本論文主要藉著愛倫坡的代表性短篇小說《麗姬亞》、《莫麗拉》、《黑貓》及《亞夏家的崩塌》來探討愛倫坡作品中所呈現的亂倫主題。

　　為了對此主題有深入的探討，此論文參考了佛洛伊德對人類的原始渴望與恐懼的探討，也因而發現了佛洛伊德的研究提供精神分析專家一個很好的參考來源，進而探索愛倫坡短篇故事裡神經焦慮人格。讀者們可看見愛倫坡故事裡的角色如何被潛意識的亂倫渴望與閹割恐懼所操控，讀者將可了解潛意識裡亂倫渴望與閹割恐懼兩大力量互相拉扯後，會導致人格傾向對他人的毀滅以及自我毀滅，最終走向死亡與滅亡。

　　本論文以佛洛伊德的《圖騰與禁忌》為基礎來探索恐懼的根源。在人們的心底最深處潛藏著一種普遍的矛盾現象︰原始的亂倫渴望對抗著閹割的恐懼。亂倫的渴望並非總是針對實際的母親，有時會投射到其他女性角色身上，例如姑姑、姨媽、姊妹、或是女兒。找尋一個母性人物是強烈亂倫渴望的結果。這種對母親的固戀，完美地呈現在愛倫坡的《麗姬亞》和《莫麗拉》中。這兩個故事敘述母性角色如何引誘男主角，以及男主角如何從固戀母性角色轉變成因害怕閹割威脅而產生對母性角色的仇視。閹割是對於犯下亂倫的最恐怖的懲罰，但奇怪的是，一個固戀母親的人在潛意識裡卻不自覺地想要被懲罰；意即，他被死亡本能無意識地操控。這種因為亂倫渴望與閹割恐懼兩相衝擊而產生的死亡本能，充分表現在艾倫坡的《黑貓》及《亞夏家的崩塌》。根據Joseph W. Krutch與Marie Bonaparte的精神分析，愛倫坡的短篇小說乃是他潛意識的渴望與恐懼的反映與寫照；因此，愛倫坡的早年經驗與成展發展也必須加以研究，才能得以了解他的作品中所呈現的亂倫主題︰對母親固戀、閹割恐懼、與死亡本能。

　　This thesis discusses the incest motif in Edgar Allan Poe’s representative short stories: “Ligeia,” “Morella,” “The Black Cat,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Sigmund Freud’s investigation into human primal fear and desire provides abundant theoretical background for psychoanalysts, such as Joseph Wood Krutch and Marie Bonaparte, to explore the neurotic characters in Poe’s tales. Readers can see how Poe’s characters are unconsciously dominated by incest desire and castration fear. Then readers will see how an obsession with incest desire and castration fear may bring about a destructive instinct, also termed by Freud as aggressiveness, and finally becomes a death instinct.

　　Employing Freud’s Totem and Taboo, I first examine the origin of horror, explaining that horror, about primal incest desire and primal castration, is universal to all human beings. Primal desire is the children’s incestuous desire for Mother, who may merge with a variety of images, including a mother, an aunt, a sister, and a daughter. The search for a maternal figure brings the obsession with incest desire. The mother fixation is perfectly rendered in Poe’s “Ligeia” and “Morella.” Both of the stories depict how the maternal image attracts the narrators and how the narrators’ psychological state changes from love to fear and then to hate. Being castrated would undoubtedly be the most terrifying punishment for the deadly sin—incest. However, a neurotic person may unconsciously ask for the punishment simultaneously when he commits the deadly sin of incest. That is, he may be driven unconsciously by his death instincts, as illustrated by Poe in “The Black Cat” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” According to Joseph Wood Krutch and Marie Bonaparte, Poe’s tales reflect his unconscious desire and fear. Thus, Poe’s early experiences and development in life should be taken into account so that we will have a better understanding of Poe’s tales, onto which, as Krutch and Bonaparte believe, Poe projects his unconscious incest desire, castration fear, and death instincts.

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