The Fall of the House of Usher Analysis

The Fall of the House of Usher Analysis

Usher's illness and weakness could likely be the cause of Madeline being a vampire. The reasonings behind this statement are listed below:

Usher is sick--- very sick, but the reasons of his illness are hidden. He is extremely pale, and his appearance is so different from when he was younger that the narrator claims to have almost not recognized his face. He suffers from “a morbid acuteness of the senses” and cannot stand flavorful food, light, and music, besides that of the strange chords he makes on his guitar. He traces the cause of his infirmities to his sister, who is also ill and supposedly nearing the time of her death, but the reasons behind paleness of Usher's skin and his abhorrence of light and other substance can be traced to an even darker matter--- a vampire bite.

Throughout "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator explains various strange symptoms. Among these symptoms are a "ghastly pallor of the skin, and the now miraculouse lustre of the eye" (Poe), the unheeded growth of the hair, and "a morbid acuteness of senses" (Poe). Other symptoms include an inability to stand vibrant food, smells and light. These symptoms are very abnormal, but there is a conclusion as to what the cause of these abnormalities are. The gastly parlor of the skin, or paleness of the skin, could a result of loss of blood. More specifically, Usher's blood has been sucked away by a vampire. The inability to stand the vibrant foods, smells, and light, conditions which are enjoyed by humans, suggests that he is no longer human or is at least turning into a vampire.

Madeline, like Usher, is undergoing odd symptoms. The narrator explains how "the disease of the lady Madeline had long baffled the skill of her physicians. A settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the the person,m and frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character, were the unusual diagnosis" (Poe). These symptoms are evidence that she is a vampire. When she bit Usher he began to become a vampire too, and that is why they both suffer from similarly perplexing symptoms; They are both vampires.

The evidences of Madeline being a vampire are not only shown in Usher's symptoms and her own symptoms; They are shown through the reactions of Usher and the narrator when they are near Madeline. While Usher is explaining the Madeline’s illness to the narrator, the woman herself happens to pass through, and as she does so the narrator explains his reaction:

“I regarded her with an utter astonishment not unmingled with dread---and yet I found it impossible to account for such feelings. A sensation of stupor oppressed me, as my eyes followed her retreating steps” (Poe).

The narrator then turns to Usher and explains to the reader the reaction of Madeline’s presence that is evident in the man’s frame:

“I could only perceive that a far more that ordinary wanness had overspread the emaciated fingers through which trickled many passionate tears” (Poe).

When Madeline passes through the room both characters are effected in a seemingly supernatural way; The narrator is encountered by a feeling of gloom, and Usher becomes paler than he was before she entered. These simultaneous occurrences help confirm that Madeline is a vampire, and that Ushers condition worsens slightly as a result of her presence shows a small portion of how Madeline being a vampire affects his health.

The most solidifying piece of evidence of how Madeline being a vampire effects Usher’s health is shown after she supposedly dies. When Madeline seems to pass away, Usher wants to keep her body a few more days so that he can be sure of her passing. He and the narrator of the story store her in what used to be a dungeon. Strangely though, as directly stated, “The disease that had thus entombed the lady in the maturity of youth, had left, as usual in all maladies of a strictly cataleptical character, the mockery of a faint blush upon the bosom and the face, and that suspiciously lingering smile upon the lip which is so terrible in death. We replaced and screwed down the lid, and having secured the door of iron, made our way, with toil, into the scarcely less gloomy apartments of the upper portion of the house” (Poe). These clues give the impression that she is not as dead as she appears, though clearly her brother believes her to be so. The effects that this temporary burial has on Usher appear soon after Usher and the narrator close Madeline within the former dungeon. He begins to roam from room to room nervously, his appearance resumes a ghastly countenance, his eyes appear darker than usual, and his voice shows signs of nervousness, losing it’s husky tone. To the narrator, Usher’s odd behavior seems to manifest that he is holding something back, which he lacks the courage to reveal. The narrator beholds him “gazing upon vacancy for long hours, in an attitude of the profoundest attention, as if listening to some imaginary sound” (Poe). It is evident that something is bothering Usher, though at this time what is actually troubling his mind is left for the reader to imply until further informed.

Later on the night of the seventh or eighth day a supernatural occurrence takes place. The narrator, who is having a difficult time sleeping due to “certain low and indefinite sounds which came through the pauses of the storm, at long intervals” (Poe) throws on his clothes and paces about his room without future plans to sleep for the rest of the night. As the narrator paces, he is interrupted by Usher, who is also restless. The two sit down and begin to read a story together in attempt to calm their nerves. As they progress through the story, the “Mad Trist” of Sir Launcelot Canning, they begin to hear noises that occur simultaneously with the events in the story itself. When Ethelred, the main character of the story, uses his mace, faint banging noises come from unknown location within the mansion of Usher.  When Ethelred strikes a dragon with his mace, a screaming or grating noise similar to the that of the imagined dragon is heard. Upon these occurrences, Usher’s appearance declines drastically. His chair is facing the door of the chamber, his lips are trembling, he is murmuring to himself, and he is swaying side to side in a way that portrays uneasiness. The narrator continues to read and a third noise is heard as Etherel claims his shield. This startles the narrator who jumps to his feet, but Usher remains undisturbed from his uniform rocking. The narrator rushes to Usher and listens intently to his words:

“Not hear it?---yes, I hear it, and have heard it. Long---long---long---many minutes, many hours, many days have i heard it----yet I dared not...speak! We have put her living in the tomb! Said I not that my senses were acute?”

As Usher escalates to madness, crying in fear of the possibility that she stands at the actual door, she does, in fact, appear at the door. She, grunting and covered in blood, falls heavily inward upon Usher, and Usher dies a sudden death as they fall to the floor.

A normal human being would not be able to survive in a coffin for as long as Madeline did. A normal human being would not be able to break out of the coffin Madeline was encased in, and a normal human being would certainly be unable to escape a secured dungeon. Madeline did all of these things and is definitely not human. She is vampire. When Usher discovers this as a result of her escaping her coffin, his health declines drastically and results in his death.