The Fall of the House of Usher is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe that was first published in 1839. The story begins with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his childhood friend, Roderick Usher. Roderick has been ill, so the narrator has come to try to cheer him up.
Summary of the Plot
Upon arriving at the House of Usher, the narrator notes that the house seems to have a gloomy and sinister atmosphere. He meets Roderick, who appears physically and emotionally ill. Roderick tells the narrator that he suffers from nerves and fear. He is emotionally unstable and afraid of his own house, which he believes is sentient. Roderick explains that the house affects his spirits and that he also has an acute sense of hearing, so sounds often bother him.
The narrator also meets Roderick’s sister, Madeline, who suffers from an illness that renders her cataleptic for periods of time. He notes that Madeline and Roderick bear a strong resemblance, almost twin-like. Over the next few days, the narrator attempts to cheer up Roderick by reading and painting with him. Roderick creates disturbing visual art and reads grim stories. As the narrator reads Roderick a romantic tale in an attempt to lift his spirits, sounds from the house – like moans or mutterings – bother Roderick. He becomes increasingly agitated.
A few days later, Roderick informs the narrator that Madeline has died and insists that she be entombed for two weeks in the family vault underneath the house before being permanently buried. The narrator helps Roderick put the body in the tomb. Over the next week, Roderick becomes even more anxious and afraid. One night as a storm rages outside, Roderick comes to the narrator greatly distressed. He says he has been hearing Madeline’s movements in the house and believes she was buried alive. Suddenly they hear a loud noise from the house. Roderick becomes convinced that Madeline is coming for him.
The door opens violently to reveal Madeline covered in blood and looking ghostly pale. She collapses on Roderick and they both fall onto the floor dead. The narrator flees and the house splits in two and sinks into the ground as he escapes.
Detailed Summary and Analysis
Here is a more detailed summary and analysis of the major plot events in The Fall of the House of Usher:
Arrival at the House
The unnamed narrator arrives at the home of his childhood friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a desperate state. He finds the house gloomy and dilapidated. The windows are empty and desolate. There are minute fungi over the house and the surrounding area. The narrator notes that the house seems sentient, like a living creature.
This imagery sets up an ominous, gothic tone and implies the house’s malevolence. It is personified as a sinister character.
Meeting Roderick
The narrator meets his host Roderick Usher. Roderick’s appearance shocks him – he has become pale and emaciated with a wild, anxious look in his eyes. Roderick tells the narrator that he suffers from nervous agitation and morbid fear. He is emotionally unstable and believes his house has an evil influence on his spirit. Loud sounds and smells bother him intensely due to his heightened senses.
Roderick’s description establishes him as an unreliable, mentally unstable character under the malevolent influence of the sentient house. It also continues the ominous gothic tone.
Meeting Madeline
The narrator also meets Roderick’s twin sister, Madeline, who suffers from a mysterious illness that renders her cataleptic for periods of time. He notes their striking physical resemblance. Madeline does not speak much and departs after a short time. The narrator surmises that Roderick and Madeline’s incestuous relationship may be connected to the family’s downfall.
Madeline’s mysterious illness and her resemblance to Roderick imply a doppelganger motif and foreshadow horrific events to come.
The Narrator’s Attempt to Cheer Roderick
Over the next few days, the narrator reads with Roderick and tries to lift his spirits. However, Roderick only chooses gloomy, gothic tales to read. When the narrator reads a romantic tale, sounds from the house disturb Roderick and send him into terror. The narrator paints as Roderick plays guitar, but Roderick creates only disturbing, impressionistic art.
These scenes demonstrate Roderick’s unstable mental state and how the house distresses him. The gothic, ghastly art foreshadows coming doom.
Madeline’s Death
Some days later, Roderick informs the narrator that Madeline has died from her illness. He insists that Madeline be kept in their family vault for two weeks before burial to prevent any sign of life from being mistaken for death. The narrator helps Roderick put her body in the tomb, noting there is a sense of “unreality” about her death.
The insistence on an extended entombment suggests Madeline may actually still be alive. This event fills the narrative with a sense of unease and anticipation.
Roderick’s Deterioration
In the week after they entomb Madeline, Roderick becomes even more emotionally unstable, overcome with terror and dread. He is afraid of his own house. The narrator to calm Roderick’s spirit with his companionship.
Roderick’s worsening mental state builds narrative tension and a sense of something horrific approaching.
The Storm
One night during a heavy storm, Roderick comes to the narrator extremely agitated and distraught. He raves about hearing noises and states he knows, with heightened senses, that Madeline was buried alive and is now trying to escape the tomb. He feels her presence approaching.
The worsening storm and Roderick’s madness create an atmosphere of claustrophobic doom. His claims about Madeline begin to seem plausible.
Madeline’s Return
As Roderick becomes more crazed with the belief that Madeline is coming for him, the narrator tries to calm him. But suddenly they hear loud noises from somewhere in the house. Roderick believes Madeline has come to take revenge on him for burying her alive. The door finally bursts open violently to reveal Madeline, bloodied and ghostly pale. She collapses on Roderick and they both fall down dead.
Madeline’s dramatic reappearance as a kind of vengeful ghost confirms Roderick’s greatest fears were true. Her seeming resurrection is the culmination of the narrative dread.
Conclusion
As the narrator flees the horrific scene, the House of Usher splits and sinks into the tarn surrounding it. This symbolizes the destruction of the family lineage and estate after the deaths of Madeline and Roderick.
The house sinking dramatizes its personified malevolence and establishes the sentient building itself as a gothic villain of the tale.
Major Characters
Here are the major characters in The Fall of the House of Usher:
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| Narrator | The unnamed narrator and childhood friend of Roderick who comes to visit the House of Usher. |
| Roderick Usher | The last remaining heir of the Usher family. Physically and mentally ill under the influence of the sinister house. |
| Madeline Usher | Roderick’s twin sister. She suffers from mysterious illness that renders her cataleptic. |
The narrator serves as an outside perspective on the doom that has befallen the House of Usher. Roderick is emotionally and mentally unstable, distressed by the sentient house. Madeline’s descent into seeming death and ghostly return is central to the horrific events.
Major Themes and Symbols
Here are some of the major themes and symbols in The Fall of the House of Usher:
| Theme/Symbol | Description |
|---|---|
| The House Itself | The decaying mansion symbolizes the equally decaying Usher family. Its sentience makes it a sinister, villainous character. |
| Doubles and Dopplegangers | Roderick and Madeline resemble uncanny doubles. Madeline’s entombment and return also suggest a doppelganger motif. |
| Incest | Roderick and Madeline’s incestuous relationship is implied to be connected to the downfall of the family. |
| Foreshadowing | Gloomy elements like Roderick’s art foreshadow the approaching doom of the Ushers. |
| Gothic Tone | Ominous descriptions of decay, sentience, and madness establish an atmosphere of gothic horror. |
The personified house drives much of the sinister tone and events. Doppelgangers and doubling enhance the sense of psychological unease. Madeline also symbolizes the buried past returning to destroy the present.
Critical Analysis
Here is some critical analysis of major elements in The Fall of the House of Usher:
Personification of the House
Poe masterfully personifies the house itself, making it seem like a sentient entity and character with malevolent desires. Descriptions of the house are ominous and make it seem alive and/or decaying: “bleak walls”, “vacant eyelike windows”, “barely perceptible fissure”, “fungi over the whole exterior”. This establishes the house as a villain exerting evil influence.
Unreliable Narrator in Roderick
Roderick serves as an unreliable narrator, overcome with terror about the house being sentient and driving him mad. His emotional instability casts doubt on his perspective. But the final events prove him right – his seemingly mad premonitions about Madeline turn out to be true.
Madeline as a Gothic Doppelganger
Madeline functions as a kind of gothic doppelganger, buried alive yet returning from a kind of undead state for revenge. Her cataleptic illness and entombment hint she exists between states of life and death. Her ghostly reappearance suggests the return of the repressed past.
Unity of Effect
Poe designed the story carefully around one central mood or effect – that of gothic psychological horror created through ominous atmosphere and doubling. Every detail is crafted to further the dread and impending doom.
In these ways, Poe uses powerful gothic elements and unreliable narration to create a psychological tale of terror that has become a masterwork of the genre.