Q&A: when the house falls... do our spirits fall as well?
In 'The Fall of the House of Usher', the narrator finds the Usher household creepy. And rightfully so, everything about the family is gross, from the incestual family line to the grimy building. The mansion, in "crumbling condition", showing "discoloration of ages" and "minute fungi overspread the whole exterior", hints at negligence (179). The family line itself is also dying out, leaving only two heirs to the bloodline, Roderick and Madeline. With all this being said, would it be so bad to forget about their existence....? Understanding the magnitude of this family's wealth and power in the past is crucial. Although the narrator and Roderick were family friends growing up, they grew apart and Roderick hasn't made friends since, saying the narrator is "his only personal friend" (178). The Ushers, not even integrated into society and just having all this money in the middle of nowhere, can even be considered selfish, even detrime...