Poe's Stories brief biography of edgar allan poe
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Short Story By Flannery OConnor
| opium, and Ligeia’s larger-than-life personality have together created an unstable reality, where death and life cannot be separated, where Ligeia can return to him. Whether she truly has supernaturally returned, whether it is in fact the narrator’s drug- fueled mind, and whether he is truly an innocent in all this—none of that is clear. But, regardless, and in part because of the lack of clarity, the overpowering, reality-altering, and even monstrous power of his grief for his lost wife is profoundly tangible. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER The narrator of "House of Usher" is passing on horseback through a dull part of the country on a grim day, when he comes across the House of Usher. The sight of the house fills him with dread for some reason. He calls this feeling “unsufferable” because it is not accompanied by the romantic feeling that sights of desolation often produce. Looking upon the bleak walls and windows is like waking up to horrible reality from an opium dream. The Gothic style is apparent from the beginning of this tale, the weather and atmosphere mirror the narrator’s dismal mood as if the physical world is connected to him or somehow aware of his presence. This is typical of Gothic literature. The bleak horror of this scene is bound to correspond to greater horrors within. The narrator of "House of Usher" tries to explain to himself how the house has this effect on him, but it is beyond him. He thinks that perhaps if the parts of the scene were to be rearranged, their effect would be different, so he rides over to the tarn, an area of dark water around the house, and looks at the inverted image of the house in the water, but this image is even more hideous. The narrator tries to use reason and science to explain the sensation that the house causes, but the scene’s horror is greater than the sum of its parts. This leads the reader into thinking that something unexplained, even paranormal, is afoot. Despite all this, the narrator of "House of Usher" is planning to stay at this very residence. He has received an urgent letter from the owner, Roderick Usher, who is suffering from a nervous illness and desires the narrator's company urgently. The narrator remembers them being close friends in their childhood but that Usher always had a reserved temperament. But he also remembers that the Usher family is famous for its strange temperaments, and for creating in these moods wonderful works of art, deeds of charity, and contributions to “musical science." Like the house that shares his name, the character of Usher carries with him an inherent peculiar quality. This quality is exaggerated by the narrator’s memory and the fact that he only knew Usher as a child—all he knows of this man is through the lens of childhood memories and rumors of his nervous disorders. Another illuminating fact about the family is the purity of its lineage – it is one direct descent, with no branches into other families – so the name the House of Usher, has come to refer to both the building and the family itself. The isolation of the Ushers and their fateful connection to the physical property of the family are ominous details. The setting and characters here are some of Poe’s most Gothic. Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com ©2017 LitCharts LLC www.LitCharts.com Page 23 The narrator of "House of Usher" describes looking down into the water and feeling his superstition about the house increase within him. He explains that feelings of terror often increase the more one becomes conscious of them. He thinks it might be this phenomenon that causes the scene to appear even ghastlier and stranger when he lifts his eyes to it again. He tries to shake off the feeling and examine the house properly. Download 0.58 Mb. Share with your friends:
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