My Carwin Theory

Although we have finished reading Wieland, I wanted to write this blog because I thought it was a very intriguing topic. As I read the novel I kept thinking of Carwin’s intentions with using his voice to deceive people. Carwin says that he likes to test people (pg. 190) with his ventriloquism but as anyone who has the novel knows, this skill of his leads to the deaths of at least six people. But when reflecting on the book once completing it, I had this idea of why Carwin did what he did.

We know from Carwin’s confession to Clara that the first time he used his skill with the Wieland and Pleyel families was when he was in the family tower and found the note addressed to Wieland (pg. 192). This note contained the information about the land that Wieland inherited in Europe. It is here that Carwin decides to acquire the inheritance. But the only way to do that is to dispose of Wieland and those who know if the inheritance. My theory is that the rest of the novel is Carwin’s scheme to kill people off and driving others crazy in order to obtain a large fortune with no complications.

Carwin easily disposes of Katherine and the kids through Wieland, so they were no problem. Pleyel had to be convinced to stay in America in order to not visit the inherited land. Carwin’s way of accomplishing this is was by convincing Pleyel that his lover had died (pg.193). Without her, Pleyel wouldn’t have a reason to go abroad.

Wieland was also easily taken care of because Carwin took advantage of Wieland’s devout faith. Carwin led Wieland through a mental breakdown and caused him to kill himself. Now for the toughest to convince, the rational Clara. I believe Clara is the reason why Carwin’s plan failed. In a sense, Clara’s interest in Pleyel led Carwin astray from his scheme. When Carwin learned of Clara’s affection towards Pleyel, he began to mess with her. If Carwin had ignored Clara he may have been able to accomplish his plan.

I know that this theory is farfetched, but this is what I saw and fully believed to be true. As I read the novel I expected the ending to bring up some sort of scheme that Carwin planned. What other reason would this man have to cause so much distress to a family? The idea of natural perverseness, as seen in “The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe, does seem to apply. Perhaps Poe got the idea of natural perverseness after reading Wieland, or the Transformation. Or perhaps Carwin was really an accomplished thief and Wieland’s fortune was his next target.