Q. What happens to the narrator at the end of the Fall of the House of Usher?
The wind blows open the door and confirms Roderick’s fears: Madeline stands in white robes bloodied from her struggle. She attacks Roderick as the life drains from her, and he dies of fear. The narrator flees the house. As he escapes, the entire house cracks along the break in the frame and crumbles to the ground.
Q. What role does the narrator play in the Fall of the House of Usher?
The narrator acts as a pair of eyes observing the goings on within the Usher house, where Usher and Madeleine have been living solitary and in suffering.
Q. What is the message of the fall of the House of Usher?
Study Guide. Fear is a pervasive theme throughout “The Fall of the House of Usher,” playing a prominent role in the lives of the characters. The story shows that fear and imagination feed off one another. The narrator is afraid of the old mansion, even though there is no specific threat.
Q. How does Madeline die?
Madeline Usher dies as a result of having been entombed alive by her brother, Roderick. She frees herself from her coffin but succumbs to starvation, dehydration, and terror.
Q. Why did Madeline Usher die?
Madeline suffers from a form of seizure disorder called catalepsy. An important fact to remember is that victims of this disease could enter into a state like a coma in which they appeared to be dead. Madeline, who has been gradually growing sicker, appears to die, and is buried by Roderick and the narrator.
Q. Is Lady Madeline a ghost?
At some point, Madeline regains consciousness and, in a feat of immense strength, forces her way out. She appears before Roderick, covered in blood, and collapses on top of him, killing them both. By this interpretation, Madeline is indeed dead when Roderick decides to bury her, and she returns in a ghostly form.
Q. Did Roderick mean to bury Madeline alive?
Roderick later informs the narrator that Madeline has died. Fearing that her body will be exhumed for medical study, Roderick insists that she be entombed for two weeks in the family tomb located in the house before being permanently buried.
Q. Who is to blame for the fall of the House of Usher?
In Poe’s story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Roderick is truly the one who should take full blame for the deaths …show more content… Roderick and Madeline appear to have a special type of twin telepathy. They can even see what the other person sees from time to time.
Q. What do Roderick and Madeline represent?
Roderick functions as a doppelganger, or character double, for his twin sister, Madeline. He represents the mind to her body and suffers from the mental counterpart of her physical illness.
