The Tell-Tale Heart

There is very little known about the murder victim, except that he is an aging man who presumably has only one eye, and who is most likely blind. The narrator never mentions a second eye, leading to the supposition that it might be missing. Additionally, the white film covering the blue pupil, described by the murderer, indicates cataracts or some other disease. Since the man does not react to the light shone into his open eye on the eighth night, it is likely that he is blind.

The old man’s advanced age and presumed infirmity suggest that the narrator is there to help care for him. The victim is also the likely proprietor of the house, since the mention of his gold suggests wealth. Such guesses, however, leave much room for theorizing about the relationship between the two characters, and since the story’s publication, there have been many varied readings offered by a range of scholars. It is equally possible that the old man is the murderer’s father (or father figure), mentor, relative, or employer. If the two men are interpreted as relatives, the murder could then be seen as the fulfilment of a forbidden or repressed impulse for patricide. Some scholars, such as Robert M. Kachur, have even suggested that the narrative is a displaced enactment and retelling of incest trauma.

If, however, the characters are viewed as employer and employee, the story can be read as an extreme case of class struggle. Additionally, if the narrator is envisioned as a woman, the crime could take on a gendered aspect.