The Fall of the House of Usher, Essay Example

Mr. Poe, your story is typical of the other stories you have told during these sessions. You need to be reminded that you are an alcoholic, and the wild tales that you tell are induced by your addiction. Until you seek treatment for your condition these hallucinations will continue.

The narrator of your story is unnamed. It should be obvious to you that you are the speaker of the story. You are the terrified witness to the horrific events that happened in that house. The house is gloomy and mysterious, much like you are, so the house represents your character.

The house is encompassed by evil. So is your life. The demon, alcohol, is always on your back, keeping you from living or thinking beyond its murky present. You go into detail about how the house is decaying. So is your life. You know that you will not live to be an old man if you keep punishing your body the way you do.

You say that you go to the house because your friend, Roderick, has sent you an urgent message. You are his possible life-line. In truth, you wish you had one. You, like the clan of Usher, have never prospered. You never really knew your mother. You, like the house, are becoming spooky on the outside as well as the inside.

How interesting that you tell of Roderick being full of fear. So are you. You are afraid of the person you have become. Roderick is afraid of his house, and so are you (the body that houses you). Roderick’s sister’s death is a theme that keeps coming back in our sessions. Remember, you married your 13- year old cousin, and she died. So, your fantasies most commonly revolve around the figure of a girl dying. Roderick buries her, just as you did your young bride. But you, more than most people, are keenly aware that people or things that get buried have away of coming back to life and rising from the dead. Roderick does not want doctors to examine his sister. They might get answers. When things get answered they lose their power of mystery and power.

You realize that Roderick and his sister, Madeline, are twins. Roderick (fear) and Madeline (illness) are twins. Imagine that. When Roderick begins to feel that he has buried his sister alive, he realizes that if she cannot life, neither can he. At the point of Roderick’s confrontation with his newly resurrected sister, you flee from the house. You run because you know the house is about to fall down. The House of Usher (the family of Usher) and the house of Usher (the structure they call home) is falling down. You knew that the house would fall. You knew that you would escape when it did. Are you waiting for your own life to fall hoping that, in death, you can escape your fear?

You refer to Roderick as your best friend. Is it not interesting to you that you have not seen or heard from this best friend in years? Is it not strange to you that your best friend has a twin sister, and you did not know that they were twins?

You feel trapped just as Roderick felt trapped. You have this marvelous talent. You have made a name for yourself, and yet you lie around in a drunken stupor most of the time, unable to escape. Roderick and Madeline were products of inbreeding. Any children that you might have had with Virginia, your young wife, would have been incestuous as well.

Roderick and Madeline were confined to their house. Madeline was confined in her tomb. You are confined in your skin. You are trying to break out of your chains, but you cannot get them to budge. When Roderick sees Madeline, he sees a mirror image of himself. He cannot exist without her, nor can she exist without him. Where do you fit into that picture, Mr. Poe?

Why do you think the name of the family was “Usher?” We use the word when we refer to someone taking someone somewhere. An usher “ushered” someone to a seat in the theatre, for example. You were being ushered into the gothic world of this family. After you were ushered in, the whole family collapsed.

You spent a great deal of time telling me about how Roderick looked…how his appearance had been altered by time. Of course, Mr. Poe, you were describing yourself when you did that. When fantasy becomes more believable than reality, the mind cannot live in freedom.

You had better come back to see me tomorrow at this same time. We really need to talk more about these things.