A Review of "the Black Cat Versus the Price" and "Snow Glass" Versus "Snowhite" by Brothers Grimm
Unearthing the traditional perceptions about the Black Cat
Black cats have been traditionally compared with witchcraft and superstition. In the article the black cat, the author explains his experiences with the black cat and though he was himself was not an adherent of the belief that black cats were superstitious, his experiences with them and the nightmare they caused him made him to harbor this belief. According to him, “mere household events” with the black cat and the failure to take serious the assumption of the superstitious nature of black cats indeed caused him “immense torture and terror and eventually destroying his life”. Although some intellectuals may argue against this aspect, Poe articulates that the natural causes, and effects that happened in his house when he reared two black cats were enough to make him belief on their “extra ordinary influences”.
On his part, Gaimam, in an article titled The Price reinforces Poe’s assumption of the black cat being associated with witchcraft and superstition. Similar to Poe, Gaimam did not harbor any prior belief of black cats being superstitious. His earlier belief were that all cats, no matter what kind they were could be friendly or vice versa depending on how they were handled. However, his live experiences with one black cat affirmed the superstitious nature of them with no doubt left in his mind in this respect. He says that although his family used to adopt abandoned dogs, the trouble started when a black cat turned up in their home. A few weeks after the adoption of this cat, Gaimam discovered that it missed some patches of fur, had deep scratches and the tip of one of its ear was missing. This prompted him to conduct an overnight investigation into what happens to the cat while they were asleep.This investigation made him to come face to face with the devil.
The relationship between the articles Snow Glass Apples and the Snow is similar to that of the Price and the Back Cat. This similarity is derived from the sense that apart from both of them talking about the live experiences of superstition, each of the paired articles reinforces or puts strength on what the other is talking about. In other words, the paired articles clarifies on the assumptions or observations that has been put forward by the other. Another comparison is that while the former article does not give fully explanation as the cause of the superstition, the former tries to elaborate or give a deeper meaning behind these experiences.
For instance, in the Snow, Glass and Apples, we are informed that the” mysterious” young princes in her 6th year began to change behavior and become arrogant towards her step mother. We are told that she dramatically began to do mysterious things on her including biting and sucking her blood, making her husband dislike her among others. We are however, not told the reason why this hatred between her and her stepmother ensued. This we are told in the Snowhite, where the author articulates that this hatred was a result of the envy between her and the princess for being more beautiful.
Similarly, in the Black Cat by Poe, the author plainly explains that he does not try to expound upon his experiences of the black cat. This is despite his affirmation that the events surrounding the black cat were nothing but superstitious and extra ordinary. Gaimam however, provides a vivid explanation as he recounts the meeting with the devil after adopting one black cat.
