Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” was first published in Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine, a journal that published essays, fiction, reviews, and poems, as well as articles on sailing, hunting, and cricket. This story is an example of Gothic literature, a literary genre that began in England in the late 1700s. The whole story seems to typify the Gothic style, which appealed to Edgar Allan Poe’s dark view of the world: bleak or remote settings, macabre or violent incidents, characters in psychological and/or physical torment, supernatural or otherworldly elements, and strong language full of dangerous meanings. Poe shows Roderick Usher and his sister, lady Madeline, who have terribly contracted their mysterious maladies and dwelt in the remote house which has taken on the atmosphere of an unknown threat.
The landscape features of the House of Usher are melancholy. There seems to be something mysterious going on around there. The servant, the physician of the family, and things which are inside the mansion, such as the carvings of the ceilings, the somber tapestries of the walls, the ebon blackness of the floors, and the fantastic or dreamlike armorial trophies radiate vague sentiments. The vault which was small, damp, and entirely without means of admission for light; lying, at great depth, immediately beneath that portion of the building where the narrator slept was also a region of horror.
With such an unlikely main situation, ideas may seem unimportant, but one can nevertheless find a number of ideas in the story. Some of these are that commitment is more important than intimidation and violence, that people may find justification for even the most contradictory actions, that responsibility makes people do and say unusual and foolish things, and that lifelong commitments may not be sustained in the imagined landscape. One of the story’s major ideas is that even if human beings are intimidated and menaced by strong mystical and mysterious fear, their commitment to responsibility is stronger. Realistically and harmoniously, this idea is manifested through Roderick Usher’s recreations and resistance, as well as lady Madeline’s struggle and counterattack.