Throughout history literary works have been used to indirectly portray underlying themes and concepts. There are usually clues woven into the text through imagery and different scenarios to paint a picture of the theme or concept that the author is trying to get across. By examining Lovecraft's use of profound imagery and multiple situations in his piece, The Rats in the Walls, we can see how a guilty conscience can distort reality, which most readers don't see; this is important because it shows that even when a person is able to avoid the consequences given by society, one cannot escape from the haunting plague of guilt that is created by their own mind.

On the surface, the piece seemed to have the structure of any other ghost story or paranormal tale; however, once I began to delve deeper into the work I found that many of the situations presented could be related to aspects of a guilty conscience, such as the use of bones and skeletons throughout the work. One of the most prominent description of the bones is mentioned when the narrator says that, "  [there] was a ghastly array of human or semi-human bones. Those which retained their collocation as skeletons shewed attitudes of panic fear and over all were the marks of rodent gnawing" (52). The bones and skeletons depicted tell of a haunting past of pain and torture before death, and could be a reference to the narrator's "skeletons in the closet" from past events or memories, one of these 'skeletons' being the loss of his son in the war. The passing of the narrator's son is important because it leads to anger that later determines the fate of Captain Norrys. I would like to argue that, instead of what other critics tie to historical racism, the context of the work is referring to the profound effects of a guilty conscience and how it can define a person's feelings and actions towards different situations. 

Present throughout the piece, Lovecraft uses profound imagery to exaggerate and intensify the experiences of the narrator. In the first descriptions of Exham Priory, the narrator states that, "[he] saw [it] without emotion, a jumble of tottering mediaeval ruins covered with lichens and honeycombed with rooks' nests " (42). When looking at this depiction, it seems to set the scene of Exham Priory as being deserted or abandoned. A representation of the state of mind in which a heinous act is planned or committed can be tied to this depiction in that the mind would be blank or lacking emotion. As the narrator goes on to examine the legends of his family's history, he comes across the, "dramatic epic of the rats   the scampering army of vermin    the lean, filthy, ravenous army " (44), that leads to the desertion of the priory. Through this imagery, Lovecraft is referring to the thoughts that drive the mind to act on unspeakable notions, such as murder, or in the case of the narrator, cannibalism. 

Typical symptoms of a guilty conscience are recurring nightmares pertaining to the event, imagining sights and sounds undetectable by others, and denial of the event. Many of these symptoms can be linked to the narrator through the many different situations presented by Lovecraft. When the narrator first experiences hearing the rats in the walls, he questions his servants to no avail because none of them could recall any unusual happenstances from the previous night (46). This shows an example of the hallucinogenic properties related to a guilty conscience as the narrator is plagued by imaginings that no one else in the piece relates to. Lovecraft also goes on to harass the narrator with a recurring nightmare about a, "twilit grotto, [in which, he is] knee-deep in filth, where a white-bearded daemon swineherd drove about with his staff a flock of fungous, flabby beasts " (47). The narrator is struck with this recurring nightmare only after making residence in the priory. With every occurrence of this nightmare the narrator is consumed with horror and disgust, which could link this nightmare to a horrific event that he may have experienced. Towards the end of the piece there is a passage referring to the narrator being found with the half-eaten body of another character. Lovecraft reveals that the narrator has reverted to cannibalistic behavior, yet when he talks of the event, his only comment is, "When I speak of poor Norrys they accuse me of a hideous thing, but they must know that I did not do it" (55). Through this statement, the narrator reveals that he is aware of his actions but believes that he has done nothing wrong. The narrator seems to lack emotion, showing no remorse towards the fact that he killed and ate another man. His confession relates to the symptoms of a guilty conscience because he refuses to accept that he has committed any wrongdoing and relays no sign of emotion in connection with his actions.

In the conclusion of the piece it is revealed that the narrator has become overtaken by insanity. The narrator is described as being locked in a padded room where he continues to hear the scurrying of rats in the walls (55). This is relevant to my argument of the overall idea of a guilty conscience because psychology supports the repression of traumatic events leading to insanity. The narrator throughout the piece undergoes many traumatic experiences through the discoveries made in the priory. This could be linked to possible traumatic events experienced through committing a heinous act, creating a guilty conscience, and the repression of such leading to insanity.

Overall, Lovecraft's piece could have many underlying meanings and could represent a number of ideas. Through profound imagery and different scenarios, I have concluded that Lovecraft could have been referring to the idea of a guilty conscience through his piece. By picking apart the text and looking for connections supporting my argument, I believe that I have found a valid underlying meaning of the piece. 

  

