Love and Hate
"I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him."
The narrator of the story constantly creates discrepancies and contradictions within his telling of the tale. We have seen this with his dual-sidedness, in which he makes his bid for sanity by describing his calm, cautioned, and heightened sense of being, while at the same time describing this brutal murderous act. Not only does he contradict his plea for sanity, but he also creates this other huge discrepancy in his story, and his logic, when he explains his motives for the murder of the old man.
The words of the narrator are, "Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire". So therein lies the question. How does the narrator project such hate onto the old man and brutally murder him, while still claiming to have loved him? Just from this, we can see just how substantial the gaps in the narrator's reasoning truly are, and how insane he actually is.
The words of the narrator are, "Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire". So therein lies the question. How does the narrator project such hate onto the old man and brutally murder him, while still claiming to have loved him? Just from this, we can see just how substantial the gaps in the narrator's reasoning truly are, and how insane he actually is.
Poe examines the very close relationship between love and hate in this particular story. It has already been discussed that the narrator has split himself into what he views as two separate entities, focusing solely on what he views to be the "good" side, or the sane side. It is important to note that there is a love/hate relationship within the narrator himself, between these two sides. The narrator loves himself, but at the same time, hates his own lunacy, which in his murder of the old man and the telling of the story, he tries to escape. In his essay, Arthur Robinson brings this special relationship to point when he quotes another commentator, Patrick F. Quinn, who says, "the criminal sought his own death in that of his victim, and that he had in effect become the man who now lies dead".
This idea is discussed further in the analysis section, but it is very important to the love/hate relationship that Poe is addressing. Essentially, what we see through the narrator murdering the old man is "the madman killing his own doppelgänger" (Tucker). So despite his love for the old man, the narrator displays more hate for this second side of himself, which he projects onto the old man and then tries to destroy.
This idea is discussed further in the analysis section, but it is very important to the love/hate relationship that Poe is addressing. Essentially, what we see through the narrator murdering the old man is "the madman killing his own doppelgänger" (Tucker). So despite his love for the old man, the narrator displays more hate for this second side of himself, which he projects onto the old man and then tries to destroy.