Mood In The Fall Of The House Of Usher

In the Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator was visiting his childhood friend, Roderick Usher. This visit took place at the Usher’s estate where Roderick’s sister Madeline was ill with a mysterious disease. The whole story is about the narrator describing the gloomy Usher’s estate and the depressed condition of his friend Roderick. One of the themes in this story is about madness because Roderick Usher is overwhelmed with depression which caused him to go insane. His madness eventually led to the fall of the House the Usher.
The author told this story from the first-person point of view. The narrator has personally witnessed and described Roderick Usher’s behavior along with the ragged conditions at Usher’s estate. …show more content…
The author used the setting to create the atmosphere and mood to help the reader understand the depressive features of the House of Usher as well as the depressive nature of Roderick Usher. The reader can relate to seeing a huge mansion with gloomy features and a person that reflects those gloomy features. Nelison stated that the Usher house molded Roderick Usher spirit and that of his ancestor (pp 4). However, the author also uses verisimilitude to create the feeling of realism for some readers that can relate to a person that is depressed and going insane. The atmosphere, mood, and verisimilitude has a major effect on the theme of madness. The impact of these literary uses of setting makes the reader visualize the madness of Roderick Usher and makes the reader feel the oppressed atmosphere as well as the mood throughout the …show more content…
One example is the House of Usher. The House of Usher is a contextual symbol that represents all the insanity and depression that is stored inside Roderick Usher. Also, the House of Usher represents the destruction of the Usher lifeline. Jamil Mustafa stated that “ the title describes the literal fall or dissolution of the mansion and the demise of the Usher family, because Roderick and Madeline are the last of their line.” (pp. 8) The House of Usher is meant to reflect Roderick Usher’s insanity. Another symbol was the tarn. The tarn is a universal symbol which represents all of the depression, gloominess, and insanity of Roderick Usher being wiped away as the House of Usher fell into the tarn. The tarn represents a cleanser for all of the depression and insanity from the Usher estate. The House of Usher and the tarn help the reader understand the theme of madness in the story. The appearance House of Usher is meant to look chaotic and disorderly so the reader can make the connect between the House of Usher and Roderick’s behavior. The tarn is meant to tell the reader that all the insanity in the Usher estate will no longer exist because the insanity has failing in the tarn and has