An interesting gothic story in which a series of thrilling events occur is The Fall of the House of Usher. This story was written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1839. In the novel, the personal past returns to haunt the narrator because of his wrongful curiosity regarding the Usher family. The narrator is haunted throughout the story due to his intrigue with this family and what may be occurring under the surface. As the narrator is drawn to the Usher family a terrifying experience accompanies his physical presence in the house. Additionally, the narrator’s possible knowledge of the underlying secrets of the Usher family intensifies the haunting within the story. The narrator’s fascination with the Usher family leads him to discover this eerie house
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The Usher’s familial past plays a role in the narrator’s personal past that haunts the story. The Usher’s have created their bloodline by, what is considered to be the purest way, incest. The connection between the siblings has had a long history behind it regarding their ancestors. It seems as though incest has had a prominent role in keeping the family name alive. However, the family reached a point where this was no longer possible, thus resulting in Roderick and Madeline being the final heirs. Roderick tells the narrators, “‘Her decease,’ he said, with a bitterness which I can never forget, ‘would leave him (him the hopeless and the frail) the last of the ancient race of the Ushers’” ( ). This remark shows the emotional attachment Roderick has to Madeline that goes past the connection of siblings, into a possibly romantic realm. The proposition of incest is strengthened by a comment made by the narrator, “in other words, that the entire family lay in the direct line of descent” ( ). This statement is fairly straightforward as it proclaims that there are no other members of the Usher family only Roderick and Madeline, whom have not been able to carry on the Usher name. Additionally, The narrator makes a comment about Roderick and Madeline that triggers these suspicions, “a striking similitude between the brother and sister now first arrested my attention” ( ). The similarities between the siblings is a bit alarming to the narrator, yet he doesn’t take action on the topic due to the already unsettling situation he has found himself
The Usher’s familial past plays a role in the narrator’s personal past that haunts the story. The Usher’s have created their bloodline by, what is considered to be the purest way, incest. The connection between the siblings has had a long history behind it regarding their ancestors. It seems as though incest has had a prominent role in keeping the family name alive. However, the family reached a point where this was no longer possible, thus resulting in Roderick and Madeline being the final heirs. Roderick tells the narrators, “‘Her decease,’ he said, with a bitterness which I can never forget, ‘would leave him (him the hopeless and the frail) the last of the ancient race of the Ushers’” ( ). This remark shows the emotional attachment Roderick has to Madeline that goes past the connection of siblings, into a possibly romantic realm. The proposition of incest is strengthened by a comment made by the narrator, “in other words, that the entire family lay in the direct line of descent” ( ). This statement is fairly straightforward as it proclaims that there are no other members of the Usher family only Roderick and Madeline, whom have not been able to carry on the Usher name. Additionally, The narrator makes a comment about Roderick and Madeline that triggers these suspicions, “a striking similitude between the brother and sister now first arrested my attention” ( ). The similarities between the siblings is a bit alarming to the narrator, yet he doesn’t take action on the topic due to the already unsettling situation he has found himself