Miriam Parrotto

Into the Abyss: The Horrifying Edifices of the Mind: A Close Reading of Edgar Allan Poe

Thursday, Dec 18, 2025, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Why are we so fascinated by doing things we know will hurt us? Edgar Allan Poe answers this question in his theoretical fiction tale “The Imp of the Perverse” (1845). Poe is glaring, challenging us, that we all must so impetuously peer into the abyss, into that unconscious fear we so deeply dread—death—dizzying decay, until finally, unable to resist the danger of the lure, we plunge into the depths of the unknown—the insecurity--unconsciously, and are destroyed. The ultimate dread of death is also so precipitously the most ultimate delight. We find ourselves within the abyss of our unconscious mind, a cosmic battleground of unrest. The answers are not in the void: the answers are the void. 

In this close reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s short horror fiction, “The Imp of the Perverse,” we will discuss how our unconscious might entice us to act against our own self-interests. We will consider the reasons Poe puts forth as “the spirit of perversity” intersects with our instincts towards self-preservation. The “Imp,” that little voice that encourages you to act, for Poe, isn’t just rebellion, but a more intimate rebellion of the self against the self: “the soul wants to vex itself”, Poe says. What must one do when faced with fighting "An Other" within? We will move on to consider how Poe’s work has influenced other horror stories. Is our true unconscious fear death – or some other crumbling edifice?

Required Reading (in Reader):

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Imp of the Perverse” (Text-02b), Graham's Magazine, vol. 28, no. 1, July 1845, pp. 1-3. https://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/impa.htm