The narrator of The Pit and the Pendulum confesses in this quote that if he were in a better condition of mind he would just end his life right then and there. Staring down into the trap laid out for him, he realizes that this would have been the better way to go, but tripping and falling only saved him from falling into the pit. He knows that they were going to find a more horrifying and painful way of ending him. This shows the true character of the narrator. I believe it shows how afraid of death he really is. Although he presumes he is going to die in the end anyways and almost definitely in a terrifying way, he can’t bring himself to end his own life the less painful way.