The Fall of the House of Usher Group

Question:

hrussell2010
hrussell2010
Student
High School - 11th Grade

How might "The Fall of the House of Usher" be read as a an allegory of a journey into the human mind?

What could the final fall of the house represent? Poe said that the poem "the haunted palace" is meant to suggest a distorted brain.

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Posted by hrussell2010 on Tuesday May 5, 2009 at 2:32 PM and tagged with allegory, mind, symbols.

Answers:

  1. herappleness
    herappleness Teacher
    Graduate School

    eNotes Editor

    The house of Usher, both in terms of the Usher family and the house it self were confused by the passersby as "one and the same". This was because, as you read, the story shows that the family had a history of disease, death, entrapment, insanity.  This is a compilation of the scariest demons that humans have to deal with from time to time. In Usher's case, Roderick and his family were all representatives of such demons, of such imperfections. The house decayed as Roderik decayed, and both the house and the owner were going downhill. Finally, when the narrator escapes, the house implodes on its own. Similarly with Roderick and humans dealing with their inner torments, they are also bound to implode and destroy themselves. (And those around them can help, just as much as they don't fall right with them)

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/fall-house

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    Posted by herappleness on Tuesday May 5, 2009 at 3:03 PM