Edgar Allen Poe, in his work “The Fall of the House of Usher”, brings the sinister consequences of inbreeding front and center, in a way that informs, yet entertains, the reader. One of many themes, inbreeding is key to fully understanding the plot and messages of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher” and fully engaging with the text. Poe is able to enter into scientific discourse and discuss both the physical and psychological penalties of inbreeding by making sinister implications about Roderick and Madeline and their unusual family line. However, in order to so effectively outline the consequences of inbreeding, Poe drew inspiration from his knowledge of the Habsburg Dynasty. Evidence of this can be found in the sicknesses of Roderick and Madeline,
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One author argued that “Poe directly borrowed” some of the titles and descriptions of the books in the Usher’s library and alluded to the fact that Poe had drawn inspiration from other sources in many other instances in “The Fall of the House of Usher” (Hayes 216). Another discussed that “the house of Usher … suggest[ed] the author’s interest in biblical prophecy” and offered an entirely new way to read Poe’s works (Robey 64) Nevertheless, it would seem that the question of where Poe acquired his knowledge of the observable genetic penalties of inbreeding and how effectively he illustrated them has either been ignored or taken at face value by literary critics in the past because from what was found in my research, no one has speculated about Poe’s source. It is important to understand what Poe is trying to say through his discussion of inbreeding in order to fully appreciate everything that Poe was doing in “The Fall of the House of Usher”, and this also means uncovering where he acquired his knowledge regarding …show more content…
Those genetic disorders are exhibited in different ways for Madeline as compared with Roderick. Madeline is described as having an illness that “had long baffled the skill of her physicians… a settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and a frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character were the unusual diagnosis” (Poe 658). She could potentially be suffering from Tuberculosis, as a result of her weak immune system, epilepsy or hemophilia in conjunction with other expected genetic deficiencies, as Madeline would have. Charles II, the final descendent of the Habsburg family line, as suffered from a weak immune system as well as illnesses that baffled his physicians (Alvarez, Ceballos, and Quinteiro
One author argued that “Poe directly borrowed” some of the titles and descriptions of the books in the Usher’s library and alluded to the fact that Poe had drawn inspiration from other sources in many other instances in “The Fall of the House of Usher” (Hayes 216). Another discussed that “the house of Usher … suggest[ed] the author’s interest in biblical prophecy” and offered an entirely new way to read Poe’s works (Robey 64) Nevertheless, it would seem that the question of where Poe acquired his knowledge of the observable genetic penalties of inbreeding and how effectively he illustrated them has either been ignored or taken at face value by literary critics in the past because from what was found in my research, no one has speculated about Poe’s source. It is important to understand what Poe is trying to say through his discussion of inbreeding in order to fully appreciate everything that Poe was doing in “The Fall of the House of Usher”, and this also means uncovering where he acquired his knowledge regarding …show more content…
Those genetic disorders are exhibited in different ways for Madeline as compared with Roderick. Madeline is described as having an illness that “had long baffled the skill of her physicians… a settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and a frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character were the unusual diagnosis” (Poe 658). She could potentially be suffering from Tuberculosis, as a result of her weak immune system, epilepsy or hemophilia in conjunction with other expected genetic deficiencies, as Madeline would have. Charles II, the final descendent of the Habsburg family line, as suffered from a weak immune system as well as illnesses that baffled his physicians (Alvarez, Ceballos, and Quinteiro