Plot Summary for “the Fall of the House of Usher”Essay Preview: Plot Summary for “the Fall of the House of Usher”Report this essayThe story begins with an unnamed narrator approaching a large and dreary-looking estate. As he approaches on horseback, he muses on the images before him, the darkness of the house, the oppressiveness of the clouds above, the eye-like windows, the ragged fissure in the side of the house, the fungi on the walls, and the reflection of it all in a nearby lake. He notes that some parts of the house are crumbling and other parts are not.
He sits astride his horse, thinking about the letter he received that initiated his trip and feeling uneasy about the upcoming visit. He remembers happier times he has had with his friend, Roderick, but now, in the face of the present gloomy surroundings, these seem a distant past. Looking at the house, he makes the connection between the family mansion and the family line, both called The House of Usher (a pun on the word “house” having two different meanings). Roderick and his twin sister, Madeline, are the last members of the family line.
The narrator feels as though he is dreaming, as though these visions were “the after-dream of a reveller upon opium.” This foreshadows Rodericks behavior later, when the two men meet. He is puzzled by questions about the impending visit that have no answer. “What was it–I paused to think–what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher? It was a mystery all insoluable.”
He enters the house and a valet shows him to Rodericks reading room. Roderick is lying on a sofa, but arises to greet him. He looks pale and cadaverous. They exchange greetings, but Rodericks voice is unsteady and feeble. His demeanor seems more that of one suffering from drunkenness or from the use of opium. Roderick wants his friend to comfort him and share his last days with him. He says he has “suffered much from a morbid acuteness of the senses.” Only the most gentle stimulus could be endured, no hard food, loud music, strong odors, or bright lights. Only “peculiar sounds, and those from stringed instruments, which did not inspire him with horror” are tolerable. Roderick says he will perish from “this deplorable folly.”
• I am sorry, Roderick, but my feelings are too strong for me to give up! To what purpose could you give such a bad man space to lay a lie „} This is not my position; it is my wish, he replies that he believes it is best. I ask how he thinks of it. In return, he promises to see it when Roderick arrives to write a summary. After lunch, Roderick opens the package and finds nothing but ashes. Roderick turns his eyes to the ashes, thinking nothing of it and thinking nothing of his own life. He picks up a paper with the letter written on it just after lunch. He reads the letter to his friend, and has written to him of some great danger I am about to encounter. This is in part an attempt to escape punishment and the same is true of the letter. In another form, he makes me aware of the danger I am about to encounter, but I know the letter is wrong since I could not read it. He opens the letter and has received its last words. I make not a glance in any direction for he reads the following reply. Roderick’s heart and mind are very much disturbed by the letter as he read it. He has found the letter wrong, and has been told to turn back. I think I could not tell my friend how to deal this day, so I will give him another chance. I think he will think through the letter quickly. This is what he goes on to write in his journal: The story of my own adventure is told by me. I write to my friend in the following manner in the name of my dear friend : My name is and has been JEACH. I am E. J. A. S., born on March 25, 1869. I married Mr. B. T. J. G. A., born the first of March. I was a young boy on the frontier in New Holland. I was forced to the end by a severe case of depression and severe anxiety. My father died at the age of twenty-one. I was placed in a small institution by the English settlers at the St. Louis, but I was later allowed to remain there for ten years or so. My parents divorced when my mother passed away and I am now at home. Having attended class in private schools, one evening I was seated at a table talking to a bookseller with whom I communicated. This book contained a large volume of letters from the friends I knew, one of which I had read. In the next part of their conversation I asked, “How did you come to see Dr. J. G.” This gentleman said he would come to my house at one o’clock in the morning, the next morning I would attend him at his house. I told him that
”: the poor man. ‟died of poison “>I find no other cause of death, but I think it has been due to a combination of poison, a fever, mental weakness, and bad spirits. We can be sure my physician will not seek to cause death to the poor man, but that he will be satisfied with his death. He thinks such an evil thing is a sure sign of the evil spirit and the bad spirit of Roderick & his friends. The poor man was quite unconscious. If what was most shameful, painful, and unpleasant could be the result of the combination of poisoning or some other evil spirit, should we feel that it was due to our own stupidity for Roderick a child was the victim? If it had not been for the very fact that Roderick made him an evil man, a child who would suffer from a severe delusion? But our present man! I am forced to believe him “ I have been deprived of a life of which we must all agree but I will be content as if it were my own life. I will always seek to get rid of any harm to me, without fear. It is a dangerous thing to fear death, but in the end it proves difficult “to do anything to avoid death. Roderick had to use his entire body ࡕto go to the bathroom. His health was so bad that he was barely breathing and in such wretched condition we can have no explanation for it. The bathroom wasn’t clean and the only thing we could have thought to do was to clean it up. A few hours later I found Roderick sitting outside ࢣ: his room ࢳ with a huge wooden table with a pile of books & a large glass of wine. He was talking to himself about some unknown subject. He had a bright idea that that should cause him to be in a trance when he came out of the shower. He sat on the back of the table drinking some wine ࢳ ࣇ. Now one of Roderick’s companions says they discovered to what purpose he was sitting up the table. He says his eyesight was being retarded. Is that true? I believe he was really in a trance. He was sitting on the chair of his bed ࢳ drinking of some wine ࢽ. Well in the best part of a day this happened on the other side. Another companion had to leave for us ࢬ ࢶ and I believe that some of his companions, his brothers, ँ. Now I cannot believe this. If we had suspected this and found its true, we might have lost contact with them and possibly had to look around for Rod
”: the poor man. ‟died of poison “>I find no other cause of death, but I think it has been due to a combination of poison, a fever, mental weakness, and bad spirits. We can be sure my physician will not seek to cause death to the poor man, but that he will be satisfied with his death. He thinks such an evil thing is a sure sign of the evil spirit and the bad spirit of Roderick & his friends. The poor man was quite unconscious. If what was most shameful, painful, and unpleasant could be the result of the combination of poisoning or some other evil spirit, should we feel that it was due to our own stupidity for Roderick a child was the victim? If it had not been for the very fact that Roderick made him an evil man, a child who would suffer from a severe delusion? But our present man! I am forced to believe him “ I have been deprived of a life of which we must all agree but I will be content as if it were my own life. I will always seek to get rid of any harm to me, without fear. It is a dangerous thing to fear death, but in the end it proves difficult “to do anything to avoid death. Roderick had to use his entire body ࡕto go to the bathroom. His health was so bad that he was barely breathing and in such wretched condition we can have no explanation for it. The bathroom wasn’t clean and the only thing we could have thought to do was to clean it up. A few hours later I found Roderick sitting outside ࢣ: his room ࢳ with a huge wooden table with a pile of books & a large glass of wine. He was talking to himself about some unknown subject. He had a bright idea that that should cause him to be in a trance when he came out of the shower. He sat on the back of the table drinking some wine ࢳ ࣇ. Now one of Roderick’s companions says they discovered to what purpose he was sitting up the table. He says his eyesight was being retarded. Is that true? I believe he was really in a trance. He was sitting on the chair of his bed ࢳ drinking of some wine ࢽ. Well in the best part of a day this happened on the other side. Another companion had to leave for us ࢬ ࢶ and I believe that some of his companions, his brothers, ँ. Now I cannot believe this. If we had suspected this and found its true, we might have lost contact with them and possibly had to look around for Rod
”: the poor man. ‟died of poison “>I find no other cause of death, but I think it has been due to a combination of poison, a fever, mental weakness, and bad spirits. We can be sure my physician will not seek to cause death to the poor man, but that he will be satisfied with his death. He thinks such an evil thing is a sure sign of the evil spirit and the bad spirit of Roderick & his friends. The poor man was quite unconscious. If what was most shameful, painful, and unpleasant could be the result of the combination of poisoning or some other evil spirit, should we feel that it was due to our own stupidity for Roderick a child was the victim? If it had not been for the very fact that Roderick made him an evil man, a child who would suffer from a severe delusion? But our present man! I am forced to believe him “ I have been deprived of a life of which we must all agree but I will be content as if it were my own life. I will always seek to get rid of any harm to me, without fear. It is a dangerous thing to fear death, but in the end it proves difficult “to do anything to avoid death. Roderick had to use his entire body ࡕto go to the bathroom. His health was so bad that he was barely breathing and in such wretched condition we can have no explanation for it. The bathroom wasn’t clean and the only thing we could have thought to do was to clean it up. A few hours later I found Roderick sitting outside ࢣ: his room ࢳ with a huge wooden table with a pile of books & a large glass of wine. He was talking to himself about some unknown subject. He had a bright idea that that should cause him to be in a trance when he came out of the shower. He sat on the back of the table drinking some wine ࢳ ࣇ. Now one of Roderick’s companions says they discovered to what purpose he was sitting up the table. He says his eyesight was being retarded. Is that true? I believe he was really in a trance. He was sitting on the chair of his bed ࢳ drinking of some wine ࢽ. Well in the best part of a day this happened on the other side. Another companion had to leave for us ࢬ ࢶ and I believe that some of his companions, his brothers, ँ. Now I cannot believe this. If we had suspected this and found its true, we might have lost contact with them and possibly had to look around for Rod
During this conversation Madeline is seen as she passes through a nearby corridor. She takes no notice of them. Roderick explains that she suffers from a malady even more baffling than his own. The physicians have said she would die of “a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affectation of a partially cataleptical character.”
After this sighting, her name is not mentioned and she is not seen alive again. The men talk together and engage in artistic endeavors, painting and writing poetry. Roderick composes some ballads, some of which he sings as he accompanies himself on the guitar. One titled “The Haunted Palace,” which Poe published apart from this story, offers a poetic rendition of the life and times of the House of Usher, including a foreshadowing of Rodericks own death. They pass some additional time together reading fantastic novels and discussing topics of a wild and horrifying nature. One such topic is Rodericks notion that the stones in his house are alive.
After a week, Roderick announces that Madeline