Edgar Allan Poe: The Fall of the House of Usher
Theme
In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe tries to explore the nature of
humanity. The story focuses on several interrelated themes, namely death, isolation
and madness. This is why he is all the time looking and thinking, speaking about
death, isolation, madness and violence.
Characters
The story contains only three characters. The first is Roderick Usher, who
suffers from a mental and psychological disorder; so, he sends a letter to his friend,
the narrator, asking him to come and try to relieve him from his mental disorder or
what he calls “nervous agitation.” Roderick has a sister called Madeline Usher. The
third character is that of the narrator, who is connected to the Usher family since he
and Roderick were once close boyhood companions. They have not seen each other
for many years, and it is only their past closeness and the clear emotion in Roderick's
letter that convince the narrator to make the journey.
Setting
The setting is referred to by the narrator as "House of Usher" to refer to both
the physical structure of the house and the last of the Usher race; Roderick and
Madeline are the last of the Usher family. Poe begins by description and continues
with description to the extent that the whole story becomes a descriptive account of
the mental breakdown of Roderick. Poe focuses on settings that had many
descriptions and details such as the dark, gloomy, and dull places in the story. What
he desires is to present a psychological analysis of the life of that strange family.
Everything in the house is breaking down, even the mentality of its owners.
Technique of Suspense
The narrator increases the reader’s feeling of suspense by introducing a
mysterious description of the house and then by saying that he does not have much
information about this family. He only says that they had a strange way of dealing
with life. Some of them were artists who expressed themselves greatly in art and
music. However, Roderick suffers from the same illness that all his family
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experienced. They all had a sharpness of the senses that made them hear and see
things that nobody can hear or see. This led them to stay isolated from the outside
world because they could not look at bright light or wear certain kinds of clothes.
Plot
Roderick Usher lives with his sister Madeline, who is too sick, and he is afraid
that she may die. He fears that he will be left alone in this world because she is the
last member of his family who is still alive. What makes his sadness more bitter is
that Madeline is his twin sister and thus they are closely intimate. Madeline’s illness
makes her feel gradually weaker and weaker, and all the physicians failed to know
the reason for this illness and thus could not treat her. A few days later, Madeline dies
and both her brother and the narrator bury her within the house, in one of the vaults.
After Madeline’s death, Roderick changes into a horrible shape. He no longer looks
like a living person. One day there is a horrible storm and the narrator tries to relieve
Roderick’s pain by reading to him a romantic story, but the brother suddenly breaks
into a hysterical reaction when they hear the sound of something falling. Roderick
informs the narrator that they have buried Madeline alive and that he has for several
days heard her in the vault trying to break free from her coffin but could not go to
bring her out. Suddenly, Madeline enters the room in a horrible shape and attacks her
brother until both brother and sister fall dead. The narrator quickly escapes from this
cursed house and after going out, he suddenly sees the House of Usher fall and
disappear completely.
Philosophy: Transcendentalism
Thus, this short story is an attempt by Poe to suggest that transcendentalism
should not be taken too seriously. He believes that the inner working of imagination
could be destructive when it surpasses the physical ability of the body. Thus, human
beings must keep a balance between their physical ability and their spiritual flights.
The family of Usher are living in their imagination and neglecting the physical world,
and the result is that they lose everything and their house is destroyed along with the
whole family.
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