The Rats in the Walls is a short horror story written by H.P. Lovecraft during a pre-WWII era. The narrative is beautifully written, enabling the reader to play the story in his or her mind, as though watching it as a movie. Even though this story is only a few pages long, it contains many elements and themes that are worthy of analysis through close reading. One of the key themes of this story is that of hereditary degeneration, where humans are capable of reverting back to primitive evolutionary states. This theme coincides with Sigmund Freud’s ideas of superego, ego, and id. Throughout the story, we watch as the main character attempts to fight his inner unconscious desires, or id, by focusing on his ego and superego. It is when de la Poer gives in to his id that he finally degenerates into a primitive state of evolution. Lovecraft successfully makes use of his theme by using the elements of the literary device symbolism and structure to trace the main character’s devolution into a primitive evolutionary state. 

Within the text, there are countless symbols, many of which work to enhance the theme of hereditary degeneration. One of the most important of these are the different animals that Lovecraft implements throughout the narrative.  The rats symbolize a temptation and desire to sin. Not only sinning in a theological sense, but in betraying the motives of the superego and conscious mind, and therefore morality as well. Without even delving into the story, Lovecraft specifically chose this animal, as rats conjure negative images of grime, dirt, and disgust, allowing him to successfully use an animal that already has an aura of horror around it. Throughout the story, the rats serve as a foreboding warning to Delapore, as the town’s people link the rats to the unholy and disgusting horrors of his evil family. It is evident that the rats symbolize the temptation of moral devolution, as the more that de la Poer fears the rats and the repugnance that they metaphorically symbolize, the more that he begins to devolve into them. At the point of the story where he fears these rats the most, he eats his dear friend Norrys. He has committed an act of cannibalism and this is his degeneration into a primitive evolutionary state. It can be said that this is a hereditary degeneration. As it can be seen by the countless gnawed upon bone scatterings, that his ancestors had an inclination towards cannibalism themselves. For all of de la Poer’s fanciness and morality as a modern, successful man, he is unable to fight the primitive evolutionary state of his ancestors. 

It is interesting to note that Norrys gave de la Poer rat traps when de la Poer first informed Norrys of the rat infestation. Norrys was surprised to hear of the event, but he still offered to help his friend out. These rat traps are symbolic of how it is possible to control our temptations. Norrys offers to help de la Poer focus on his superego and ego, as opposed to allowing the rats to overrun these ideals by bringing de la Poer’s id and temptations of devolution to the forefront. 

Another animal that Lovecraft chooses to symbolically implement within the tale are cats. de la Poer has three cats, of which he favors one above the rest. Nigger-man is de la Poer’s chief companion throughout the story, as de la Poer follows this cat’s instincts the entire story. At first, de la Poer believes there are rats in the house before even he himself hears or sees them, based solely on the behavior of the cats. It was not the warnings of the town’s people about the rat stories of the past that had any influence on de la Poer’s beliefs, but his cats’ behavior that influenced his conviction. De la Poer follows Nigger-man all over the house. And in the end, by following Nigger-man into a dark corridor within the depths of a chamber beneath house, he follows Nigger-man to his complete barbaric devolution. The cats symbolize de la Poer’s mind, the part that wants to yield to animalistic impulses and primitive instincts- his id. The cats are constantly preoccupied with the rats and completely conscious of their presence. They are always scratching at doors and the base of the alter to get to the rats. These cats represent the part of de la Poer’s mind that is frantic to escape the confines of his superego and ego to follow the rats, or the temptation of devolution into id. 

Lovecraft applies the element of structure in many different ways throughout the story. The depiction of the house is one example of a distinct way in which he implements structure. At the beginning of the story, de la Pore chooses a bedroom in the observation tower of the giant house. This room is a metaphor, in which de la Pore is able to watch over the entire house and know all of the affairs that occur within in. At this point in the story, he is particularly aware of his superego and ego, understanding how violent cannibalism is and how it is disgusting, vile, and a despicable act. Subconsciously, as he becomes more aware of the rats, he may be beginning to have inclinations to want to eat human flesh. As he follows the rats, symbolic of his temptation for cannibalism, he begins to sleep in his study on the main floor, below his observation tower, and eventually the basement. It is no mere coincidence that Lovecraft structured the locations of where de la Pore’s sleeps in this way. Lovecraft specifically chose this structuring of the narrative to reflect de la Pore’s descent into his madness and the longings of his id. There is a parallel of a descent of altitude within the house to de la Pore’s descent from his superego to id. 

Another structural element that Lovecraft implements within this story is only having the rats inhabit the original foundation. The rats do not inhabit the any of the newer renovations, instead being found beneath the new wallpapers and curtains that are hung throughout the house. Lovecraft’s structural choice in this way further supports the symbolism of the rats. This structural choice displays the battle between the cultured self and the fundamental regression into cannibalism within the family. For generations the de la Pore’s had an amazing home with great civilized refinements above ground, with a horrific secret of a cannibalistic dungeon worshiping Druidic, simplistic and immoral faiths. In the basement, de la Pore’s conscious mind is telling him not to eat his close companion, Norrys, but his id takes over, saying I want to eat this person and assert my evolutionary dominance as a man.  

At the beginning of the story, de la Pore is a respectable and moral man, upholding the values of his superego and ego. But as the story develops, through the implementation of many elements, such as the literary device of symbolism and structure, it is evident that there is a strong id within him, savage and animalistic, that wants to break free of its confines and indulge in primitive behavior.
