“The Fall of the House of Usher” is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. This story was first published in 1839. The plot of the story clearly indicates the writer’s interest in the horror genre. Poe’s writing style is very detailed, which makes the story very convincing. In the story narrator is the boy hood friend of Usher. It is clear from starting of the story that ushers house is haunted by the history of his family. All of them are dead; only Usher and his twin sister, Lady Madeline, are the descendants. Both of the siblings are suffering from mental illness. One day, Madeline dies, and the narrator and usher entomb her body in the house. Certainly, at the end of the story, lady Madeline falls upon her brother like a vampire and kills him.
There are so many different ways to analyze this story, but in my opinion, there are a lot of supernatural elements in the story, but the ambiguities are the main reason for the terror. While reading the story, we feel to be alone with the narrator in a haunted house, and no one knows why we are there. It’s strange that the narrator is the childhood friend of the Usher, but I don’t know him very well. He doesn’t even know that Roderick Usher has a twin sister. Poe leaves us with a question in this time of need: why is the narrator behaving weirdly and so bizarrely? The story is full of unanticipated distractions. Like with advancing his gothic tale, there are abrupt and mysterious additions. At the beginning of the story, there is no explanation of the narrator’s purpose for arriving at the Usher’s house. In this way story continually blurs into reality and fiction.
Although when this story was written there was no concept of modern psychology but Poe creates a sense of claustrophobia in his story. It seems that the narrator is strangely trapped by Roderick’s attraction, and he is not able to escape until the house collapses completely.
The inhabitant can’t move and act freely in the house because everything is under the control of some kind of monster. There is confusion between the physical house of the Usher and the Usher’s family, which is also referred to as the house of the Usher. At the same time writer is describing a real house and symbolically the word “house”. The narrator is trapped in the house, but his presence is also influencing the fate of the Usher’s family. There is also some behavioural reversal between the twins. Usher himself is very delicate and feminine. On the other hand, his sister is very strong, masculine and possessing some kind of superpower. Reading the story reveals that Roderick ushers weakness is his disability to function in the light. He is habitual to living in a constant dark, silent environment. That’s why he buries his sister to protect himself. But Lady Madeline seems like a vampire. She sucks her brother’s blood. This is the cause of his paleness. She jumps on her brother’s gullet and drinks the last drop of the blood.
Poe tried to make that story feel near to reality, but still, there are a number of allegorical symbols. In spite of that, this is a great story in the genre of horror stories. Element of terror and anxiety is evoked in its best form. Many critics consider this story as a description of the human psyche. Split personalities and cracking of the house explicit its psychological component. The depressed, anxious, and vampiristic behaviour of the characters depicts their mental disorders.
The relationship between Rodrick and Madeline is very uncertain. Despite all their fears, there is an attachment between them. Poe mentions opium in many of his stories and poems, also mentioned in the following story. According to the narrator, Rodrick Usher is also an insusceptible addict of eating opium. In the end, the meaning of “the fall of the House of Usher” remained indefinable. This is a powerful, upsetting and long-lasting story. Conclusively story is worth its greatness and its best ever written tale of its kind.
