by David Dunning

Created on: February 13, 2007   Last Updated: May 14, 2007

"The TellTale Heart" is essentially the ramblings of a deranged, or, at best, deluded, narrator, who develops a fixation with the diseased eye of an, otherwise genial, old man. Poe describes the eye as "a pale blue eye with a film over it", suggesting that the old man has nothing more than a cataract, as are common in elderly people, but the narrator insists that it "resembled that of a vulture".

The narrator's obsession is such that he or she becomes convinced that the old man actually has the "Evil Eye" itself the notion that a person can inflict harm on another simply by looking at them and consequently meticulously plots, and carries out, the cold-blooded murder of the old man, with his own bed, to, as the narrator says, "rid myself of the eye for ever".
The narrator then conscientiously hides the old man's remains beneath the floorboards of his chamber, and, at this point, is visited by three policemen, summoned by a neighbour, on "suspicion of foul play".
For a time, the narrator delights in the execution of the "perfect" crime, greeting the officers in a cordial and carefree manner, delivering a plausible explanation for the "shriek" heard by the neighbour and the whereabouts of the old man, allowing the officers to search the premises at will, and even fetching chairs so that they might rest. The narrator's performance is so convincing that the police officers suspect no wrong-doing.
However, the longer the policemen remain, the more uncomfortable the narrator becomes. He or she perceives a repetitive sound, a ringing, or a beating whether this is real or imaginary we are not told growing gradually louder and louder, and as the sound grows louder, so the diction and actions of the narrator become more frenetic and agitated.
Finally comes the, perhaps misguided, realisation that the policemen themselves must be able to hear the noise, and in failing to acknowledge it, are, as the narrator exclaims, "making a mockery of my horror!" The narrator's apparently calm demeanour now long-gone, he or she confesses to the crime, and the narrative ends abruptly.
It is interesting that Poe provides his narrator with no name, and, particularly, with no gender. Poe, as a male author, writing in the first person, may have assumed that the reader would expect the narrator to be male, but it could also be that he aims to provide the reader with a further jolt, by having the vile act perpetrated by a member of the fairer sex. There is a clue as to the gender of the narrator

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