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The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe: Summary | Short Story
The Fall of the House of Usher
ABOUT THE STORY
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short horror story based on fiction. It was written by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The story was initially published in 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. Later on, it was included in the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1840. This story is about an unnamed narrator who comes to visit his old friend, Roderick Usher, in his mansion. He tries his best to cheer him up. But he finds both the house and Roderick Usher to be depressing and cheerless. As the story progresses, the narrator also becomes less mentally healthy and more detached from reality, similar to Roderick Usher.
We find various themes in the story that include madness, family, isolation, and metaphysical identities.
MAIN SUMMARY
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
At the beginning of the story, we find an unnamed narrator who approaches the house of Usher. The day is so gloomy. This particular house once belonged to his childhood friend Roderick Usher. The house seems very eerie and mysterious, absorbing a sense of evil and disease from the decaying trees and dirty ponds around it. Despite signs of decay such as crumbling stones, the structure of the building remains mostly solid. At the front part of the building, tis only a small crack running from the roof to the ground.
The narrator of the story has arrived at this house in response to a letter from his friend named Roderick. In his letter, Roderick expressed a strong need for the company due to his physical as well as emotional struggles. Despite being an ancient clan, the Usher family has not flourished. From generation to generation, only one Usher has survived at a time, creating a direct line of descent without any outside connections. The Usher family has become so closely linked to their estate that the peasantry often mistakes the inhabitants for the house itself.
As the narrator makes an entry into the house, he describes the interior as eerie similar to the exterior. He walks through the long passages and reaches the room where Roderick is waiting for him. The narrator finds Roderick so paler and less energetic than before. Roderick informs the narrator that he struggles with nerves and fear. He doesn't feel good and his senses are extremely sensitive. The narrator also notices that Roderick is afraid of his own house.
The sister of Roderick named Madeline, is also sick with a strange illness. She possibly has catalepsy, a disease where one loses control over their limbs. The doctors can't cure her illness. The narrator spends his days with Roderick. He tries his best to uplift Roderick's mood. He engages himself in several activities like listening to Roderick play the guitar, creating words for his songs, and reading stories for him, but Roderick remains the same ie. gloomy. Eventually, Roderick himself suggests his belief that the house itself is unwell, just like the narrator's initial thoughts about the house's terrible and mysterious atmosphere.
Roderick’s sister Madeline dies soon. Roderick plans to temporarily bury her in the tombs just beneath the house. He's fearful about the doctors that they might dig up her body for their study because her case of illness was quite strange as well as unusual to them. The narrator helps Roderick in placing Madeline in the tomb. He notices that she appears to have rosy cheeks, a common occurrence after death. The narrator also realises unexpectedly that both Roderick and Madeline are twins.
In the following days, the condition of Roderick has become much worse. He feels much uneasy. One night, both Roderick and the narrator can't get to sleep. Roderick knocks on the narrator's door, seemingly hysterical. He takes the narrator to the window, and both see a glowing gas enveloping the house. The narrator explains to Roderick that the gas is a natural occurrence, not entirely uncommon.
To spend the night away, the narrator decides to read to Roderick. He selects a story called "Mad Trist" by Sir Launcelot Canning, a medieval romance. While reading, the narrator starts hearing sounds that correspond with the events in the story. Initially, he dismisses them as products of imagination. Later, the sounds become clearer and impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, Roderick, sitting in his chair, is slumped over. He starts muttering to himself. The narrator gets closer to Roderick and tries to listen to what he is saying.
Roderick reveals his feelings to the narrator that he's been hearing these sounds. He is also convinced that they buried Madeline alive, and she's trying to escape. A bit later, Roderick shouts that she's behind the door. The door suddenly in the wind, revealing a bloodied Madeline in white robes standing. In a struggle, she attacks her brother Roderick. Roderick dies from fear. Witnessing the terrible things in front of his eyes, the narrator runs away from the house. As he escapes, the whole house cracks along the break and collapses to the ground.
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