimately, at least in
certain instances, resulting in delusion of persecution; but to acknowledge the teaching about evil through the symbol of the Devil,

475
GERALD H. ZUK

resulting in the phenomenon entitled "learning to be possessed", that

is the truer source of certain individuals developing a delusion of persecution. Both theories require the concept of conflict, but the first,
the Freudian, defines delusion of persecution as stemming from a
maladaptation of projection affecting current interpersonal relationships, but having its origin purely within disturbances in the intrapsychic sphere; the second emphasizes that from its very beginning
the delusion of persecution is an interpersonal phenomenon: It is
learned throughout childhood, and the learning continues into adulthood from contact with significant others. It would more or less be
correct to state also that the Freudian view illustrates and stresses
the maladaptive side of delusion of persecution, which it most certainly does have; whereas the view posited here emphasizes, while
not denying the maladaptive, that there is an adaptive side which
should not be lost sight of, and that in particular is contained in the
two propositions cited here. By "adaptive" the writer does not intend
to convey that assaultive behavior against one's family member is
good or desirable, but simply that what triggers it, the delusion of
persecution, can be perceived as a protective response to an unbearable situation, one designed to attenuate or even possibly avoid the
worst consequences in the community. The psychoanalytic theory
cares nothing about these consequences, and the writer believes this
is a fundamental flaw in the theory.
Considerations of treatment also differentiate the two frameworks. In the psychoanalytic, certainly the orthodox model, treatment
would require interpretation of the delusion, (i.e., finding its meaning
in the unresolved trauma of childhood). In "learning to be possessed"
as a framework for understanding delusions, interpretations are contraindicated, as they would merely reinforce the delusion at the expense of a return to more normal thought processes. In the psychoanalytic framework if the patient were to say, "I know the IRS is
trying to get something on me because IRS agents are following me
everywhere," the analyst might respond by asking what the IRS
means to the patient, or even hint at its symbolism as a father figure;
but in the "learning to be possessed" context, the therapist might respond with something like, "Well, yes, has it been tough paying your
bills?" The difference, in essence, is that in the psychoanalytic framework the patient has carried into the present an old debt to his father;
whereas in the context proposed by the writer, the debt is considerably more humble than one owed to one's own father, living or dead. It
is more likely to be a current debt owed to attendant circumstances in

476
CONTEMPORARY FAMILY THERAPY

the patient's life that has become the trigger for a delusion of persecution in which the patient has substituted the IRS for rage at being
refused a loan.

REFERENCES
American Psychiatric Association (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders, 3rd revised edition. Washington, DC: Author.
Zuk, G. H. (1989). Learning to be possessed as a form of pathogenic relating and a
cause of certain delusions. Contemporary Family Therapy, 11, 89-100.