The Fall of the House of Usher
by Edgar Allen Poe
The Fall of the House of Usher is a 28-page short story. As a mental health professional, I found the book’s examination of generational trauma remarkable. Poe personifies trauma in the form of a ghost making it easier for the reader to see, evaluate, and learn from. Because this is the Therapist Book Nook, here are the mental health themes I found to be relevant to my practice as a therapist and mental health advocate:
- How darkness envelops and transforms us when we’re in its presence and long after.
- When forgotten or suppressed, the specter of pain lingers and haunts us.
- The manifestation of trauma on the physical body
Finally, I will explore the writing:
- The world building
- The characters
- The plot
Trigger warning: This post delves into somber themes, exploring the existence of evil in the world. It’s important that we navigate this type of content in a way that honors our level of tolerance and need for boundaries. In my journey, I’ve found that having space to grapple with these issues is a skill that’s built over time. It requires patience, and a lot of self-compassion. That said, if we can build our tolerance to hold compassion for this type of distress and pain, perhaps a deeper connection with truth is available.
Mental Health Themes In The Fall of the House of Usher
How darkness envelops and transforms us when we’re in its presence and long after
The main character, an unnamed narrator, arrives at the House of Usher to visit his friend Rodrick. Terror oozes from the cracks of the home and enters his viscera before he enters the residence.
He says, “I know now how it was–but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my soul.”
From a nervous system trauma lens, the narrator’s unconscious neuroception evaluates the environment and detects danger. Like many of us, this unnamed narrator’s social conditioning prompts him to override his nervous system’s response. Yet our nervous system knows. Perhaps, the narrator predicted the regret he may feel if he abandoned his friend, and used this rationale to suppress his deep sense of knowing that he should run the other direction. The narrator was invited to the House of Usher by his dear friend Rodrick, who was diagnosed with a grave physical condition and needed support.
As the narrator gets closer to the suffering Rodrick, he says, “And thus, as a closer and still closer intimacy admitted me more unreservedly into the recesses of his spirit, the more bitterly did I perceive the futility of all attempt at cheering a mind from which darkness, as if an inherent positive quality, poured forth upon all objects of the moral and physical universe in one unceasing radiation of gloom.” As the narrator remains in the House of Usher for several days, he says that a nervousness “had dominion over me.”
We might think ourselves superhuman, strong enough to hold space for grievous pain, yet sometimes, the human spirit breaks under these conditions. While his intention may have been to lighten the load and offer support, sometimes the forces of evil suffocate one’s ability to access that brightness.
I experienced this at times when I worked in child welfare. Upon knowledge of wretched child abuse, my worldview changed. I changed. I couldn’t choose to unknow that terror. No longer living in a world where all humans’ fundamental essence was kindness, I grappled with the fact that all humans are capable of the most vile acts under certain circumstances. We may cross a threshold from which we can’t return to the happy delusion that life is a place of good. And yet, I am comforted by seeking a deeper understanding into the binary of good and evil, as I know it is the truth, and the truth is grounding.
When forgotten or suppressed, the specter of pain lingers and haunts us.
The main character has a physical condition, yet he recognizes that its actual cause is a seemingly genetic condition that appears to be more of a passing of generational trauma.
“He [Rodrick] entered, at some length, into what he conceived to be the nature of his malady. It was, he said, a constitutional and a family evil, and one for which he despaired to find a remedy…”
From a Parts Work perspective, when individuals undergo profound trauma or darkness that overwhelms their spirit, their psyche may fragment as a defense mechanism, shielding the individual from the intensity of the experience. However, this fragmentation can make the source of the wound difficult to access and heal. It’s as though the wounds get exiled from the Self. This breakdown isn’t a deliberate choice but rather a subconscious response to the trauma that aims to preserve the individual’s functioning.
Yet the exiled parts often haunt the person from which they split as well as their loved ones. That spectral vibe is subtle, and if you rely only on logic and reason, you may will swear it’s not there at all. It will haunt generations to come until someone has the safety and tolerance to see and hold the suffering.
To learn more, you may check out Narratives of Disembodiment: How Ghost Stories Teach Us About Trauma by Mary McCampbell.
The manifestation of trauma on the physical body
When our trauma stays stuck in the spectral realm, its unresolved vibration (chronic stress response) attack our biology. If this interests you, you may enjoy What Happened to You by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey.
The Writing in The Fall of the House of Usher
World Building
If there is a best part, this is it. The descriptions of the different areas of the house came to me without effort. I wasn’t merely envisioning the scenes; I was immersed in them. Edgar Allen Poe used strong words strung together in an eerie rhythm. For example, “she succumbed…to the prostrating power of the destroyer,” a lovely example of alliteration (s and p) and assonance in the oy-er sound.
Characters
- The absence of Lady Madeline is a powerful character. It builds tension because we wonder what happened to her. While the author doesn’t come right out and tell us, we sense that she passed in an unsavory way. Her arch is bitter and victorious at the same time.
- The house is a character with its magnetic evil, trapping water and decaying trees. Its character arch holds the story like a set of parentheses.
- I’ve explored Rodrick, the main character, adequately in the themes, but he certainly embodies the essence of unresolved trauma.
Plot
I’m not an avid short story reader, but I found this approach surprisingly effective. Its minimalist style focused sharply on essential story elements without unnecessary complications. It felt like jumping into the middle of a narrative, leaving me curious about the backstory.
That curiosity led me to discover the Netflix series “The Fall of The House of Usher,” which you might also appreciate. It delves adequately into the backstory, offering a satisfying exploration. Additionally, the series boasts commendable queer representation and integrates themes of corruption stemming from power, wealth, and capitalism.
