오랑우탄, 사이보그, 좀비

Orangutans, Cyborgs, and Zombies: Dehumanized Voices in Poe’s Short Stories

In “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Man That Was Used Up,” and “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar,” Edgar Allan Poe deconstructs the Eurocentric, anthropocentric definitions of “Man.” The orangutan’s “shrill voice,” the squeaky voice of a cyborgian war hero, and the disembodied voice of a patient under mesmeric treatment, appearing in these three stories, are altogether the acoustic signs that symbolize the dehumanized or posthuman conditions of humanity. While “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” exhibits the existence of the “animalistic” within the rational mind, in “The Man That Was Used Up” and “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar,” readers hear “acousmatic” voices. Due to the ambiguity of the acousmatic voice, which exceeds and disturbs the boundaries of the body as its source, this voice can be considered a sublime object. Frequently seen in gothic and horror stories, the sublime object evokes a sense of terror and anxiety. Poe uses these voices and auditory effects to maximize a thrilling sensation essential to the gothic and horror genres.