"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story that was written by Edgar Allan Poe. It was published in 1839.
You know, I sometimes wonder what sort of person this Poe fellow really was. His works are pretty consistent so far. I've noticed a repeating theme of a woman coming back from the dead. Is that his fetish?!
Aside from the latter statement, "The Fall of the House of Usher" is actually about the possibility that a house can become sentient. The idea that you are living within a living consciousness is a spooky thing to think about. Although this story is horrendously overwritten, it was easy enough to follow and see where it was going. I liked it.
As to the resurrected female thing, I don't hate that he keeps including it in his stories. He seems to really obsess over the whole idea that you can't entirely get away from some women. And there's always the possibility that it's in the insane mind of the hero. You can never tell. A man's obsession can do strange things.
As an aside, I've noticed through reading his stories that he seems like he is trying very hard to convey one message, but he doesn't ever seem like he's doing a very good job. His solution seems to try and tell the story over and over again until he gets what he wants. Earlier stories seem more like prototypes than anything else. It's an interesting experience. That said, he does overwrite his stuff unnecessarily, and I consider that a weakness.
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is worth the read. I do recommend it for its perfectly spooky atmosphere. You can almost hear the horror soundtrack playing while reading this one. Give it a try.
This blog was written on February 16, 2022.
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He married his first cousin when she was 13 and he was 27. She died of tuberculosis about eleven years later and it drove him mad. Her death is the inspiration for most of his work. He also had a phobia of being buried alive and worried that he may have accidently buried his beloved wife alive. NOTE: It was quite common in his day for people to be accidently presumed dead and buried alive.
ReplyDeleteDang, this man's life was messed up. He probably was crazy in some ways.
DeleteInteresting how his obsessions inspired his work. I think the overwriting comes from that people were paid by the word back then, but it doesn't excuse his pomp haha. But then again it could have just been from madness. As a side note Roger Corman made the story into a movie starring Vincent Price, it's not bad.
ReplyDeleteI want to see this movie. It sounds awesome!
DeleteWhen writing, things come out that we may or may not have intended. Poe was a gloomy individual who benefited greatly from his muse. He was inspired to reach into the depths of his soul and place his misery on the page.
ReplyDeleteGloomy but with a huge ego. This stuff is very over-written, Don.
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