Romanticism in "The Fall of the House of Usher"

        Not only does the house have an effect on Ushers appearance but also makes him go mad. Usher’s sister, Madeline is sick and is eventually thought to be dead. One sign that shows he is imagining is when the narrator tells the reader that Usher is sitting in the room listening to an imaginary sound that does not seem to be there. The most important is when Usher thinks his sister is dead, when she has only fainted. Poe gives the reader clues about the truth while the narrator and Usher are putting Madeline’s body in the tomb. The narrator notices that Madeline still has color in her face, a flushed look even, so he suspects something but still carries on with the burial. Eventually they find out the truth and realize Usher only imagined Madeline’s death. There are other signs in the story when the narrator tells the reader that Usher is sitting in the room listening to an imaginary sound.

        Poe also incorporates the supernatural into the story by giving life to Madeline. What is strange is that while the two friends, Usher and the narrator, and reading a story they hear noises within the house that resemble the ones contained in the story. Usher is panicking, him knowing that it is Madeline coming to get revenge on him for burying her alive. She enters the room gasping for breath and then strangles her brother to death before they both fall to the ground dead.  How could she still be alive after a week with no food or water? How did she escape her tightly closed tomb in the basement? There is probably no chance this would happen so there fore it is supernatural.

        The connection between Roderick Usher and his house is unexplainable. Poe likes to let the reader fill in whatever they want to help tell or end the story. This was one of his best Romanists pieces. Human/nature connection, the imagination of characters, and the supernatural are the best elements from Romanticism that are used in The Fall of the House of Usher.