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Art
Roderick surrounds himself with various forms of art, including visual art, musical instruments, and many different books. His days are almost entirely spent creating art of his own, particularly paintings and songs. Notably, all the art Roderick gravitates toward or indeed can tolerate tends toward the macabre and occult. Amongst the books the narrator finds in Roderick’s collection are stories of demons, an inquisitor’s list of magical texts confiscated from sorcerers, and a book describing visions of heaven and hell. Roderick’s paintings and songs are similarly unsettling, described by the narrator as “phantasmagoric,” “fantastic,” and “wild.” However, it’s unclear whether Roderick’s mental state has attracted him to these dark works, or whether surrounding himself with disturbing images and ideas has merely perpetrated Roderick’s mental illness. The narrator worries that the art may be contributing to Roderick’s anxiety and depression, but Roderick’s own art appears to be his way of expressing the horror of his inner life.
Gothic Elements
The story is full of elements of classic Gothic literature, working in tandem to create a frightening atmosphere. The manor house itself, isolated and full of decay, is a staple of Gothic literature. As twins, Roderick and Madeline can be read as doppelgangers or Gothic doubles, representing a split soul. Furthermore, some scholars have read the “strange sympathy” between the twins and the narrowness of the Usher family tree to have incestuous undertones, recalling Gothic literature’s exploration of sexual perversion. Poe further makes use of a literary device called the objective correlative—the use of inanimate objects such as the weather or other setting details to highlight his characters’ mental states—to enhance the Gothic nature of his tale. Thus, the dead trees and gray atmosphere surrounding the house represent Roderick’s gloom, and the terrifying storm at the end of the story matches the eerie energy of the narrative climax. The result is an incredibly unsettling story.
Doubles and Divisions
“The Fall of the House of Usher” makes extensive use of doubling to explore its themes. The most obvious pairing is that of Roderick and Madeline, who as twins with a strange connection, cannot bear to be separated. Roderick suffers from a mental condition and Madeline from a physical condition, leading many scholars to interpret them as a single soul divided between mind and body. However, Roderick and the narrator also represent the binary between madness and reason. Roderick’s anxiety compounds with each passing day, as the narrator consistently seeks rational explanations for his fear. Over the course of these stories, the binaries are forcibly pulled apart. The narrator quickly realizes that nothing he does can ameliorate Roderick’s terror. Roderick inters Madeline in the vault, separating them for what he believes is eternity. Finally, both Roderick and Madeline are separated by death, and the House of Usher—both the family and the house—are torn asunder.
