The Fall of the House of Usher Summary

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

Initial Gloom and the House

  • Narrator approaches the melancholy House of Usher on horseback during a dreary autumn day, experiencing an insufferable gloom.

  • The narrator is unnerved by the house's appearance, finding it a mystery beyond simple analysis.

  • An experiment of looking at the house's reflection in a tarn deepens the narrator's unease.

Roderick Usher and His Condition

  • The narrator arrives at the House of Usher after receiving a disturbing letter from his childhood friend, Roderick Usher, who suffers from acute bodily and mental illness.

  • The Usher family is noted for a peculiar sensibility, artistic works, charity, and devotion to musical science.

  • The Usher lineage lacks enduring branches, leading to the family and mansion being merged in the minds of the peasantry.

The Atmosphere and Roderick's Sensibilities

  • The narrator perceives a pestilent, mystic vapor surrounding the mansion and domain.

  • Roderick suffers from a morbid acuteness of the senses, including intolerance to certain foods, textures, odors, light, and sounds.

  • Roderick is terrorized by the future and any incident that may operate upon his agitation of soul.

Madeline Usher and the Entombed Sister

  • Roderick is affected by superstitious impressions regarding the dwelling and the approaching death of his sister, Madeline.

  • Lady Madeline suffers from a wasting disease with cataleptical symptoms.

  • After Madeline succumbs to her illness, Roderick intends to preserve her corpse for a fortnight in a vault within the house's walls due to the unusual character of her malady and the remote burial-ground location.

The Vault and Roderick's Deterioration

  • The narrator assists Usher in placing Madeline's encoffined body in a small, damp vault beneath the narrator's apartment.

  • The vault had been used as a donjon-keep and a place for combustible substances, with a massive iron door.

  • After Madeline's entombment, Roderick's mental disorder intensifies, marked by changes in his manner, neglect of occupations, and terrifying behavior.

The Storm, the Story, and the Sounds

  • On the seventh or eighth night after Madeline's entombment, the narrator experiences intense nervousness and horror.

  • Usher enters the narrator's room during a storm, and they open a casement to the tempestuous night, revealing an unnatural light enshrouding the mansion.

  • The narrator reads "Mad Trist" of Sir Launcelot Canning to Usher, and the sounds described in the story strangely echo within the house.

The Revelation and the Fall

  • Usher reveals he has been hearing Madeline's movements in the coffin for days but was too afraid to speak.

  • Usher believes Madeline is outside the door, and the panels open to reveal the enshrouded figure of the bloodied Lady Madeline.

  • Madeline falls upon Roderick, and both die.

  • The narrator flees the mansion, witnessing a wild light and the widening fissure in the house as the full, blood-red moon shines through.

  • The House of Usher collapses into the deep and dank tarn.