The Role Of Gothic Literature In The Fall Of The House Of Usher
Death, murder, and depression are a few of Edgar Allan Poe’s favorite areas to write about. This is a vital reason his pieces are considered Gothic Literature. Gothic Literature, also referred to as “brooding romantics,” explored the capacity for evil. These writers arranged their works with emphasis on emotion, nature, and the individual. However, they did not center their matters on positivity as the other romantics did. Instead, they often included elements of fantasy and the supernatural. Poe’s short story, Fall of the House of Usher, contains all of the assets essential to a Gothic Literature piece, including grotesque characters, bizarre situations, and violent events. The first asset, a grotesque character, is a character with an odd demeanor. They are often awfully ugly, or bizarre, with an
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unnatural appearance. In the beginning of the story, the utmost significant grotesque character, Roderrick Usher, is shown. The narrator receives a letter from this old friend, or rather acquaintance. The letter stated that he desired the narrator’s company, for he was his “only personal friend” (Poe 406). This is peculiar, for the two were only childhood friends who passed each other at school with silence. When the narrator enters the Usher mansion he vaguely recognizes Roderrick. Not only did his face contain a cadaverous complexion, and hair, a “wild gossamer texture”(Poe 409), but he also had a bodily illness that was greatly exposed. A once handsome, enthusiastic child, had grown into an eccentric, disheartened man. Roderrick’s sister, Madeline Usher, also suffered from a mysterious disease, a disease which had left her body and mental state disabled. She could be described as a walking corpse. Madeline and Roderrick are both excellent examples of a grotesque character with their mentally deranged, and uneasy appearance.
A set of bizarre situations are another necessity for a Gothic Literature work .The first bizarre situation took place after Madeline’s death. Not long after Madeline is seen wandering the halls of the Usher mansion, she is identified as dead by Roderick, who decides to bury her in a tomb, under the homestead. For the next few days, the narrator and Roderrick both have trouble sleeping due to an eery sensation flowing through the home. One night , narrator decides to check on his friend. As he enters the bedroom he notices Roderrick in a hysterical panic. Roderrick then leads him to one of the many windows in the house. Outside the window, there appeared to be a strange, white gas in the air. The narrator attempts to convince Roderrick that it is only a “natural phenomenon” (Poe 418), and calm him down by reading him a novel. In the midst of the reading, they begin to hear sounds that correspond to the events in the story. As the narrator glances at Roderrick, he notices him muttering to himself. He then explains that he has been hearing these sounds for days now and thinks that they had buried his dear sister alive.Why Roderrick had not further brought his concerns to him earlier was a mystery, but nevertheless, Madeline shot through the door on a rampage.
This bizarre situation leads to the last asset to a Gothic Literature piece, a violent event.
A violent event is an action with the intention to kill, harm, or damage something, or someone. When Madeline comes through the door, her intention was not to harm her brother, however, his fear of her took control of him, and he died. Not only did Roderrick die, Madeline did too. Her disease finally took full control of her body, and she collapsed. As all of this was happening, the narrator, fearing for his life, ran to exit the Usher mansion. This is when the last violent event happened. As soon as he stepped outside of the eery, “vacant” (Poe 404), house, the building falls. From then on, the Usher family was no more.
Poe had a wonderful way of expressing his pain and experiences through Gothic Literature, as shown in Fall of the House of Usher. He uses his characters Roderrick, and Madeline Usher as grotesque characters, and uses burying Madeline alive, with the peculiar white gas as a bizarre event. Last but not least, Poe added the death of Madeline and Roderrick, and the Fall of the Usher mansion as the last asset needed to complete the gothic theme, violent
events.
unnatural appearance. In the beginning of the story, the utmost significant grotesque character, Roderrick Usher, is shown. The narrator receives a letter from this old friend, or rather acquaintance. The letter stated that he desired the narrator’s company, for he was his “only personal friend” (Poe 406). This is peculiar, for the two were only childhood friends who passed each other at school with silence. When the narrator enters the Usher mansion he vaguely recognizes Roderrick. Not only did his face contain a cadaverous complexion, and hair, a “wild gossamer texture”(Poe 409), but he also had a bodily illness that was greatly exposed. A once handsome, enthusiastic child, had grown into an eccentric, disheartened man. Roderrick’s sister, Madeline Usher, also suffered from a mysterious disease, a disease which had left her body and mental state disabled. She could be described as a walking corpse. Madeline and Roderrick are both excellent examples of a grotesque character with their mentally deranged, and uneasy appearance.
A set of bizarre situations are another necessity for a Gothic Literature work .The first bizarre situation took place after Madeline’s death. Not long after Madeline is seen wandering the halls of the Usher mansion, she is identified as dead by Roderick, who decides to bury her in a tomb, under the homestead. For the next few days, the narrator and Roderrick both have trouble sleeping due to an eery sensation flowing through the home. One night , narrator decides to check on his friend. As he enters the bedroom he notices Roderrick in a hysterical panic. Roderrick then leads him to one of the many windows in the house. Outside the window, there appeared to be a strange, white gas in the air. The narrator attempts to convince Roderrick that it is only a “natural phenomenon” (Poe 418), and calm him down by reading him a novel. In the midst of the reading, they begin to hear sounds that correspond to the events in the story. As the narrator glances at Roderrick, he notices him muttering to himself. He then explains that he has been hearing these sounds for days now and thinks that they had buried his dear sister alive.Why Roderrick had not further brought his concerns to him earlier was a mystery, but nevertheless, Madeline shot through the door on a rampage.
This bizarre situation leads to the last asset to a Gothic Literature piece, a violent event.
A violent event is an action with the intention to kill, harm, or damage something, or someone. When Madeline comes through the door, her intention was not to harm her brother, however, his fear of her took control of him, and he died. Not only did Roderrick die, Madeline did too. Her disease finally took full control of her body, and she collapsed. As all of this was happening, the narrator, fearing for his life, ran to exit the Usher mansion. This is when the last violent event happened. As soon as he stepped outside of the eery, “vacant” (Poe 404), house, the building falls. From then on, the Usher family was no more.
Poe had a wonderful way of expressing his pain and experiences through Gothic Literature, as shown in Fall of the House of Usher. He uses his characters Roderrick, and Madeline Usher as grotesque characters, and uses burying Madeline alive, with the peculiar white gas as a bizarre event. Last but not least, Poe added the death of Madeline and Roderrick, and the Fall of the Usher mansion as the last asset needed to complete the gothic theme, violent
events.