Class Summary- The Fall of the House of Usher

So today we discussed Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." While once again there was an awkward silence in the beginning before anyone began talking, attention was brought to the condition of the house as well as the lyrics to the "wild fantasia" of Roderick Usher. The house overall seems to be perfectly intact, but the individual parts (stones) are all decaying and crawling with a white mold. The windows are described as vacant and eye-like, while the mold is seen to be hanging from the roof. This description calls to mind a head- the head of Roderick Usher! Since he has a twin (Madeleine) her "head" appears reflected in the tarn above which the physical House of Usher is set. Going into the house, then, represents a psychological tour of Roderick's mind. A hypochondriac and a man terrified of anybody finding out about his mysteriously ill sister, Rodney is also extremely guilty for what he is doing to the single line of the house of Usher- he refuses to...er...partake in incest with his sister to continue the lineage. Thus, he locks her in a tomb choosing to believe that she is dead in the hope that everyone will forget about her.

Freud's "iceberg" philosophy also come up during discussion. While Freud theorized after this story was written, "TFOTHOS" nonetheless is parallel with his ideas. An iceberg only reveals its top section to the world- this is the "ego," represented by Roderick, since he is the dominant individual in the Usher lineage and his "head" stands above the water. The sister is the "id," or the basement of the brain, characterized by instincts and basic emotions. Not surprisingly, she is locked in the cellar and her "head" is in the water. The narrator represents the "superego," which retains the collective sense of what is acceptable by society's standards (based on the ego and id). The three are inseparable, and all exist at all times at varying degrees. It is important to note how the House of Usher falls apart in the end once Maddy "awakens" and kills Rodney, spreading its broken parts into the tarn.