derstand his fear and the complexity of his insanity. As he is doing this, he ignored the fact that he was gaining his own fear. The fear is passed on to the narrator. “It was no wonder that his condition terrified -- that it infected me. I felt it creeping upon me, by slow yet certain degrees, the wild influences of his own fantastic yet impressive superstitions.” The one character that had maintained his rationality in the beginning of the story, had now fallen into fear himself. When Madeline returned from her coffin, both characters had become taken with fear. Their hearts were pounding with each step that she took toward the room they were in. Once she finally reached them, that was the end; none of the characters were able to handle the fear that was eating inside them. Roderick and his sister went down with the house when it collapsed; the Usher name remained no longer. The narrator escaped the house before it collapsed, but the story is unclear as to whether he totally escaped his fears by leaving the mansion. Roderick managed to bring about his own madness and death by refusing to face and conquer fear. He became the victim of “the grim phantasm.” His situation may have been different had he faced his fears earlier instead of waiting helplessly for fear and superstition to destroy him. The recurring concept of fear in the story showed its power and impact on humanity. Poe demonstrated the negative influence of fear by showing the reader it can lead to insanity as it did in the case of Roderick Usher and the narrator. However, fear can be beneficial because it can produce a sense of knowledge and courage if it is faced. Poe was advising readers not to retreat in the face of fear. He also showed that fear could be passed on to others. Ultimately, the story proves that fears must be recognized in order to be overcome. Edgar Allan Poe first used gothic images to set up the fear in his ...
