Edgar Allen Poe is perhaps the most popular Gothic author in American history. Many of his stories show the darker side of humanity and provoke a feeling of strangeness in the reader. But what exactly makes his stories scary or strange? To answer this question, one can consult Sigmund Freud's “The Uncanny,” in which he states that “what is 'strange' is frightening precisely because it is neither known nor familiar” (154). This allows us to better understand what makes Poe's works strange. To better understand Freud's concepts, we will examine Poe's short story, "Berenice", and apply the concepts of "The Uncanny", which include: uncertainty, mental instability and repression, to illustrate the methods Poe uses to create a frightening feeling in the reader. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Freud begins his argument by stating that "the essential factor in producing the feeling of strangeness [is] intellectual uncertainty" (154); a feeling that readers get when reading "Berenice" through Poe's blurring of the actions and character of the narrator, Egaeus. One wonders about Egaeus's mental state in his quick and vague description of his mental illness and, ultimately, about the narrator's actions at the end of the story. This uncertainty, however, is not the only reason why one might find “Bérénice” so strange. Poe cleverly includes other characteristics discussed by Freud that arouse a feeling of strangeness in the reader. One characteristic addressed by Freud is the character's state of mind. The fact that Egaeus suffers from mental illness cannot be overlooked and causes the reader to feel unfamiliar with the narrator's mental state. Freud states that “the strange effect…of manifestations of madness…arouses in the spectator the impression of automatic and mechanical processes at work behind the ordinary appearance of mental activity” (157). This can be directly applied to Egaeus' monomania disease. Egaeus's obsession with an idea, Berenice's teeth, provokes his actions later in the story. This illness produces a strange effect because the narrator seems to recognize his illness and speaks of it as an insignificant matter. Reading further, the reader understands that this illness causes Egaeus to not only obsess over Berenice's teeth, but also to physically extract them from her corpse and store them in a box. The reason for these actions is stated by the narrator when he says, “I felt that their possession alone could restore me to peace, by restoring me to reason” (Poe 146). This proves that the narrator's mental instability is what drives him to act out the scariest scene in the story. Egaeus's mental instability is essential to the strangeness of this story. This monomania forces the narrator to become pathologically obsessed with a particular idea. His obsession becomes a recurring thought: “Teeth! – teeth! – they were here, and there, and everywhere, visibly and palpably before me… Then came the full fury of my monomania… in the multiplied objects of the outside world. I had no thoughts except for the teeth. I longed for these with frantic desire” (Poe 145). Freud talks about situations, things, faces, events, etc. recurring as something that can arouse a feeling of strangeness. everyone as a source of feeling strange,” but this can change when it becomes “an involuntary return to the same situation… resulting in the same feeling of helplessness and something strange” (Freud 163). due to incapacityto control thoughts. Thus, Egaeus's "involuntary" thoughts are strange due to his inability to control his obsession due to his illness. This involuntary repetition of thoughts presents danger to the narrator and strangeness to the reader. thoughts become a problem as he is unable to suppress his desire to acquire the teeth for peace of mind. Freud states that “only this factor of involuntary repetition surrounds with a strange atmosphere what would otherwise be quite innocent” (164). Freud's statement shows that Egaeus's unintentional repetition of Berenice's teeth in his thoughts would have been innocent enough if he had repressed his desire to have them. The narrator, suffering from monomania, however, does not succeed; he acts according to his primitive impulses and defiles Bérénice. Ordinary people without mental disorders, i.e. the reader, find this strange because they have the capacity and mental capacity to repress their desires. If Egaeus had been able to suppress his thoughts and actions, Poe's story would not have seemed strange to the reader. Freud states that "all emotional affect... is transformed by repression into morbid anxiety... this class of morbid anxiety would then be nothing other than that which is strange, independently of whether it initially aroused fear or some other affect” (Freud 166). In the case of Egaeus in “Berenice,” he is unable to transform his repression into anxiety because he was unable to suppress his thoughts and actions. However, one can take Freud's statement and apply it to Egaeus 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 individuality alone, became the essence of my mental life” (Poe 145). We can see that Egaeus' obsession clearly did not come from a feeling of fear, but rather from infatuation. His morbid anxiety is born from this infatuation, and we can see the strangeness of his actions due to this anxiety. Freud offers another insight into this compulsion to repeat, 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, as he is unable to turn away from them. Freud interprets this principle of repetition-compulsion as a “principle powerful enough to override 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 Egaeus has pulled out Berenice's teeth. It is this same principle which “is responsible for part of the course which the analyzes of neurotic patients take”, which, he says, “reminds us of this internal repetition-compulsion which is perceived as strange” (Freud, 164). Freud's statement shows that the pleasure principle that can be achieved through thought is nullified by obsession and can lead to a debasement of moral character. Therefore, Egaeus' obsession with Berenice's teeth ultimately leads him to act demonically and provokes her frightening actions. Freud frequently mentions a characteristic of the uncanny effect that we find at the end of “Bérénice”. Freud states that “a favorable condition for the awakening of strange feelings is created when there is intellectual uncertainty as to whether an object is alive or not” (Freud 161). This characteristic is prevalent in several of Poe's stories, including "Berenice." The reader does not know what Egaeus has done until a servant tells him, "of a violated tomb, of a disfigured body shrouded, but still breathing,”.