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It was, indeed, a tempestuous yet sternly beautiful night, and one wildly singular in its terror and its beauty. I say that even their exceeding density did not prevent our perceiving this--yet we had no glimpse of the moon or stars--nor was there any flashing forth of the lightning. But the under surfaces of the huge masses of agitated vapour, as well as all terrestrial objects immediately around us, were glowing in the unnatural light of a faintly luminous and distinctly visible gaseous exhalation which hung about and enshrouded the mansion. I say that even their exceeding density did not prevent our perceiving this—yet we had no glimpse of the moon or stars, nor was there any flashing forth of the lightning. But the under surfaces of the huge masses of agitated vapor, as well as all terrestrial objects immediately around us, were glowing in the unnatural light of a faintly luminous and distinctly visible gaseous exhalation which hung about and enshrouded the mansion.
Roderick Usher
This limited series draws from different figures that animate Poe’s novelistic and poetic universe, such as the raven, the black cat, and the character of Arthur Gordon Pym. Each episode takes inspiration and its name from a different tale written by the author. Altogether, the eight episodes manage to depict the atmosphere that is peculiar to The Fall of the House of Usher, characterized by gloomy correspondences and metaphysical questions. Many of Poe’s contemporaries were concerned with making moral and politicalstatements through their writing. These writers believed that literature shouldbe didactic, that it should teach a lesson.
Character descriptions
An irrepressible tremour gradually pervaded my frame; and, at length, there sat upon my very heart an incubus of utterly causeless alarm. Shaking this off with a gasp and a struggle, I uplifted myself upon the pillows, and, peering earnestly within the intense darkness of the chamber, hearkened--I know not why, except that an instinctive spirit prompted me--to certain low and indefinite sounds which came, through the pauses of the storm, at long intervals, I knew not whence. Overpowered by an intense sentiment of horror, unaccountable yet unendurable, I threw on my clothes with haste (for I felt that I should sleep no more during the night), and endeavoured to arouse myself from the pitiable condition into which I had fallen, by pacing rapidly to and fro through the apartment. I endeavored to believe that much, if not all of what I felt, was due to the bewildering influence of the gloomy furniture of the room—of the dark and tattered draperies, which, tortured into motion by the breath of a rising tempest, swayed fitfully to and fro upon the walls, and rustled uneasily about the decorations of the bed. An irrepressible tremor gradually pervaded my frame; and, at length, there sat upon my very heart an incubus of utterly causeless alarm. Shaking this off with a gasp and a struggle, I uplifted myself upon the pillows, and, peering earnestly within the intense darkness of the chamber, hearkened—I know not why, except that an instinctive spirit prompted me—to certain low and indefinite sounds which came, through the pauses of the storm, at long intervals, I knew not whence.
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Finally, usher also means doorkeeper, and as they had previously ushered Lady Madeline prematurely into her tomb, at the end of the story Lady Madeline stands outside the door waiting to be ushered in; failing that, she ushers herself in and falls upon her brother. The narrator also realizes suddenly that Roderick and Madeline were twins. The storm was still abroad in all its wrath as I found myself crossing the old causeway. Suddenly there shot along the path a wild light, and I turned to see whence a gleam so unusual could wi have issued; for the vast house and its shadows were alone behind me. The radiance was that of the full, setting, and blood-red moon which now shone vividly through that once barely-discernible fissure of which I have before spoken as extending from the roof of the building, in a zigzag direction, to the base. The impetuous fury of the entering gust nearly lifted us from our feet.
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His air appalled me—but anything was preferable to the solitude which I had so long endured, and I even welcomed his presence as a relief. A settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character were the unusual diagnosis. Poe's literary theory repeatedly stressed art for art's sake, an ideasomewhat removed from the era's general literary belief that literature shouldteach or preach a moral lesson. Furthermore, Poe advocated the "single effect"theory in his literary criticism and practiced it within his own poems andstories. It would be difficult to deduce any messages on Poe's part in histales of horror and terror. He sought to frighten his readers or tointellectually entertain them, and thus introduces a full range of elementsthat straddled the line between science and the supernatural.
The short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” is an account of a madman whose sickness is suggestive because of the sickness in the family line. His fears are apparent and manifest themselves through the sentient and supernatural family estate. The story deals with both mental and physical illness and its effects on people who are close to you. At the opposite end of this phantasmal interpretation is the modern-day psychological view that the twins represent two aspects of one personality. The final embrace, in this case, becomes the unifying of two divergent aspects into one whole being at birth. Certainly many Romantics considered birth itself to be a breaking away from supernatural beauty, and they believed that death was a reuniting of oneself with that original spirituality.
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Fearing that her body will be exhumed for medical study, Roderick insists that she be entombed for two weeks in the family tomb located in the house before being permanently buried. The narrator helps Roderick put Madeline's body in the tomb, whereupon the narrator realizes that Madeline and Roderick are twins. The narrator also notes that Madeline's body has rosy cheeks, which sometimes happens after death.
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Our glances, however, rested not long upon the dead--for we could not regard her unawed. The disease which had thus entombed the lady in the maturity of youth, had left, as usual in all maladies of a strictly cataleptical character, the mockery of a faint blush upon the bosom and the face, and that suspiciously lingering smile upon the lip which is so terrible in death. We replaced and screwed down the lid, and, having secured the door of iron, made our way, with toll, into the scarcely less gloomy apartments of the upper portion of the house.
“The Fall of the House of Usher” (
He is aware of the upcoming events, and he speaks about them before. One can also assume that Roderick causes the things to happen; that is why he is preoccupied with the fear that he manifests in reality. The mansion is carefully crafted to emphasize the atmosphere and mood of the story. The story becomes claustrophobic when the readers know that Roderick Usher has not left the house in ages. In fact, once entered, the narrator also does not leave the house until the story ends.
There were times, indeed, when I thought his unceasingly agitated mind was laboring with some oppressive secret, to divulge which he struggled for the necessary courage. It was, especially, upon retiring to bed late in the night of the seventh or eighth day after the placing of the lady Madeline within the donjon, that I experienced the full power of such feelings. I struggled to reason off the nervousness which had dominion over me. I endeavoured to believe that much, if not all of what I felt, was due to the bewildering influence of the gloomy furniture of the room--of the dark and tattered draperies, which, tortured into motion by the breath of a rising tempest, swayed fitfully to and fro upon the walls, and rustled uneasily about the decorations of the bed.
The tone of the story “The Fall of the House of Usher” is deliberate. The narrator of the story is the center of the strange parts of the story. However, an important point should be kept in mind that the story is narrated in retrospect; that is why the deliberate tone of the story is not compromised by the frantic mania of a terrified narrator.
He leads the narrator to the window, from which they see a bright-looking gas surrounding the house. The narrator tells Roderick that the gas is a natural phenomenon, not altogether uncommon. Its evidence—the evidence of the sentience—was to be seen, he said, (and I here started as he spoke,) in the gradual yet certain condensation of an atmosphere of their own about the waters and the walls. The result was discoverable, he added, in that silent, yet importunate and terrible influence which for centuries had moulded the destinies of his family, and which made him what I now saw him—what he was. The short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” contains a quintessential characteristic of gothic fiction. There is a dreary landscape, haunted house, mysterious sickness, and double personality.
The narrator then runs from the house, and, as he does, he notices a flash of moonlight behind him. He turns back in time to see the Moon shining through the suddenly widened crack in the house. As he watches, the House of Usher splits in two and the fragments sink away into the lake. Might we then interpret Roderick as a symbol of the conscious mind – struggling to conceal some dark ‘secret’ and make himself presentable to his friend, the narrator – and Madeline as a symbol of the unconscious? Note how Madeline is barely seen for much of the story, and the second time she appears she is literally buried (repressed?) within the vault. ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ is probably Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous story, and in many ways it is a quintessential Gothic horror story.
He is the only one to see theUshers die and the house sink into the tarn. He leaves the House of Usher in astate of panic and ends his story there. Its immense weight caused an unusually sharp grating sound, as it moved upon its hinges. I regarded her with an utter astonishment not unmingled with dread—and yet I found it impossible to account for such feelings.
The house itself seems surrounded by an atmosphere that reeks of decayed trees; fungi spread on its walls, and stones appear dilapidated. She is mentioned but a few times, and never formally introduced to the guest who sees her just once in passing. When Roderick informs him that Madeleine has died and that her corpse is going to be preserved in the family’s vault, the narrator hopes that his friend might, at last, find some peace.
'The Fall of the House of Usher's Biggest Edgar Allan Poe References - Collider
'The Fall of the House of Usher's Biggest Edgar Allan Poe References.
Posted: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The writer spoke of acute bodily illness--of a mental disorder which oppressed him--and of an earnest desire to see me, as his best, and indeed his only personal friend, with a view of attempting, by the cheerfulness of my society, some alleviation of his malady. It was the manner in which all this, and much more, was said--it the apparent heart that went with his request--which allowed me no room for hesitation; and I accordingly obeyed forthwith what I still considered a very singular summons. A valet, of stealthy step, thence conducted me, in silence, through many dark and intricate passages in my progress to the studio of his master. A letter, however, had lately reached me in a distant part of the country—a letter from him—which, in its wildly importunate nature, had admitted of no other than a personal reply. The writer spoke of acute bodily illness—of a mental disorder which oppressed him—and of an earnest desire to see me, as his best and indeed his only personal friend, with a view of attempting, by the cheerfulness of my society, some alleviation of his malady. It was the manner in which all this, and much more, was said—it was the apparent heart that went with his request—which allowed me no room for hesitation; and I accordingly obeyed forthwith what I still considered a very singular summons.
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