Reason vs. Impulse Theme Analysis

Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Imp of the Perverse” opens with what seems to be an essay on human impulses. Using verbose and technical language, the first-person narrator discusses how sciences like phrenology have ignored a certain impulse towards “perversity.” Instead, they assume that all impulses must be beneficial and sent by God, and a “perverse” impulse is inherently destructive. This introduction then shifts to a discussion of the narrator’s own life: he is in prison for committing a murder, which he inexplicably confessed to years after the fact. The narrator attributes this confession to the human impulse towards self-harm, which he dubs the “Imp of the Perverse.” The “Imp,” he claims, drives him to “make open confession” despite otherwise having gotten away with the perfect murder. Through both the narrator’s scientific discussion and personal story, Poe paints a chilling portrait of the power of impulse, arguing that even seemingly “perverse” and unreasonable desires should not be ignored—or they can lead to devastating consequences.

In the story’s first pages, the narrator argues for the principles of reason and objectivity in the face of idealism and logical fallacies. Using phrenology (a pseudoscience devoted to studying the skull) as a stand-in for all psychological sciences, the narrator claims that people have ignored an important aspect of the human experience: the apparent impulse towards perverseness. The narrator makes some good scientific points in the process, arguing that phrenology started out with assumed conclusions—presuming to know what humans are intended to do, and in the process presuming to know God’s intentions—and has worked backwards from there, instead of observing the way people really act and drawing conclusions based on facts. The narrator highlights his own objectivity here, making him seem very reasonable and logical to the reader.

This essay, however, is all for the purpose of arguing that humans are incredibly unreasonable at times. The Imp of the Perverse is the narrator’s personification of the impulse to do what one knows they “should not.” As an example, the narrator describes a person standing on the edge of a precipice, knowing they should move away but lingering, and even feeling a wild desire to leap. This description was actually rather groundbreaking for the time (Sigmund Freud would write about it as the “death drive,” but not until nearly a century later), as it went against the accepted wisdom that humans were designed reasonably by God, and so would not have natural impulses to self-destruction. Through this acute insight about the “Imp,” then, both the narrator and Poe highlight the power of impulse to go even against what we want and know is best.

Ironically, the narrator is not impulsive about his most drastic act in the story: committing murder. He is instead very thorough and deliberate, rejecting any plan that he thinks might get him caught until he finally hits upon a foolproof scheme: murdering his victim with a poisoned candle. In his apparent psychopathy, he sees people as merely objects and means to an end, and so disposes of his victim without remorse. He doesn’t seem to have any hatred for his victim (who is implied to be related to him), but merely wants his wealth and inheritance. Horrifying though this is, it is in a sense very logical, and the narrator acts in his own best interests.

The narrator’s reasoning is ultimately overcome by impulse, however, as the Imp of the Perverse claims him and forces him to confess to his crime (which he had previously gotten away with). Once the thought enters his head—“I am safe—yes—if I be not fool enough to make open confession!”—he cannot resist acting on it. In an attempt to escape his own unreasonable desire, he takes off running, eventually drawing a crowd. He then seems to black out and confesses to everything, though he has no memory of doing so. Despite his logical mind and the careful, deliberate nature of his crime, he is overcome by a sudden self-destructive impulse and loses everything he worked for. It is because of this, then, that he made his initial argument for the existence of the Imp and its powerful influence on human behavior.

Part of the importance of “The Imp of the Perverse” is simply its innovation in describing and giving name to its titular impulse. Despite his many references to phrenology (which is now thoroughly debunked), Poe does make a legitimate psychological insight in the midst of his brief tale, going against the religious idealism of the time and looking forward to the age of psychoanalysis. The horror-story twist of a murderer driven not to kill but to confess dramatizes human impulses, but also argues for the importance of truly recognizing them—observing real human nature, even its darkest and most destructive aspects.