The Fall of the House of Usher

In the annals of American literature , Edgar Allan Poe is known for writing about the macabre and terrifying side of life . The ideas of Poe are echoed in every horror movie , every scary novel , and often every walk into a dark alley where mysterious and lurking things reside . And while some literary experts and critics may consider his work gothic horror , a closer examination reveals deeper psychological underpinnings that reflect the tumultuous life the author himself . From difficult times , troublesome women , and social turmoil of ascending and descending the class ladder , Poe

seems to reflect his unique perspective in nineteenth century America . As the Industrial Revolution stormed around him , alcoholism ravaged his body , and his frequent ventures into the life of pauperism , the theme of decay runs throughout much of the work of Edgar Allen Poe and seem to reflect the isolation and deterioration he felt in his own life . One of the other unique occurrences that Poe reflected in his writing was the ongoing march of women towards greater freedom and equality . Women in the time of Edgar Allan Poe were decades from approaching equality in even the simplest sense . Still relegated to the status of second-class citizens , women in the nineteenth century were often nothing more than property for their husbands and a means to producing offspring . While Poe 's The Fall of the House of Usher appears more as a macabre tale of deterioration and illness , a closer examination exposes underlying themes that reflect the author 's life and times . Madeline 's illness could illustrate Poe 's personal experiences with his own struggles , as well as those of his wife , and it could also serve the dual purpose of reflecting the growing shift of women towards a greater equality in culture as evidenced by the declining of the oppressive regime of the male-dominated world

In The Fall of the House of Usher ' the entire story details the gloomy deterioration into insanity and death . While Poe is well known for infusing his stories with anxiety and fear , the story of Roderick Usher is filled with imagery that reinforces the theme of decay . From the moment the unnamed narrator arrives at the house to care for the ill Usher , foreboding thoughts keep popping into his mind despite his best efforts to abandon them through reason . The sight of the stately , yet decaying manor caused within him an illness , a sickening of the heart an unredeemed dreariness (Poe . He believes that his perceptions might change if he looks at things in a brighter light , but when he tries he is confronted with even more fear and the house surrounded by darkness and mystery . The house even begins to feel human to him looking at him with eye-like windows as he looks at it

The narrator thinks of his sick friend as he once knew him , quiet and reserved with a morbid demeanor , but handsome and cordial . He recalls stories of the Usher family and its former glory as a family...