Exham Priory and the Delapores of England represented the crumbling of a powerful, yet strikingly insane lineage.  H.P. Lovecraft, the author, told the story of one man who returned home after a series of family tragedies, including the death of his son, which set the stage for one of the most twisted horror stories of all time.  This man, Delapore, underwent a transition from proud to bothered to completely insane.  His transition symbolized the inevitable reconnection with one’s true self which eventually happened to Delapore even though he fought so viciously against it.  One particular event accounted for this journey on which Delapore’s mind embarked and this revolved around his paranoia with the rats in the walls.  He continually tricked himself into hearing noises from within the walls in order to convince himself that he was not crazy.  This happened multiple times throughout the story.  With each occurrence, he dug closer and closer to who he truly was until his breakthrough moment at the climax of the story which gives readers the satisfaction of knowing he has finally broken through to who he truly is.  

The reconstruction of Exham Priory signified Delapore’s efforts at trying to rebuild his family name.  His family experienced various traumatic events at their massive house during their reign in England, such as the disappearance and murder of several family members, as well as the infestation of the monstrous house by demonic rats.  From these unfortunate events, the family reputation quickly faded.  The family has their fair share of problems, most of which involved mental instability.  Driven to prove this reputation wrong, Delapore returned to reestablish his family name by trying to hide their true identity (Lovecraft).  This constant denial centered around the main point of this story.  Eventually, it became increasingly difficult to cover up his true identity and it inevitably was brought to the surface whether done with intention or not.   Delapore attempted to hide his family’s horrific past and in the process, he tried to deny coming to terms with his true self.  He refused to embrace his instinct of complete insanity which he inherited from his family and once he felt that instinct start to resurface, he used excuses in order to escape it.  One reoccurring example of this denial was seen through his interactions with the supposed rats in the walls.  

At times, it became increasingly difficult to decide whether Delapore was truly mad or legitimately experiencing a very weird series of events.  For instance, the cat with the unfortunate name assisted Delapore and Captain Norrys in uncovering the entrance to the secret cavern below Exham Priory.  Lovecraft stressed that Norrys was present for this and states that “Norrys was scraping away the lichens” of the entrance (84).  He wanted his audience to realize that these strange events were not entirely in Delapore’s head.  This finding potentially made readers rethink their opinions on Delapore’s mental status because it brought the question of if rats really do scurry around within the walls or not.  As one of the cats found the hidden entrance, then it was quite possible that the cats could be right about the rats.  This caused readers to go through a sort of mental debate which loosely parallels with what Delapore experienced as he struggled to come to terms with who he really was.  Another event where Delapore’s insanity seemed questionable was when he decided to call in expert archaeologists to assist them in searching through the ancient cellar.  This seemed like a reasonably responsible thing to do.  They definitely had their moments of sanity, but readers must remember that these events occurred outside the boundaries of Delapore’s mind when he was left to think to himself.  These events initiated the process of Delapore’s spiral into mental chaos.  

Throughout Lovecraft’s short story, Delapore and “his cat with the unfortunate name” grow suspicious of whether he is Exham Priory’s only inhabitant or not (Lovecraft 80).  This suspicion stemmed from his need to cover up his true self.  In the beginning, he insists that he is not like his ancestors and that he must recover their reputation, but the outcome of this story unwinds, readers see just how crazy he really is.  He uses his tale of the rats in the walls in order to cover up his craziness which is indeed his true personality.  Over the course of his life, he learned to cover up his craziness so he can contain it, but when it began to resurface he scrambled for excuses in order to escape himself.  The first instance of this actually happening occurred during the first couple of nights that he and Captain Norrys stayed at the house.  Delapore noticed the cats as they roamed about the rooms.  He saw they were particularly interested with the walls, as if something was inside them.  Delapore states, “my old black cat, whose moods I know so well, was undoubtedly alert and anxious to an extent wholly out of keeping with his natural character” (80).  The fact that the narrator must emphasize how he knows his cat so well and that he would notice even the slightest behavioral shift seems like he is trying to win the readers over.  If he is just describing what happened that night, then it seems unnecessary to gain the readers favor unless he was hiding something.  Aside from that, this quote, whether perceived as suspicious or completely normal, allowed readers to see that something was going on with either the cats, the house, Delapore, or all three combined.  

As the story progresses, Delapore and his cats grew even more paranoid regarding the rat infestation, and with each occurrence their suspicions intensified.  No other residents of the massive Exham Priory, including Captain Norrys, seem to have heard these strange noises or even noticed the abnormal behavior exhibited by the property’s owner.  For example, Delapore awakened almost each night because he thought he heard scurrying through the walls.  He asked his servants if they had experienced any similar situations, but they had not.  In his mind, he convinced himself that he did indeed hear the rats in the walls, but this served only for him to cope with his unstable mental state to which he was completely in denial about.  Lovecraft used this persistence as a way for his readers to see that despite the denial, one will eventually connect with their true self as seen with Delapore at the end of the story.  

In order to conclude Delapore’s treacherous mental journey through insanity and momentary clarity, he and Captain Norrys, along with their team of archaeologists, plunged into the secret cavern.  This exploration of theirs represented his mental journey as he approached the breakthrough of his mind.  Moments after their descent, the archaeologists stumbled upon the very insane Delapore muttering in different languages while feasting upon Captain Norrys’ body.  This very obvious breakthrough moment appeared as simply the horrifying climax to the murder of Captain Norrys, but this actually focused more on Delapore.  This moment signified his realization that he had to come to terms with who he really was.  He attempted to hold it back for as long as he could, but eventually he snapped.  Lovecraft intended for this event to send home a message to his readers that hiding one’s true self was not an option.  

The Delapore family has experienced some traumatic events, most of which stemmed from their history of mental instability.  Delapore himself was no exception, but with great attempt he tried to evade the inevitable reconnection with his true self.  The buildup of this realization carried on throughout the story until he ultimately broke down.  His denial showed that no matter the severity, coming to terms with one’s real self must eventually happen.  
