Imp of the perverse
...ve preceded them.” He openly condemns the scientists for “deducing and establishing every thing from the preconceived destiny of man, and upon the ground of the objects of his Creator.” The narrator questions that if we cannot “comprehend God in his visible works, how then in his inconceivable thoughts, that call the works into being?” In The Imp of Perversion the narrator has, through careful deliberation, committed murder in order to inherit his victim’s estate. He did this by placing a candle that emitted poisonous gas next to the man’s bed. The next morning the victim was dead and the cause was explained as “Death by the visitation of God.” Because of the perfect execution of this murder, the narrator is sure that he will never be detected as the murderer. He was so pleased with his inheritance and knew he would remain safe as long as he did not speak of it. However, the impulse to speak was becoming so strong that he began to openly caution himself against confession. While walking down the street one day, he began to say to himself “I am safe – I am safe – yes – if I be not fool enough to make an open confession!” This mental deterioration continued until he suddenly burst and confessed his crime to all who would listen. Initially, I was a little disturbed by the thought that people are inherently “bad.” The explanations given by the narrator were compelling and made me thi...