The Imp of the Perverse symbolizes the human impulse to act without reason or control, underscoring the theme of Irrationality and Perverseness. Traditionally, an imp is a small, demon-like creature portrayed as a mischief maker. In the story, the narrator feels like an impish part of himself has played a trick on him by forcing him to confess to a crime that no one suspected him of. However, the Imp is “perverse” because its behavior is irrational. There is no logical explanation for confessing, as it is certain to lead to condemnation and death. Part of the Imp’s perversity is its apparent lack of instinct for self-preservation.

As the narrator is aware, there is no real Imp, only his subconscious desire to unburden himself and bring about Self-Punishment. By describing the Imp’s actions, which become increasingly confrontational and aggressive throughout the story, the narrator expresses Sigmund Freud’s concept of the “uncanny”—when repressed memories and parts of the psyche rise to consciousness. The narrator’s experience of perverseness, in which he irrationally tries to destroy himself, is the result of repressing unsettling thoughts and emotions.