Edgar Allen Poe is, perhaps, the most popular Gothic author in American history. Many of his stories show the darker side of humanity and cause a sense of unease in the reader. But what exactly makes his stories disturbing or disturbing? To answer this question we can look to “The Uncanny” by Sigmund Freud, in which he states that “what is 'uncanny' is frightening precisely because it is unfamiliar and unfamiliar” (154). This helps to better understand what makes Poe's works disturbing. To better understand Freud's concepts, we will examine Poe's short story, “Berenice,” and apply the concepts from “The Uncanny,” which include: uncertainty, mental instability, and repression, to illustrate the methods Poe uses to create an unsettling sensation in the reader. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayFreud begins his argument by stating that "the essential factor in the production of the feeling of uneasiness [is] intellectual uncertainty" (154); a feeling that readers get from reading “Berenice” through Poe's indeterminacy in the actions and character of the narrator, Egaeus. One questions Aegeus' mental state in his quick and vague description of his mental illness and, ultimately, the narrator's actions at the end of the story. This uncertainty, however, is not the only reason why one might find “Berenice” to be disturbing. Poe skillfully includes other characteristics addressed by Freud that elicit a sense of unease in the reader. One characteristic that Freud addresses is the character's mental state. The fact that Egaeus has a mental illness cannot be overlooked and causes the reader to be unfamiliar with the narrator's mental state. Freud states that "the uncanny effect... of manifestations of madness... gives rise in the spectator to the impression of mechanical and automatic processes at work behind the ordinary appearance of mental activity" (157). This can be directly applied to the disease of Aegean monomania. Egeus' obsession with an idea, Berenice's teeth, causes his actions later in the story. This illness provides a disturbing effect because the narrator seems to recognize his illness and talks about it as a trivial matter. Upon reading further, the reader learns that this disease causes Egaeus to not only obsess over Berenice's teeth, but physically extract them from her corpse and store them in a box. The reason for these actions is indicated by the narrator when he says, “I felt that only their possession could bring me back to peace, restoring me to reason” (Poe 146). This shows that the narrator's mental instability is what drives him to enact the scariest scene in the story. Egaeus' mental instability is essential to the mysteriousness of this story. This monomania forces the narrator to become pathologically obsessed with a particular idea. His obsession becomes a recurring thought: "The teeth! - the teeth! - were here, and there, and everywhere, and visibly and palpably before me... Then came all the fury of my monomania... in the multiplied objects of the outside world I had no thoughts but of the teeth I desired with a frantic desire" (Poe 145). Freud talks about situations, things, faces, recurring events, etc. as something that can evoke a sense of eeriness. However, he states that this "perhaps will not please everyone as a source of disturbing feelings", however this can change when it becomes "an involuntary return to the same situation... provoking the same feeling of helplessness and of something disturbing" (Freud 163). a due to the inability to control thoughts. Therefore "involuntary" thoughts.of Egaeus are disturbing due to his inability to control his obsession due to his illness. This involuntary repetition of thoughts represents a danger for the narrator and a disturbance for the reader. The thoughts become a problem because he is unable to repress his desire to acquire teeth for tranquility. Freud states that “it is only this factor of involuntary repetition which surrounds with a disturbing atmosphere what would otherwise be quite innocent” (164). Freud's statement shows that Egeus' involuntary repetition of Berenice's teeth in her thoughts would have been innocent enough if she had repressed her desire for them. The narrator, suffering from monomania, however, is unable to do so, so he acts on his primitive impulses and defiles Berenice. Ordinary people without mental disorders, i.e. the reader, find this disturbing because they have the ability and mental capacity to suppress their desires. If Egaeus had been able to repress his thoughts and actions, Poe's story would not have seemed disturbing to the reader. Freud states that "every emotional affect... is transformed by repression into morbid anxiety... this class of morbid anxiety would then be nothing other than that which is disturbing, regardless of whether it originally aroused terror or some other affect" ( Freud 166). In the case of Egaeus in “Berenice,” he is unable to transform his repression into anguish because he has not been able to repress his thoughts and actions. However, one can take Freud's statement and apply it to Egaeus anyway by noting that, despite his lack of repression, he experienced anxiety due to his monomania. The narrator states that, “[Berenice's teeth] – they alone were present to the mental eye, and they, in their unique individuality, became the essence of my mental life” (Poe 145). It can be seen that Aegeus' obsession clearly did not come from a sense of fear, but rather infatuation. His morbid anxiety arose from this infatuation, and one can see the strangeness in his actions due to this anxiety. Freud offers another insight into this repetition compulsion best seen in “Berenice” when the narrator states that his “meditations were never pleasant” ( Poe 143). Egaeus does not find his repetitive thoughts about his cousin's teeth pleasant, because he cannot distract himself from them. Freud interprets this principle of repetition compulsion as a “principle powerful enough to prevail over the pleasure principle, giving certain aspects of the mind their demonic character” (Freud 164). This demonic character is shown in the conclusion of the story when the reader discovers that Egeus pulled Berenice's teeth. It is this same principle that “is responsible for part of the course of the analyzes of neurotic patients,” which, according to him, “reminds us that this internal repetition compulsion is perceived as mysterious” (Freud 164). Freud's statement shows that the pleasure principle that can be achieved through thought is canceled out by obsession and can lead to a debasement of moral character. Therefore, Egeus' obsession with Berenice's teeth ultimately leads him to act demonically and causes her frightening actions. Freud often mentions a characteristic of the uncanny effect which can be seen at the end of “Berenice”. Freud states that “a condition favorable to the awakening of disturbing feelings is created when there is intellectual uncertainty whether an object is alive or not” (Freud 161). This characteristic is prevalent in multiple Poe stories, including “Berenice.” The reader does not know what Egeus has done until a servant tells him "of a violated tomb, of a disfigured body wrapped in a shroud, but still breathing, throbbing”.