Gothic Romanticism Questions

Gothic Romanticism Questions

"The Fall Of The House Of Usher"



Mr.Usher sent a letter to his childhood friend to come and visit him because he is suffering from some sort of illness or depression. When his friend arrives he realizes that the illness of  Mr. Ushers mind is mainly revolving around his sister, Madeline Usher.

One could say that Madeline Usher resembles a vampire from the way she looks, and Mr. Usher admitted that they were twins and that he cared for her deeply. Once Madeline deceased Mr. Usher placed her body in a tomb and locked her in the dungeon with iron doors. Once Mr. Usher put her in the dungeon he became very nervous that someone was going to find out about her. He always seemed like he needed to tell his friend something but he could never spit it out so he would work around it until one night when Mr. Usher went into his friends room and the friend started to hear the sounds. Mr. Usher then explained that it happens every night for the past few week and said: "Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door!....there did stand the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of Usher. There was blood upon her white robes, and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame".


Gothic Fiction authors express their criticism of human nature through their characters and the way they make them in the story. The authors usually put the characters as having some kind of mental illness, selfish, insane, etc. Such as in "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" he mocks how the human nature think that only being beautiful is when we are young and the people believe that being young is the most important thing. Also in "The Masque of the Red Death" it shows that most people run away from their problems instead of facing them. You can never run from your problems because they will always be right there with you instead you should concur them.