Research Paper On The Fall Of The House Of Usher

A toddler screams. The mother feeds it. The toddler, at this point in its life shows no understanding to the meanings that words possess. The scream becomes the way for the toddler to obtain what it wants. Sigmund Freud, a neurologist considered to be the founding father of psychoanalysis developed a theory that would prescribe a type of psychological trinity in each human being. The toddler’s actions are as a result of the Freud- defined “id”, however this is only one of the three that coexist in each person. Edgar Allan Poe wrote The Fall of the House of Usher. He uses this theory in his writing to convey the internal confliction of the human mind. His three characters each take a role in the theory and all preside in the symbolical House of Usher. If we take a journey into Poe’s style of writing, we will find it extremely rare that any piece of the story is literal. In fact, our journey will show that many of his works hold two or more meanings. This fact that Poe doesn’t write literally shows that the three characters cannot be three different people.
It focuses on immediate gratification. Poe chooses the female character, Madeline to be the id of the House of Usher. This choice of sexuality isn’t by chance. The female character represents a weaker position. This may be as a result of degradation of the House of Usher’s id form as life matures. Humans also become less impulsive, more reasonable and ethical as they mature. The female sister, being the id, could also show the innateness of the House of Usher. Mother nature is called a “mother” after all. Poe creatively uses the female perspective to intertwine these secondary