In the story, the reader does not know any biographical information about the unnamed “I” speaking to them except what they infer from context. He is in prison, but it is not clear where, when, or for how long he has been there. He is to be hanged for the murder of someone close enough to him that he inherited their estate, but the relationship to his victim is not revealed. It is clear that he is an educated, intellectual man capable of constructing elaborate theories. He also reveals that the public believes him to be “mad.” Poe’s use of the unreliable narrator is a trope of Gothic literature designed to unsettle the reader. The lack of biographical information enhances the atmosphere of unease, contributing to the horror of the story.

The narrator is a villain-protagonist. He confesses to being a murderer and shows no signs of remorse. He also displays a notable ability to dissect the experiences of his mind, but comprehension of his own behavior is limited by his self-centered interest. Ironically, while emphasizing his rationality and intellect, he attributes his trait of “perverseness” to an imagined supernatural force (the Imp), which is the exact critique he makes of scientific reasoning.