of Roderick Usher, and its dim interior is, in fact, Roderick Usher’s visionary mind” (edt. in Wilbur 264).To understand the relationship of the house to the narrator, it is important to first understand the relationship of the narrator to Roderick. As the narrator stands at the very edge of the tarn, looking into the reflection of the house, he remembers Roderick’s letter and the fact that he was Roderick’s close and only friend. He also considers the nature of the letter and the reasons given for Roderick’s request. “It was the manner in which all this, and much more, was said—it was the apparent heart that went with his request—which allowed me no room for hesitation; and I accordingly obeyed forthwith what I still considered a very singular summons” (Poe 1158). During the next several days of the narrator’s visit, Roderick switches between a gifted and creative maniac and a foreseer of doom. Roderick discusses his impressions of his illness and his superstitions, and these begin to greatly influence the narrator.As Roderick explains his fears to the narrator, the narrator begins to experience those same fears himself. He begins to share the illusions that Roderick experiences as his own. “It is Usher, for example, who remarks to the suggestible narrator that the house is alive and has exerted a malignant influence on his mind” (Thompson 92). Patrick Quinn, in his article, “The French Face of Edgar Poe,” describes the narrator’s experiences as he arrives at the House of Usher. “The narrator of this story does not come upon the conditions of everyday life at Usher’s house. Rather the reverse: he has left everyday life behind him when he enters upon a scene in which decay and death are the presiding elements. His lapse is into a dreamlike state, and a hideous veil has been let down rather than removed” (317). The lon...
