Synopsis

The story relates the final death of the last of the Ushers and the destruction of the house, The “House of Usher” being synonymous in the area with both the family and the building. The decline of the persons are mirrored in the decline of the state of the building, which includes a huge jagged crack from roof to foundation. Usher thinks that the house and surrounding vegetation are alive and that he is tied to it. The final straw comes after accidentally burying Usher’s sister alive, she escapes her tomb and attacks Roderick Usher, killing him, at which time the wind and lightning destroy the house and it sinks into the lake around it.

History

First publication: Published in September 1839 in Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine.

Possible sources of inspiration are a real story of a house owned by the Usher family in Boston where a husband kills his wife and her sailor lover, A story by Hoffmann titled “Das Majorat” (1819), a story by Heinrich Clauren titled “The Robber’s Castle” (1812) and Walpole’s Castle of Otranto (1764) which is credited as the first gothic novel.

Review