Perversion in Wieland

In Poe's The Black Cat perverseness led the protagonist, or antagonist haha, to commit horrible acts of violence against innocent victims. In Wieland by Brown, it seems that the perverseness Poe describes comes somewhat surprisingly from Clara.

It is assumed the most perverse character must be that of the murderer, Theodore Wieland, the title character. However, the most allusions to perversion and the use of the actual word come in the later chapters describing Clara's state of mind in retrospect and specifically during the scene of her near death. Clara describes her disease, depression, after the death of her father and her strange attachment to the scene of the murders when she states in chapter 27,

"By a perverse constitution of mind, he was considered as my greatest enemy who sought to withdraw me from a scene which supplied eternal food to my melancholy, and kept my despair from languishing."

She later on uses the same term to describe Carwin's confession to her uncle when she explains,

"[Carwin] found a more impartial and indulgent auditor in Mr. Cambridge, who imputed to maniacal illusion the conduct of Wieland, though he conceived the previous unseen agency of Carwin, to have indirectly but powerfully predisposed to this perversion of mind."

It seems that Clara finds the same pleasure her brother derives from hearing heavenly voices and being elevated to status past "mere man" when she is in the upmost danger. Both are described with a certain perversion of mind. She enjoys the thrill of danger, such as when she returns to her house for her diary after being warned of Wieland's escapes and plans to kill her. It is beyond obvious that she is in danger in her obvious favorite place to be. The first quote is direct evidence that she enjoyed the horror of the events, and living within the crime scene. Presumably she will still sleep in her bed, the place her sister was found murdered.

The idea of a perverse or sinful fate is brought up frequently in the last chapters. For instance when Clara is describing her attachment to the house and her final incident with Wieland, as she uses words like "destiny" and the phrase "this moment was pregnant with fate" (chapter 26). However, earlier Carwin also describes the recent events as,

"[As if] by some perverse fate , I was led into circumstances in which the exertion of my powers was the sole or the best means of escape." (ch. 23).

Similarly, Clara believes herself to be under the control and guidance of this fate that leads her to hear voices and fall victim to homicidal threats from her closet. Yet, this perverseness is not just tied to fate or the agency of others, Clara willingly puts herself in danger, and confronts these dangers openly. She tries to force the closet open when she knows someone is inside, someone who can quite possibly be the same person who threatened to kill her previously. She is afraid it may also be her brother, who she has feared in dreams, yet she continues to coax the perpetrator out, rather than leaving the room and finding help.

Clara's extreme paranoia that the same madness and thirst to kill will plague her as it does her brother seems to allude to her other similarities with her brother. She believes the voices she hears are benevolent, guardian angel figures, who she is blessed to hear. She may not see the same religious significance of the voices as her brother, but she does seem to enjoy her times with them, and be thankful for their presence. It seems Clara is aware of the many similarities between her brother and herself, which leads her to question her homicidal tendencies.

I would like to discuss chapter 19 in Wieland, Or The Transformation. This is a crucial chapter in understanding Wieland and what he has done. The chapter starts off with Clara reading the letter of Wieland and how he has confessed somewhat to killing his family.

Wieland starts the chapter by telling the reader that yes he did kill his family. That in fact does make him a murderer. “It is true they were slain by me: they all perished by my hand . The task of vindication is ignoble. What is it that I am called to vindicate? And before whom?”(158) It seems as if Wieland has no remorse for his killings. He is not afraid to go out and say his wrong doings, it was never pried out of him, he cleanly came out and said it, which I believe has a lot to say about his character. Being without remorse shows me that Wieland is a killer, someone who can kill there family like this and go out and say it as he has done shows me signs of a cold blooded killer.

I saw somewhat because Wieland is convinced it is not himself controlling his own body, actions and thoughts. His wife even notices that by saying, “Surely, surely, Wieland thou dost not mean it. Am I not thy wife? and woudst thou kill me? Thou wilt not; and yet- I see- thou art Wieland no longer! A fury resistless and horrible posses thee:- spare me- spare-help-help-.”(165) Wielands wife is pure shock of what is taking place, she knows that Wieland could never do this to her. She understands that his love for her is too great and strong for him to do onto her. So she believes it is a spirit guiding him along her death and murder.

The head and mind of Wieland is something very complex that you can only makeup for yourself. There is evidence that he is a murderer, but also evidence that he is insane. The open ended ness of this book is what really kept me reading throughout the book. Being able to judge upon characters yourself is something you don’t get to do in most books and novels, but with the way that Brown set up the book it is completely up to you and how you take the readings.

First Blog Together.

Memories.

We'll remember these forever!

-alli and anthony! <3 <3