The Fall of the House of Usher

Psyhological aspects in The Fall

of the House of Usher
 The Fall of the House of Usher

I. The Narrator

II. Roderick and Madeline Usher

III. Fear
The Fall of the House of Usher

I. The Narrator
 The Narrator

A. At the begining of the story

...with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of

insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit.
 The Narrator

A. At the begining of the story

...with an utter depression of soul which I can

compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to
the after dream of the reveller upon opium.
 The Narrator

A. At the begining of the story

It was a mystery all insoluble nor could I grapple with

the shadowy fancies that crowded upon me as I
pondered.
 The Narrator

B. During the last night

I struggled to reason off the nervousness which had

dominition over me. An irrepressible tremor gradually
pervaded my frame.
 The Narrator

B. During the last night

I felt creeping upon me, by slow get by certain degrees,

the wild influences of his own fantastic yet impressive
superstition
 The Narrator

Is he a reliable narrator?
 Is he a reliable narrator?

3 possibilities:

a. The narrator is healty but there are evil forces

around and into the house.

b. The narrator slips slowly into madness.

c. The narrator has a mental instability.

 Is he a reliable narrator?

c. The narrator has a mental instability.

Thomson

Quinn

Bieganowski Ronald
 Is he a reliable narrator?

For Voloshin , narrator`s feeling of depression is

equal to the dull, dark and quiet scene.
 The Fall of the House of Usher

II. Roderick and Madeline Usher

 Roderick and Madeline Usher

Roderick s symptoms:
Hypersthesia hypersensitivity to light,
sounds, smells, tastes

Hypochondria excessive preocupation or

worry about having a
serious illness

Acute anxiety
 Roderick and Madeline Usher

Burduck sustains that the fissure in the house

symbolizes Roderick`s deteriorating mental condition
as well.
 Roderick and Madeline Usher

Voloshin says that Roderick himself is associated with

the abstract, atemporal and ideal. Rodericks world is
one of abstract pattern in black, white, and gray.He is a
person who seeks or perceives the truth beyond merely
mundane phenomena.
(Voloshin, Beverly. "Transcendence Downward: An Essay on 'Usher' and 'Ligeia.')
 Roderick and Madeline Usher

Madeline`s illness

Voloshin says that as Roderick is aligned with the ideal,

his twin sister is associated with the material and
temporal in other words, the real. Madeline matches
her brother`s pallor, but her special mark is red.
Voloshin, Beverly. "Transcendence Downward:
An Essay on 'Usher' and 'Ligeia.'" Modern
Language Studies 18.3 (1988): 18-29.
 Roderick and Madeline Usher

Madeline`s illness

A settled apathy , a gradualy wasting away of the

person and the frequent although transient affections
of a partially cataleptical character.
 Roderick and Madeline Usher

Madeline`s illness

I had obtained of her person would thus probably be

the last I should obtain - that the lady, at least while
living, would be seen by me no more.
 Roderick and Madeline Usher

Links between the twins

In the 19th century, there was a lot of speculation about
the supposed psychological link s between twins, and
Poe capitalizes on this in The Fall of the House of Usher.

He seems to sense her fears and her anguish which are

reflected in his behavior.
 Roderick and Madeline Usher

Links between the twins

When she finally does appear outside the door,

Roderick is certain that she is there before the door is
even opened. Again, this is added to the horror of the
tale.
The Fall of the House of Usher

III. Fear
 Fear

What seems to terrify Usher is fear itself.

Usher tries to explain to the Narrator that he dreads

the event of the future, not in themselves but in their
results.
 REFERENCESS

1.What Happens in "The Fall of the House of Usher"? J. O. Bailey

American Literature, Vol. 35, No. 4 (Jan., 1964)

2. Bieganowski, Ronald. The Self-Consuming Narrator in Poes Ligeia

and Usher. American Literature
60 (May 1988): 175-187.
3. Voloshin, Beverly. Transcendence Downward: An Essay on Usher
and Ligeia. Modern Language Studies 18 (1988): 18-29
4. Hoeveler, Diane Long. The Hidden God and the Abjected Woman in
The Fall of the House of Usher. Studies in Short Fiction 29:3 (Summer
1992): 385-96.
5. Burduck, Michael L. Grim Phantasms: Fear in Poe's Short Fiction. NY:
Garland Pub., 1992.