Inbreeding: It is something that we feel, as a society, we have moved entirely away from, and yet it still haunts and evokes a deep fear within us that something so sinister could have happened among us. Edgar Allen Poe, in his work the Fall of the House of Usher, brings the sinister consequences of inbreeding front and center, yet he still manages to do it quite subtly. One of many themes, inbreeding is key to fully understanding the plot and the deeper messages of the Fall of the House of Usher. The hints made throughout the text, add to the creepy undertones of the story. By utilizing the ominous penalties of inbreeding, both the psychological and physical, and drawing upon in in the characterization of Madeline, Roderick, and the literal
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As inbreeding occurs through multiple generations, and the genetic deficiencies spread like wildfire, it has been proven by science, birth rates plummet. In fact historians believe inbreeding was cause of the fall of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty in Spain, and the reason that with Charles II’s death, their dynasty ended (Alvarez). [When was this, around before or after Poe wrote this, was this inspiration for this work?] It is interesting to note that Charles II suffered from physically disablement, mental retardation and disfigurement. So if the Usher family line reproduced in the manner that Poe implies, it would be expected
However, the effects of inbreeding do not only explain Madeline’s physical problems, or the lack of children, it also explains Roderick’s mental state. It is not clear whether or not Roderick suffers from the same physical disabilities that Madeline does, but it is very clear that he has many psychological ones. It appears that he suffers from dkjaf;lkdjakdjffakj;l/. The same study They suffered the consequences of inbreeding and this lead to their unstable mental state, as well as the decaying state of their bodies. [Psychological effects of inbreeding] mental retardation …show more content…
Roderick explains that the two of them were something like twins, however this only explains the striking similarities, and does not account for the creepy connection they seem to share, almost as if they were the same person. He seems to sense what is going on with her long before that insanity “infected” the Narrator (Poe 663). Roderick says that he “heard her first feeble movements in the hallow coffin” and could “distinguish the heavy and horrible beating of her heart” (Poe 666). Both of which would logically be impossible for him to hear, which seems to imply that they are almost entirely the same person, in an eerie
As inbreeding occurs through multiple generations, and the genetic deficiencies spread like wildfire, it has been proven by science, birth rates plummet. In fact historians believe inbreeding was cause of the fall of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty in Spain, and the reason that with Charles II’s death, their dynasty ended (Alvarez). [When was this, around before or after Poe wrote this, was this inspiration for this work?] It is interesting to note that Charles II suffered from physically disablement, mental retardation and disfigurement. So if the Usher family line reproduced in the manner that Poe implies, it would be expected
However, the effects of inbreeding do not only explain Madeline’s physical problems, or the lack of children, it also explains Roderick’s mental state. It is not clear whether or not Roderick suffers from the same physical disabilities that Madeline does, but it is very clear that he has many psychological ones. It appears that he suffers from dkjaf;lkdjakdjffakj;l/. The same study They suffered the consequences of inbreeding and this lead to their unstable mental state, as well as the decaying state of their bodies. [Psychological effects of inbreeding] mental retardation …show more content…
Roderick explains that the two of them were something like twins, however this only explains the striking similarities, and does not account for the creepy connection they seem to share, almost as if they were the same person. He seems to sense what is going on with her long before that insanity “infected” the Narrator (Poe 663). Roderick says that he “heard her first feeble movements in the hallow coffin” and could “distinguish the heavy and horrible beating of her heart” (Poe 666). Both of which would logically be impossible for him to hear, which seems to imply that they are almost entirely the same person, in an eerie