"The Imp of the Perverse" is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by 19th-century American author and critic

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

. Beginning as an

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

, it discusses the

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

self-destructive Self-destructive behavior is any behavior that is harmful or potentially harmful towards the person who engages in the behavior. Self-destructive behaviors have been shown by many people throughout the years. It is on a continuum, with one extr ...

impulses, embodied as the symbolic

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

The Imp of the Perverse The Imp of the Perverse is a metaphor for the urge to do exactly the wrong thing in a given situation for the sole reason that it is possible for wrong to be done. The impulse is compared to an imp (a small demon) which leads an otherwise decent ...

. The narrator describes this spirit as the agent that tempts a person to do things "merely because we feel we should ''not''."

Plot summary

The narrator explains at length his theory on "

", which he believes causes people to commit acts against their self-interest. This essay-like discussion is presented objectively, though the narrator admits that he is "one of the many uncounted victims of the Imp of the Perverse".Sova, Dawn B. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z''. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001: 114. He then explains how his conviction for murder was the result of this. The narrator begins his story by explaining how he murdered a man using a candle that emitted a poisonous vapor: The victim enjoyed reading in bed at night and, using the candle for illumination, dies in his poorly ventilated room. No evidence is left behind, causing the

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jur ...

to believe the man's death is an

act of God In legal usage in the English-speaking world, an act of God is a natural hazard outside human control, such as an earthquake or tsunami, for which no person can be held responsible. An act of God may amount to an exception to liability in co ...

. The narrator inherits the man's estate and, knowing he can never be caught, enjoys the benefits of his murderous act for many years. The narrator remains unsuspected, though he occasionally reassures himself by repeating under his breath, "I am safe". One day, he notes that he will remain safe only if he is not foolish enough to openly confess. In saying so, however, he begins to question if he is capable of confessing, and is beginning to feel overpowered by a sudden urge to confess to the murder. He fearfully runs through the streets, arousing suspicion. When finally stopped, he feels struck by some "invisible fiend". He reveals his secret with "distinct enunciation", though in such a hurry as if afraid of being interrupted. He is quickly tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to death by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

Analysis

"The Imp of the Perverse" begins as an essay rather than as a work of fiction, a format that Poe previously used in " The Premature Burial". It is, therefore, less about plot and more about theory.Meyers, Jeffrey. ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy''. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992: 58. As Poe describes this theory: The work theorizes that all people have self-destructive tendencies, including the narrator. The narrator's ultimate confession as a murderer is not inspired by any feelings of guilt but, instead, from an overwhelming desire to publicize his actions despite knowing that he should not. The story may have been inspired by John Neal's, "Idiosyncracies," a short story similar to Poe's published two years earlier in ''

Brother Jonathan Brother Jonathan is the personification of New England. He was also used as an emblem of the U.S. in general, and can be an allegory of capitalism. His too-short pants, too-tight waistcoat and old-fashioned style reflect his taste for inexpens ...

. The story has been noted for its psychological analysis of human behavior and motivations presaging the concepts of

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...

and

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, ph ...

and

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might ...

. "Of all of Poe’s stories, this is one of the strongest tales to prefigure the ideas of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis." Poe's theory of the Imp of the Perverse may also be an early notion of the

subconscious In psychology, the subconscious is the part of the mind that is not currently of focal awareness. Scholarly use of the term The word ''subconscious'' represents an anglicized version of the French ''subconscient'' as coined in 1889 by the psycho ...

and repression which would not be fully theorized until Freud. Many of Poe's characters display a failure to resist the Imp of the Perverse—including the murderer in " The Black Cat" and the narrator in "

The Tell-Tale Heart "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is related by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the n ...

".Sova, Dawn B. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z''. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001: 113. The opposite of this impulse is seen in Poe's character C. Auguste Dupin who exhibits reason and deep analysis. One of the earliest examples, which predates "The Imp of the Perverse", was in Poe's novel ''

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket'' (1838) is the only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away aboard a whaling ship called the ''Grampus' ...

''. In one scene, the title character is overcome by an overwhelming desire to let himself fall off a steep cliff. Additionally, scholars and critics suggest that Poe had his own Imp of the Perverse. Poe biographer Jeffrey Meyers suggested that Poe wrote it to justify his own actions of self-torment and self-destruction. James M. Hutchisson says that the work reflects Poe's jealousy and sense of betrayal that led to his public feud with

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

and New England literary culture; the so-called "Longfellow War" was occurring at the same time Poe wrote "The Imp of the Perverse". Three months after the story was published, Poe lashed out against Boston's literary circle by trying to hoax them by reading his obscure poem " Al Aaraaf" at a lecture. Biographer Daniel Stashower suggests Poe's purposeful attempt to provoke his audience and alienate himself further was inspired by his Imp of the Perverse.

Publication history

"The Imp of the Perverse" was first published in the July 1845 issue of ''

Graham's Magazine ''Graham's Magazine'' was a nineteenth-century periodical based in Philadelphia established by George Rex Graham and published from 1840 to 1858. It was alternatively referred to as ''Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine'' (1841–1842, and Ju ...

''. A slightly revised version appeared in the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based

gift book Gift books, literary annuals, or keepsakes were 19th-century books, often lavishly decorated, which collected essays, short fiction, and poetry. They were primarily published in the autumn, in time for the holiday season and were intended to be g ...

''May-Flower'' for 1846.

Critical response

Poe reported in the ''

Broadway Journal The ''Broadway Journal'' was a short-lived New York City-based newspaper founded by Charles Frederick Briggs and John Bisco in 1844 and was published from January 1845 to January 1846. In its first year, the publication was bought by Edgar Allan P ...

'' in December 1845 that the ''Nassau Monthly'' at Princeton College harshly criticized "The Imp of the Perverse". Calling it a "humbug", the reviewer noted that the author's line of reasoning about this philosophical idea was difficult to follow. "He chases from the wilderness of phrenology into that of

transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in New England. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Wald ...

, then into that of metaphysics generally; then through many weary pages into the open field of inductive philosophy, where he at last corners the poor thing, and then most unmercifully pokes it to death with a long stick."Thomas, Dwight & David K. Jackson. ''The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe, 1809–1849''. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1987: 602–603.

References

External links