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Monomania In Berenice Symbolism

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"Berenice" by Edgar Allan Poe is a story about a diseased man who longs for the teeth of his cousin, Berenice. The narrator of the story, also the protagonist, has a case of monomania - an obsessive interest in a single thing. This monomania leads the protagonist to evil and dark thoughts. Poe uses symbolism to portray the way evil is an outcome of good. The narrator’s cousin, Berenice, is a beautiful woman with the most perfect features. Berenice has “gorgeous yet fantastic beauty” and is described as a “naiad among its fountains”, suggesting her stunning presence. The narrator’s cousin has no flaws, no blemishes, no defects. What she does have is a set of teeth that drive her cousin up a wall. These teeth do not have a single “speck …show more content…

This monomania is an "addict[ion] [of] body and soul to the most intense and painful meditation" (2). The illness causes the narrator to act oddly, which triggers his strange habits. Once the narrator sees the flawless teeth of Berenice - he immediately becomes obsessive about them. His monomania kicks in, making the teeth most desirable. “[He] felt their possession could alone ever restore [him] to peace, in giving [him] back to reason” (5). To the narrator, these faultless teeth are his remedy - his panacea. Now all the narrator can think about is having these teeth in his possession - to make him sane for the rest of his life. Unluckily, his thoughts can only lead him to an evil consequence. Berenice’s flawless teeth are the trigger for the evil that awaits her. After a night of “horror and dismay” during a “dreary period…Berenice was --no more” (5). Berenice’s teeth drove the narrator to killing his cousin. This murder was an evil act that started from a set of teeth that symbolize good. The narrator managed to pull out “thirty-two small, white and ivory-looking substances” - Berenice’s teeth. (6). The once-perfect teeth have been ripped out and stored in a box under the narrator’s possession. This represents how evil is an effect of good. Berenice’s death is the result of her perfect teeth. This supports Poe’s theme that “evil is a consequence of good” (1). From beauty,

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