Edgar Allan Poe - The Fall of the House of Usher

The Usher house is constructed like the human psyche The Usher house is constructed as the human psyche and this can be seen even from the beginning of the short story. Ed ard !. "avidson says in his book Poe: A Critical Study that this short story is constructed as a detailed account of the derangement and dissipation of an individual's personality" and that the house itself becomes a sym olic em odiment of this individual!"
Sha"ing off from my spirit #hat must have een a dream$ % scanned more narro#ly the real aspect of the uilding! %ts principal feature seemed to e that of an e&cessive anti'uity! The discoloration of ages had een great! (inute fungi overspread the #hole e&terior$ hanging in a fine tangled #e )#or" from the eaves! *et all this #as apart from any e&traordinary dilapidation! +o portion of the masonry had fallen, and there appeared to e a #ild inconsistency et#een its still perfect adaptation of parts$ and the crum ling condition of the individual stones! %n this there #as much that reminded me of the specious totality of old #ood)#or" #hich has rotted for long years in some neglected vault$ #ith no distur ance from the reath of the e&ternal air! -eyond this indication of e&tensive decay$ ho#ever$ the fa ric gave little to"en of insta ility! Perhaps the eye of a scrutinising o server might have discovered a arely percepti le fissure$ #hich$ e&tending from the roof of the uilding in front$ made its #ay do#n the #all in a .ig.ag direction$ until it ecame lost in the sullen #aters of the tarn!

#e can see from this paragraph that the construction of the house resembles the construction of a psyche that once as e$cessive % the discoloration of ages had been great& and that is still standing to its greatness - no portion of the masonry had fallen& but hich is no kno ing its decay % the crumbling condition of the individual stones& old ood- ork hich has rotten& etc. The fissure hich is barely perceptive represents& according to "avidson& "an irreconcila le fracture in the individual's personality!" The personality is devided& is doubled' the mind and the intellect is represented by (oderick& hile the senses such as seeing& hearing& touching& tasting and smelling are represented by )adeline. (oderick and )adeline are t ins& they have a spiritual connection& they cannot be separated. *ust as the intellect cannot detached itself from its physical t in& (oderick cannot live ithout )adeline& his senses+ his condition deteriorates& he begins to suffer from an ,...intolerable agitation of the soul as soon as they are apart.
To an anomalous species of terror % found him a ounden slave! "% shall perish$" said he$ "% must perish in this deplora le folly! Thus$ thus$ and not other#ise$ shall % e lost! % dread the events of the future$ not in themselves$ ut in their results! % shudder at the thought of any$ even the most trivial$ incident$ #hich may operate upon this intolera le agitation of soul! % have$ indeed$ no a horrence of danger$ e&cept in its a solute effect ))in terror! %n this unnerved)in this pitia le condition ))% feel that the period #ill sooner or later arrive #hen % must a andon life and reason together$ in some struggle #ith the grim phantasm$ F/A0!"

The separation of the t o cannot be done+ )adeline returns from her death to reunite ith her maddened t in& hich sho s that the mind can neither live nor die ithout its physical counterpart& the senses. And once they ere reunited& the house % the symbol of the deranged individual& started crashing in the tarn.

123%t #as the #or" of the rushing gust )) ut then #ithout those doors there 4%4 stand the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady (adeline of Usher! There #as lood upon her #hite ro es$ and the evidence of some itter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame! For a moment she remained trem ling and reeling to and fro upon the threshold$ then$ #ith a lo# moaning cry$ fell heavily in#ard upon the person of her rother$ and in her violent and no# final death)agonies$ ore him to the floor a corpse$ and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated! 5hile % ga.ed$ this fissure rapidly #idened ))there came a fierce reath of the #hirl#ind ))the entire or of the satellite urst at once upon my sight ))my rain reeled as % sa# the mighty #alls rushing asunder ))there #as a long tumultuous shouting sound li"e the voice of a thousand #aters ))and the deep and dan" tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the "H6US/ 6F USH/0!"