The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

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The Fall of the House of Usher
“The Fall of the House of Usher” is one of the many books written by Allan Poe. The story is narrated by an unidentified narrator who visits his boyhood friend at his ancestral home after receiving a message from him. His friend, Roderick Usher, is said to have been suffering from an unknown malady that was weighing on him both mentally and physically. Also, Roderick was not the only one in his lineage who is said to have been troubled in his life. On the contrary, all the past generations of the Usher family are said to have been troubled during their lifetime, and as the narrator soon realizes, even Roderick’s living sister Madeline is also disturbed. The story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” is a story whose central theme is how the Impending horror of inherited cultural practices can affect one’s life. An analysis of the various aspects of the story such as the setting of the story, the tone of the narrator, and the conflict in the story will be used to illustrate how they contribute to the main theme of the story.
The story is set in the ancestral house of Usher where several generations of the Usher family had lived. The Usher family had never expanded, but rather it had remained to be a single lineage, and thus the house had always been able to accommodate the whole family. The description of the house of Usher by the narrator is evidence that over the generations of passing down the house, those to whom the house was passed down to did not do much to change either the house or its environment.

This means that the house whose description fits a gothic architecture that has poor living conditions had been passed down along with its unwelcoming conditions from one generation to another. The house contributes to the horror that Roderick Usher is facing since its conditions and the fact it had been passed down from earlier generations that suffered unexpected disaster fed into Roderick’s superstition. The Narrator is quoted saying this about Roderick, “He was enchained by certain superstitious impressions in regard to the dwelling which he tenanted, and whence, for many years, he had never ventured forth……an influence which some peculiarities in the mere form and substance of his family mansion, had, at length, brought about upon the morale of his existence” (Poe, A, E., 1).
The tone and the language the narrator uses while telling his story also plays a key role in creating the mode of the story and thus contributing the central theme of the story that that is the looming horror of the house of usher. A good example of this can be seen in how the narrator chooses his words while describing Roderick’s house thus creating a gloomy mood. The use of ruined abbeys and castles, poorly lighted rooms, stairwells, and passages play a critical role in the creation of a gothic environment in a gothic story (Pang. et al., 16). The narrator in the story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Allan Poe uses the outlined tools efficiently in creating this environment in the story and thus, in turn, plays a critical role towards achieving the main theme of the story. A good example is when the narrator is quoted saying, “The discoloration of ages had been great. Minute fungi overspread the whole exterior, hanging in a fine tangled web-work from the eaves. Yet all this was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation……reminded me of the specious totality of old wood-work which has rotted for long years in some neglected vault, with no disturbance from the breath of the external air” (Poe, A, E., 1). The preceding description creates an image of a majestic but old house that has been unmaintained for an extended period thus possessing certain aspects of a ruin where living would be a horrific experience.
The conflict in the story also contributes in a major way to the main theme of the story that is inherited horror. In the story, there is a conflict between the cultural practices of the House of Usher and the practices of the society as a whole. The narrator suggests that the relationship between Roderick and his sister Madeline went beyond a sister-brother relationship and into a lover’s relationship (Wasserman, 1). To the outside society, this is a taboo, but to the House of Usher, this practice had happened over several generations of the family. The narrator is quoted saying, “……and that sympathies of a scarcely intelligible nature had always existed between them” (Poe, A, E., 1). The situation and conditions of living in the House of Usher alienated from the world also created a conflict between Roderick and his Self that made him call for the help of his boyhood friend who is also the narrator. Once the narrator gets pulled into Roderick’s environment, the horror of the house and the conflicts of Roderick Usher transmitted to him. Another instance of conflict is that between Roderick and Madeline. Roderick unknowingly buries Madeline alive. When Madeline struggles and finds her way back to Roderick’s room, she falls heavily on him causing the death of the both of them and thus, bringing to an end the lineage of Usher. The death of the two siblings symbolizes the resolution of the conflict between the two siblings.
The story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” is a Gothic literal work of art whose central theme is the horror passed down from one generation to another. There are many aspects of the story that contribute to the major theme of the story. However, the horror instilled to the readers from the story does not sideline one from seeing the beautiful aspects of the story, such as the creativity of the writer, the smooth flow, the use of literal devices among many others.

Work cited
Poe, A, E. The Fall of the House of Usher. Virginia University Website, 2016. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/poe/fall.html
Wasserman, R. The Self, the Mirror, the Other:”The Fall of House of Usher”. Wayne State University,2012. http://www.eapoe.org/pstudies/ps1970/p1977201.htm
Pang, W. et al. Gothicism in The Fall of the House of Usher. Scientific Research Publishing Website, 2015. http://file.scirp.org/pdf/ALS_2015012211474034.pdf