If we look carefully at the story, we can see that the
inner struggle that the narrator faces is thanks to his increasing addiction to alcohol
and the way that it tempts him to engage in acts of violence. Note how the
transformation of his character from a happy, pet-loving man to a viscious murder is
initiated. Talking of his friendship with the black cat, Pluto, the narrator
says:
Our
friendship lasted, in this manner, for several years, during which my general
temperament and character--through the instrumentality of the Fiend Intemperance--had (I
blush to confess it) experienced a radical alternation for the worse. I grew, day by
day, more moody, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others. I suffered
myself to use intemperate langauge to my wife. At length, I even offered her personal
violence. My pets, of course, were made to feel the change in my
disposition.
Thus the inner
conflict that the man faces is a result of his alcoholism and the impact that this has
on his own character, and the deep feelings of guilt that arise at his irrational
behaviour that he shows he is increasingly unable to control.
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