illustration of a dark, menacing cracked house with large, red eyes looking through the windows

The Fall of the House of Usher

by Edgar Allan Poe

Start Free Trial

Discussion Topic

Madeline Usher's role, fate, and affliction in "The Fall of the House of Usher"

Summary:

Madeline Usher's role in "The Fall of the House of Usher" is that of Roderick Usher's twin sister. Her fate is tragic; she is buried alive by mistake, only to return from her tomb to die alongside her brother. Her affliction is a mysterious and debilitating illness that mirrors the decay of the Usher family and their ancestral home.

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

What disease afflicts Madeline Usher in "The Fall of the House of Usher"?

"The Fall of the House of Usher" centers on an unnamed narrator who goes to visit his friend Roderick Usher in his mysterious and gloomy home. Upon arrival, the narrator discovers that both Roderick and his sister, Madeline, suffer from an "acute bodily illness" which causes an "acuteness of the senses" and affects the patient's mind, motoric capabilities, behavior, and even appearance. The disease baffles the twins' physicians.

It is believed that Madeline might soon die, and several physicians agree that her disease is at least connected to catalepsy—a medical condition which causes seizures, muscle rigidity, and inability to react to external stimuli:

The disease of the lady Madeline had long baffled the skill of her physicians. A settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character, were the unusual diagnosis.

Madeline does appear to die, though it could be interpreted that she simply enters into a state of coma as a result of her disease. Nonetheless, Roderick decides to bury her, not knowing that she is actually alive. When Madeline wakes up, she forces her way out of her coffin, scaring the narrator and her brother. Madeline then falls upon Roderick, and the two siblings crash to the floor, dying instantly. Horrified, the narrator flees the house. As he leaves, he sees the house collapsing behind him, symbolizing both the physical and metaphorical fall of the House of Usher.

Last Updated on
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

What does Madeline Usher symbolize in "The Fall of the House of Usher"?

While there are a number of ways in which the character of Madeline Usher can be interpreted, one argument is that she symbolizes Roderick's worst fears—and fear itself in general. While Roderick is already sick by the time the narrator arrives, Madeline is much sicker; in fact, she's already on the brink of death. Having a sister at death's door ignites fear like never before in Roderick, who fears the feeling produced by fear as much as the actual events he fears.

Once it seems as though Madeline has died, it becomes apparent to the narrator that Roderick is slipping more rapidly into madness. Even the narrator can feel the sense of fear that pervades the house. On the night when the story reaches its climax, the narrator lies awake, gripped by a fear which he cannot explain. Roderick is also awake and enters the narrator's room with a nervous energy, anxious to look upon the storm outside. The narrator reads aloud to Roderick in an effort to calm him—but to no avail. Muttering to himself, Roderick finally reveals that he's been terrified the last few days that he has accidentally buried his sister alive.

When the door bursts open to reveal a blood-covered Madeline, no one knows what's happening, and there is a strong sense of supernatural intervention. Dying, Madeline falls onto her brother, dragging him down and killing him as well. Symbolically, this moment represents how fear has overtaken Roderick. Symbolically, it is the manifestation of fear itself that has killed Roderick. And on a literal level, it may well be Roderick's fright that kills him rather than any physical harm.

Last Updated on
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

How does Madeline Usher die in "The Fall of the House of Usher"?

Toward the beginning of Edgar Allan Poe's story “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the narrator introduces Madeline Usher, sister of his host, Roderick Usher. The narrator catches a brief glimpse of her as she passes through the room, and he notes that "the disease of the lady Madeline had long baffled the skill of her physicians.” She is apathetic and merely wasting slowly away.

Later, Roderick Usher tells the narrator that Madeline has died. He continues by expressing his intention to preserve her body for two weeks in one of the vaults beneath the house. The narrator thinks this is quite odd and has no idea why his host would do such a thing, but he does not protest. In fact, he helps Usher carry his sister below and seal her into her coffin. Before they close the lid, however, they take one more look at Madeline, and the narrator is startled to see a “faint blush upon the bosom and the face” and a “suspiciously lingering smile” on the dead woman. He concludes that this must simply be the result of her malady and dismisses it.

Seven or eight days later, however, the narrator remains awake, filled with a great foreboding and even horror. Usher enters the narrator's room in a great state of agitation, and the narrator reads to try to calm them both. Then, strange noises begin issuing from the vault where Madeline has been buried. After a while, Usher becomes hysterical and confesses to what he has done. “We have put her living in the tomb!” he cries, and then Madeline herself appears at the door. “There was blood upon her white robes,” says the narrator, and “the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame.” She falls into the room, taking her brother down with her, and they both die instantly.

Madeline Usher has been murdered by her own brother. He knows full well that she is still living when he seals her in that coffin, yet he leaves her to die of dehydration, starvation, and sheer terror.

Last Updated on
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

In "The Fall of the House of Usher," what might Madeline represent as an allegory?

I have to be honest with you and say at the beginning of my answer that I don't actually believe an allegorical reading of this masterful tale of horror bears much weight. This story does have to do with evil, though, and as the narrator tries to make sense of what he observes Poe achieves an incredible ambiguity that makes the character of Madeline very difficult to "read." It is clear that there is some kind of deep connection between Roderick Usher and his twin sister. The only time the narrator sees her before her "death" is during their first conversation together, when she passes slowly by them:

I regarded her with an utter astonishment not unmingled with dread, and yet I found it impossible to account for such feelings. A sensation of stupor oppressed me, as my eyes followed her retreating steps.

Certainly her presence is enough to make the narrator terrified, though he cannot explain why. The next time we meet Madeline likewise is a piece of classic Poe-terror, as she comes back to life, though it is unclear whether she, vampire like, destroys her brother, or embraces him out of love:

There was blood upon her white robes, and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame. For a moment she remained trembling and reeling to and fro upon the threshold - then, with a low moaning cry, fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother, and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated.

It is clear that however we read Madeline's character, she and her brother share some form of supernatural evil that brings them both to their destruction, and not just them as individuals, but the whole house, which is of course destroyed at the same time as the last heirs are destroyed. Some kind of curse has wreaked its evil and successfully brought about "The Fall of the House of Usher."

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Last Updated on