Rebecca Stewart
Jennifer Wheetley Cook
English Comp II, Thematic Analysis
12 July 2014
Religion & Murder in 19th Century American Fiction The recurring theme in “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is religion. “The Black Cat” is about a man who is at a crossroads between the religion he knows and the new scientific theories of the day. “A Rose for Emily” is about a woman caught between her Episcopalian beliefs and the Baptist beliefs of the community she lives in. Both stories use isolation and murder to illustrate the main character’s struggle with religion. However, while Faulkner’s Emily is dealing with outside isolation of her beliefs, Poe’s narrative is an internal struggle with religion versus scientific theory. According to Laura J. Getty, author of "Faulkner's A rose for Emily," “A Rose for Emily” immediately addresses the recurring theme of religion by referencing the carved rose on the confessional booth Emily visits. The Episcopalian Emily visits a confessional while her Baptist neighbors do not (Getty 232). Faulkner further refers to religion by explaining “When we saw her again her hair was cut short, making her look like a girl, with a vague resemblance to the angels in colored church windows—sort of tragic and serene” (par 29). Emily’s struggle with the townspeople’s Baptist beliefs and her Episcopalian background maintain the religious theme. The ladies of the town coerce the Baptist minister to intervene by calling on Emily when she shows a romantic interest in Homer Barron. This action by the ladies extends the struggle Emily has with religion. “The men did not want to interfere, but at last the ladies forced the Baptist minister- Miss Emily’s people were episcopal- to call upon her” (par 44). When Emily drives the Baptist minister away, we are told that “He would never divulge what happened during that interview” (par 44). Emily has a lot of secrets that are kept by various members of her community. Such as Emily's suitor, Homer Barron's mysterious disappearance followed by the discovery of his remains which were found years later locked in an upstairs bedroom in a bed Emily appears to have slept in. “Obviously, in Emily's case, the possibility for a full confession before death exists only with her author, and his knowledge of her actions remains confidential until after her death” (Getty 232).
The second story, “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe, is representative of the recurring theme because it tells the story of a man who is challenging the concept of religion: "I am not more sure that my soul lives, than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart-one of the indivisible faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of Man" (par 8). According to Joseph Stark, author of “The Mystery of the Will in Poe's The Black Cat"”, the 1830's and 1840's in America was a significant time for Protestants; the reformed doctrines of the previous century were in significant decline, even among Calvinists like Nathaniel Taylor. The traditional doctrines, such as that of human depravity, had been reworked to lack any resemblance to the teachings of their forebears. Taylor argued that “sinfulness arises from sinful acts rather than from a sinful nature inherited from Adam" (Stark 256). Taylor's view of human nature, by implication, gave greater freedom to freewill by denying that inherited depravity necessarily led one to sinful actions. Similarly, the revivalist Charles Grandison Finney emphasized the power of the human will to overcome sin irrespective of any unique work of god. When combined with observations about the scientific developments of the day, we learn, Protestant theology and scientific theories of human origin were intersecting as they crossed paths on different trajectories (Stark 257). Poe’s writing points out, the conflict he feels between his Protestant beliefs and the new science he is embracing:
“Yet I am not more sure that my soul lives, than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart--one of the indivisible primary faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of Man. Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such? This spirit of perverseness, I say, came to my final overthrow. It was this unfathomable longing of the soul to vex itself--to offer violence to its own nature--to do wrong for the wrong's sake only” (par 8). Evangelicals emphasized the power of the human will to overcome sin and crime, while scientific examination narrowed the gap between the rational human and irrational animal, causing a naturalistic determinism. “Sat the hideous beast whose craft had seduced me into murder, and whose informing voice had consigned me to the hangman. I had walled the monster up within the tomb!” (par 28) The recurring theme of religion in both Poe’s “The Black Cat” and Faulkner’s “A rose for Emily” take two very different roads on the journey to murder. Both stories address the common problem of isolation either from differing religious views in the case of “A Rose for Emily” or questions brought from the clash of religious beliefs and the new scientific developments during the 1800’s. The end result was still the same: Murder.

Works Cited
Getty, Laura J. "Faulkner's A Rose for Emily." Explicator 63.4 (2005): 230-234. Academic Search Elite. Web. 14 July 2014.
Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Black Cat." 2014 Microsoft Word file.
Stark, Joseph. "Motive And Meaning: The Mystery Of The Will In Poe's "The Black Cat."” Mississippi Quarterly 57.2 (2004): 255-263. Academic Search Elite. Web. 14 July 2014.
William Faulkner “A Rose for Emily” Making Literature Matter: An anthology for Readers and Writers.Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.N. pag.Print