"The Fall of the House of Usher" and its Gothic Themes

Gothic literature mixes elements of horror and romance. Often the setting is extremely detailed to add to the horror. The setting usually has a history of its own, which adds dread as well. Many times the setting, or the house, in the story is deteriorating, which is similar to our view of a haunted house today. Gothic stories involve the supernatural, and often describe the protagonist’s fall into madness or death. There are often psychological elements in the novel, and there is often a reasonable explanation for what happens in the pot. It is hard to trust the narrator because they are affected in some way by the story.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher incorporates many elements of Gothic writing. First of all, the setting around the House of Usher is described in great detail, along with the inside of the house. The narrator uses words that immediately give the reader chills, and instantly foreshadows dread that will occur throughout the story. The house also has a history of its own. All of Usher’s family has lived there; and they have a history of illness, which makes Usher ill himself, because he expects to be ill. Usher believes the house to be sentient, and the narrator describes it himself with human features; he says the windows are “eye-like” twice.

Fall of the House of Usher also has a more reasonable explanation. Opium is brought up many times throughout the story; Usher claims he was an opium addict. This could mean that the old friends did drugs together, and much of what they are seeing and hearing are hallucinations. Also, if Usher is not using opium anymore, than his symptoms of illness could be possible withdrawal. Usher and his sister both have unexplained illnesses. However, Usher thought he would get ill because of the history of illness in his family. Usher and his sister seem to both be hypochondriacs.

It is hard to trust the narrator in the story because he is so frightened.  Often when people are frightened, details become skewed and many ideas get expanded to become even more horrifying. Also, if the narrator was on opium, his recollection of what happened is definitely distorted.

Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher present many themes of Gothic writing; he combines horror and romance to create an extremely chilling story.