8/13/2019 UsHer House

1/6

Usher House

Peter B.High : An Outline of American Literature 55-56

Published in 18 ! it is Poe"s best #no$ short stor%& the successful e'am(le of his theor%that the most im(ortant element in a literar% $or# is the )unit% of effect*. +he setting ofthe stor% and all the s%mbols used re,eals the character of the main hero.+he role of ,i,idand su(ernatural images is e'tremel% im(ortant& the te't abundants in ad ecti,es& offeringe'act details & es(eciall% the (h%sical degradation of the hero and of the mansion. +helanguage hel(s to create the sensation of sadness& gloom% state of s(irit&the author li#esto use our si'th sense& the inner sense& in this case& fear. Poe is undoubtedl% an e'cellentcreator of atmos(here.

htt(: $$$.gradesa,er.com the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher stud%-guide ma or-themes

As he does $ith so man% of his short stories& Poe (refaces / +he 0all of the House ofsher / $ith a 2uoted (assage from a (oem b% 0rench l%ric (oet Pierre 3ean de Beranger&/His heart is a hanging lute 4hene,er one touches it& it resounds./ Aside from theim(ortance of stringed instruments in the tale-- oderic# sher can stand the sound of noother noises--the (assage touches on one of the stor% s most im(ortant themes& mortalit%.+hat the heart in the (oem is related to a musical instrument underlines its ,er% fragilit%.

+he (rinci(al arc of the narrati,e has been sher s madness& his fear of $hat he regardsas his o$n ine,itable doom.

4hen 7adeline dies& and e,er%thing changes. ,en $hen the 9arrator and sher bur%

her in the ,ault& the 9arrator notes /the moc#er% of a faint blush u(on the bosom and theface& and that sus(iciousl% lingering smile u(on the li( $hich is so terrible in death./ t isalmost as if 7adeline $ere alread% moc#ing death. 4hat is (articularl% intriguing aboutthis grotes2ue resurrection is that Poe finall% attributes lifeli#e characteristics to7adeline: ;eath gi,es her a strength that life did not.

Other inter(retations of /+he 0all of the House of sher/ ha,e focused on the 9arratorhimself& $ho seems slo$l% to sli( into madness& (erha(s through the ,er% (rocess ofnarrating sher s o$n mental brea#do$n. ement and dread&informs not ust /+he 0all of the House of sher/ but Poe s $or# in general.

http://www.gradesaver.com/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/study-guide/major-themes/http://www.gradesaver.com/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/http://www.gradesaver.com/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/http://www.gradesaver.com/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/study-guide/major-themes/http://www.gradesaver.com/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/http://www.gradesaver.com/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/

8/13/2019 UsHer House

2/6

Major Themes

Mortality

+he (lot of Poe s tale essentiall% in,ol,es a $oman $ho dies& is buried& and rises from the

gra,e. Premature burial $as something of an obsession for Poe& $ho featured it in man%of his stories. n /+he 0all of the House of sher&/ ho$e,er& it is not clear to $hat e'tentthe su(ernatural can be said to account for the strangeness of the e,ents in the tale.7adeline ma% actuall% ha,e died and risen li#e a ,am(ire or she ma% ha,e been mista#enfor dead--and luc#il% managed to esca(e her tomb. ither $a%& the line bet$een life anddeath is a fine one in Poe s fiction..

Madness

+he 9arrator notes an /incoherence/ and /inconsistenc%/ in his old friend& but he offerslittle b% $a% of scientific e'(lanation of the condition. As a result& the line bet$een sanit%and insanit% becomes blurred& $hich (a,es the $a% for the 9arrator s o$n descent intomadness.

Fear

f $e $ere to tr% to define oderic# sher s illness (recisel%& $e might diagnose him$ith acute an'iet%. 4hat seems to terrif% sher is fear itself. sher tries to e'(lain to the

9arrator that he dreads /the e,ents of the future& not in themsel,es but in their results./Later& sher identifies fear itself as the thing that $ill #ill him& suggesting that his o$nan'iet% is $hat con ures u( the blood-stained 7adeline--or that she is sim(l% amanifestation of his o$n dee(est neuroses.

Incest

+he 9arrator describes the strange 2ualities of the sher famil%--that it ne,er has (utforth /an% enduring branch&/ that /the entire famil% la% in the direct line of descent./ +heim(lication is that incest is the norm for the shers& and that oderic# s and 7adeline sstrange illnesses ma% stem from their inbred genes.

Friendship

+he 9arrator arri,es at the House of sher in order to ,isit a friend. 4hile therelationshi( bet$een him and oderic# is ne,er full% e'(lained& the reader does learn thatthe% $ere bo%hood friends. +hat sher $rites to the 9arrator& urging him to gi,e himcom(an% in his time of distress& suggests the close ra((ort bet$een the t$o men. ButPoe s stor% is a chronicle of both distancing and identification. n other $ords& the

9arrator seems to remo,e himself s(irituall% from sher& terrified of his house& hisillness& his a((earance& but as the narrati,e (rogresses he cannot hel( but be dra$n intosher s t$isted $orld.

8/13/2019 UsHer House

3/6

Burial

+here are three images of $ould-be /tombs/ or /cr%(ts/ in /+he 0all of the House ofsher./ +he house itself is shut off from the da%light& its ca,ernous rooms turned intos(acious ,aults& in $hich characters $ho ne,er seem entirel% ali,e--7adeline and

sher--$aste a$a%. ?econd& sher s (ainting is of /an immensel% long and rectangular,ault or tunnel&/ foreshado$ing the third image of a tomb& the real one of 7adeline stem(orar% burial.

The Arts

;es(ite @or because of his madness& sher is s#illed at music and a((arentl% is 2uite a (ainter. +he 9arrator com(ares oderic# s /(hantasmagoric conce(tions/ to those of areal artist& 0useli& and the 9arrator seems both entranced and terrified b% them.

htt(: ,oices.%ahoo.com edgar-allen-(oes-fall-house-usher-madness-165 81 .htmlC

catD 8;eath and morbidit% is al$a%s surrounding sher in the stor%. 4hen describing anotherone of sher s maladies the narrator relates it to death. ;ar#ness is often associated $ithmadness if one if left alone for a long time.7adeline is recogni>ed as a t$in to oderic# and it is seen that the t$o can share thesame t%(e of (roblems: /a gradual $asting a$a% of the (erson/

4hen 7adeline /dies/ sher decides to entomb her in the house rather than ta#ing her toan outside facilit%.+his is an e'am(le once again of ho$ sher can not lea,e his houseand is destined to die $ith his madness there. B% choosing to bur% 7adeline& it can bereferenced to a form of re(ression. e(ression $ill lead to its o$n t%(e of madness

because not facing one s (roblems $ill cause a negati,e affect on the mind.sher also contains the trait of a (erson $ho li#es to drift from realit% in $a%s similar tothat of the narrator.

+he characters in /+he 0all of the House of sher/ all e'(erience madness though someha,e madness in different $a%s. +hough the narrator manages to sur,i,e his ordeal at thehouse of sher he $ill most li#el% end u( as the sher famil% has: lost to the $orld as aresult of madness. 7adness infects the minds of all the characters and Poe has used bothsubtle and direct means of (ro,iding the reader $ith the necessar% information indetermining the madness of his characters. +hrough Poe s usage of madness he is able to

$arn and readers about the dangers of becoming lost in a ha>e of drugs and caught u( inthe dangers of fanc%.

http://voices.yahoo.com/edgar-allen-poes-fall-house-usher-madness-1657817.html?cat=38http://voices.yahoo.com/edgar-allen-poes-fall-house-usher-madness-1657817.html?cat=38http://voices.yahoo.com/edgar-allen-poes-fall-house-usher-madness-1657817.html?cat=38http://voices.yahoo.com/edgar-allen-poes-fall-house-usher-madness-1657817.html?cat=38

8/13/2019 UsHer House

4/6

htt(: $$$.enotes.com t o(ics fall-house-usher critical-essa%s fall-house-usher-edgar-allan-(oe

/+he 0all of the House of sher/ is #no$n for its remar#able structure& in $hich ma orthemes emerge through an elaborate net$or# of re(eated images. +he (rominent theme

of dualit% is e'(ressed (rimaril% in se,eral (arallel structures& including the s%mbiotic bond bet$een oderic# and his sister 7adeline. +he theme also a((ears in the o(eningimage of the mansion reflected in a dar# tarn& as $ell as in the meta(hor of a mindinfected $ith madness& suggested b% oderic# s (oem /+he Haunted Palace./

Poe (resents oderic# as a tragic aesthete& $ho& though com(letel% alienated frommundane realit%& succeeds in arousing (athos in the reader. As more than one critic hasobser,ed& the fall of the house of sher describes the decline of an incestuous& deca%ingfamil% .the stor% s themes of destructi,e di,ision& famil% decline and morbid imagination offerintriguing (arallels to the author s fragmented life.

htt(: $$$.brighthubeducation.com home$or#-hel(-literature 66EF1-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-anal%sis

+he stor% s main elements.

1. ?etting and 7ood - the stor% s central feature is its ominous mood established b%its drear% setting. +he house s melanchol% surroundings are matched b% themansion s interior& highlighted b% lab%rinthine hall$a%s& closter(hobic rooms& anda tomb in the basement. +he (aintings on the $all and boo#s on the shelf

contribute to the mansion s Gothic feel.E. 4ord hoice - Poe establishes the mood $ith s(ecific $ord choice @somee'am(les are highlighted in the abo,e (assage and in the (assage that follo$s :/+here $as an iciness & asinking & asickening of the heartIan unredeemeddreariness of thought $hich no goading of the imagination could torture intoaught of the sublime. 4hat $as itI (aused to thin#I$hat $as it that sounnerved me in the contemplation of the House of sherC/

. ?ound ;e,ices - Poe uses alliteration and consonance to create harshness in thesetting: dull and dark; tract of country, sinking and sickening, unredeemeddreariness haracters - All three characters suffer from madness and gloom& morethan li#el% brought on b% the gloominess of the setting.

J. American omanticism - Poe s fascination $ith death and the su(ernatural (ermeates the stor%.

7ost of the s%mbolism in /+he 0all of the House of sher/ is internal.

1. +he House of sher refers to both the house and the famil%.E. +he ghostl% images inside the house s%mboli>e the madness of the house s

inhabitants.

http://www.enotes.com/topics/fall-house-usher/critical-essays/fall-house-usher-edgar-allan-poehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/fall-house-usher/critical-essays/fall-house-usher-edgar-allan-poehttp://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/66201-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-analysis/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/66201-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-analysis/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/high-school-english-lessons/6429-notes-on-american-romanticism-class-handout/http://www.enotes.com/topics/fall-house-usher/critical-essays/fall-house-usher-edgar-allan-poehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/fall-house-usher/critical-essays/fall-house-usher-edgar-allan-poehttp://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/66201-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-analysis/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/66201-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-analysis/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/high-school-english-lessons/6429-notes-on-american-romanticism-class-handout/

8/13/2019 UsHer House

5/6

. +he (h%sical deterioration of the house s%mboli>es the (h%sical deterioration ofoderic# and 7adeline.

J. +he u(side do$n reflection of the house in the tarn s%mboli>es the u(side do$nthin#ing of the shers. +he bridge o,er the tarn s%mboli>es the narrator $hoser,es as the onl% bridge to the outside $orld.

5. +he colla(sing of the house straight do$n into the tarn s%mboli>es the linearfashion of the sher s famil% tree and its ultimate colla(se.6. +he ran# atmos(here in /+he 0all of the House of sher/ s%mboli>es the negati,e

effect of being in the sher s (resence.

Possible Themes

1. Evil - ,il has haunted oderic# and the sher famil% for generations. +he rootof the e,il is not s(elled out s(ecificall%& although incest bet$een oderic# andhis /tenderl% belo,ed sister/ is suggested

E. Madness - oderic# and 7adeline demonstrate tell-tale signs of madness--an'iet%& ner,ousness& de(ression. 7adeline suffers from catale(s%& a s%m(tom ofner,ous disorders such as schi>o(hrenia& h%steria& alcoholism& and brain tumors&that causes long (eriods of unconsciousness. +he narrator also demonstrates signsof madness as catalogued abo,e. oderic# and 7adeline s isolation contributes totheir madness.

htt(: en.$i#i(edia.org $i#i +heK0allKofKtheKHouseKofK sher

/+he 0all of the House of sher/ is considered the best e'am(le of Poe s / totalit%/& $heree,er% element and detail is related and rele,ant.

+he theme of the haunted castle is a #e% feature of Gothic genre.+he (resence of aca(acious& disintegrating house s%mboli>ing the destruction of the human bod% is acharacteristic element in Poe s later $or#.

/+he 0all of the House of sher/ sho$s Poe s abilit% to create an emotional tone in his$or#& s(ecificall% feelings of fear & doom& andguilt. +hese emotions center on oderic#sher $ho suffers from an unnamed disease. +he illness manifests (h%sicall% but is

based in oderic# s mental or e,en moral state. He is sic#& it is suggested& because he

expects to be sic# based on his famil% s histor% of illness and is& therefore& essentiall% ah%(ochondriac. ?imilarl%& he buries his sister ali,e because he expects to bur% her ali,e&creating his o$n self-fulfilling (ro(hec% . +he House of sher& itself doubl% referring

both to the actual structure and the famil%& (la%s a significant role in the stor%. t is thefirst /character/ that the narrator introduces to the reader& (resented $ith a humani>eddescri(tion: its $indo$s are described as /e%e-li#e/ t$ice in the first (aragra(h. +hecrac# that de,elo(s in its side is s%mbolic of the deca% of the sher famil% and the house/dies/ along $ith the t$o sher siblings. +his connection $as em(hasi>ed in oderic# s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fall_of_the_House_of_Usherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_(philosophy)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fearhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt_(emotion)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypochondriachttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-fulfilling_prophecyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fall_of_the_House_of_Usherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_(philosophy)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fearhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt_(emotion)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypochondriachttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-fulfilling_prophecy

8/13/2019 UsHer House

6/6

(oem /+he Haunted Palace/ $hich seems to be a direct reference to the house thatforeshado$s doom.

O(ium is mentioned t$ice in the tale. +he gloom% sensation occasioned b% the drear%landsca(e around the sher mansion is com(ared b% the narrator to the sic#ness caused

b% the $ithdra$al s%m(toms of an o(iate-addict. +he narrator also describes oderic#sher s a((earance as that of an /irreclaimable eater of o(ium/.

/+he 0all of the House of sher/ is considered Poe s most famous $or# of (rose. +hishighl% unsettling macabre $or# is recogni>ed as a master(iece of American Gothicliterature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_fictionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_fictionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_fictionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_fiction