In "The Black Cat," there is really only one woman: the narrator's wife. Unfortunately, we do not see much of her as an individual character, but she does serve an important purpose. The first time we encounter her, the narrator tells us that she is very similar to him in that they both preferred the company of animals to humans, and because of that, she acquires for them many pets, including Pluto, the black cat of the title. Without her bringing Pluto into their household, there would be no story at all.

The rest of her role is to serve as a victim to the narrator's bad temper. He admits to yelling at her and even hitting her, and when he tries to kill the cat he brought home from a bar, she stops him, which ends up being the last thing she ever did. She liked the cat, so when the narrator tries to kill it with an axe, she catches it before he can, and in his anger, the narrator turns on her and kills her instead. Because of this murder, the narrator ends up imprisoned, waiting for his execution.

So, although the narrator's wife does not have much of her own character, she is a driving force in this story, providing both the catalyst for the narrator's misfortunes and the proverbial final straw.