“The fall of the house of usher”

By :

Edgar Allan Poe

The Fall of the house of Usher

The most famous short story of Edgar Allan Poe.

It is the masterpiece of American Gothic Fiction.

Gothic Fiction: Dark, strange and melodramatic stories which lead to something evil.

Gothic fiction (features)

Horror. The

supernatural. Death. Madness. Hereditary

curses. Medieval-like

settings.

The fall of the house of Usher

(first publication)

Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine. (September 1839).

Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (1840).

Period of American Romanticism.

Dark Romanticism. (Pessimistic nature)

POINT OF VIEW:

First person . A nameless narrator. He describes the events as

he saw them.

MAIN CHARACTERS:

The narrator: A friend of the master of the House of Usher. He witnesses terrifying events.

RODERICK USHER: The master of the house, he suffers from a depressing malaise.

MADELINE USHER: Twin sister of Roderick. She also suffers from a strange illness.

The story:

The narrator arrives to the Ushers’ house ; an old mansion encircled by a small tarn (lake). A bridge across the tarn provides access to the house.

Roderick Usher, receives the visitor, a boyhood friend. Roderick, who is suffering from a strange mental illnes, lives there with his twin sister Madeline who is near death due to a mysterious disease.

The narrator stays with them, he provides company to Roderick while he paints and plays guitar, he spends all his days inside, avoiding the sunlight.

When Madeline dies, Roderick decides to bury her temporarily in one of his house’s large vaults.

A few days later, during a stormy night, the Narrator couldn’t sleep, he was terrified. Roderick comes to the Narrator’s bedroom.

The narrator attemps to calm Roderick by reading “The Mad Trist”, a story about a Knight , “Ethelred” who slays a dragon and wins a shield of shining brass.

As the narrator reads the book, they can listen to the same sounds related in the story. Roderick declares Madeline was alive when they buried her.

Then, Madeline emerges from her provisional tomb. She confronts Roderick and begins throttling him to death.

The house begins to collapse , the narrator flees for his life. Roderick is dead. He and Madeline are consumed by the falling house.

Focus: Terminal illness.Madness.Incest.

Symbolism:

A “tarn” encircling the Mansion and Reflecting Its Image:

Madeline as the twin of Roderick, reflecting his image and personality.

The desire of the Ushers to isolate themselves from the outside world.  

The Bridge Over the Tarn: The narrator as Roderick Usher’s only

link to the outside world.    

The name Usher: An usher is a doorkeeper. In this sense,

Roderick Usher opens the door to a frightening world for the narrator. 

The Storm: The turbulent emotions experienced by

the characters.  

The Collapsing Mansion: Fall of the Usher family. 

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER QUIZ

1. MENTION SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF GOTHIC FICTION.    2. WHEN WAS “THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER” FIRST PUBLISED ?

3. HOW DO USHER AND THE NARRATOR KNOW ONE ANOTHER?

4. DESCRIBE MADELINE’S MYSTERIOUS DISEASE.

5. WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE BOOK THE NARRATOR READS TO USHER?

6. WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE BOOK’S PROTAGONIST?

7. RELATES THE END OF THE STORY.

8. ACCORDING TO THE SYMBOLISM OF THE STORY , WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE NAME “ USHER”?

THANK YOU!