The Fall of the House of Usher - Essay Example

To be specific, Roderick Usher’s dwelling place itself is the most important aspect of horror in the short story. The geographical location of the house in a remote area, added with strangeness, forces the readers to feel the element of horror. On the other side, Roderick Usher’s strange behavior and his warm relationship with the narrator creates doubt in the minds of the readers. But the sudden twist in the story, related to the strange incidents at Roderick Usher’s dwelling place, leads the readers towards an illusionary world of horror.

Still, the narrator tries to be cordial with Roderick Usher and his sister. But this does not help Roderick Usher to maintain his emotional equilibrium. On the other side, Madeline’s fate as the victim of her brother’s hallucination adds the element of horror to the plot. Kirsten Hinzpeter states that “Madeleine’s illness which stuns even the physicians would additionally be a source of terror” (60). At the same time, Poe provides ample importance to unexpected events in the short-story.

This unexpectedness, added with a gothic setting, accelerates the free flow of the element of horror in the work. In short, the author’s interest in abnormal psychology results in the escalation of the element of horror in the work as a whole. Insanity: Insanity is another element in the short-story that leads the readers to suspect the real aim of the main characters. For instance, the narrator’s decision to visit a family infested with insanity is really suspicious. In this stage, the readers may suspect the narrator as an insane individual.

Roderick Usher tries to keep himself as a normal person but fails to do the same. For example, he tries to forget his illness by immersing himself in music and painting. He does not try to seek sympathy from others but seeks help from his close friend. Still, his real aim by inviting his friend is ambiguous because he is totally abnormal in his behavior. Roderick Usher does not like to socialize with others in his locality. He leads a secluded life within the interiors of his home. This proves that Roderick Usher is aware of the problem of lunacy faced by his sister and him. Dawn B. Sova states that “The dilemma faced by the romantic artist is represented by Roderick, who effectively plunges into madness when he leaves the real world behind in his search for the sublime” (69).

But his sister is not an active participant in the storyline. In the short story, she is presented as an individual who is dead. One can guess that Roderick Usher killed his sister and is trying to cover his crime. This ambiguity and hallucination related to the element of insanity lead the readers towards the realms of abnormal psychology. So, one can see that the element of insanity adds strangeness to the main theme of the short story. Relationship: horror and insanity: The author links the elements of horror and insanity in the short-story to create logical balance to the plot.