The narrator is frightened. At this point, Usher reveals that he has known for
“many, many days” that he buried his sister alive in a crypt beneath the house
. Because of the heightened sensitivity of his senses, he has known for a long time that she was trying to break out of her vault.
What does Usher confess to the narrator during the final storm?
What confession does Usher make to the narrator during the final storm? Usher confesses
that they must have put Madeline in the vault alive.
What did the narrator see as he fled the house after Usher's death?
For, seeing a brilliant gleam in the night, the narrator turns to view
a moon that is “blood-red”
and the fissure from the roof of the Usher mansion to the base widening while the “mighty walls” mimic the panels of the house through which Madeline has brought death to Roderick as they “rush asunder,” destroying the ” …
What does Roderick Usher admit they have done without the narrator knowing?
What did Roderick admit they had done without the visitor knowing it?
They buried Roderick's sister alive
(foreshadowed by the rosiness of her cheeks and smile on her lips).
Why did Roderick bury Madeline alive?
The narrator spends several days trying to cheer up Roderick. … Madeline soon dies, and Roderick decides to bury her temporarily in the tombs below the house. He wants to keep her in the house because he
fears that the doctors might dig up her body for scientific examination
, since her disease was so strange to them.
Did Roderick have a motive for killing his twin sister?
It has already been demonstrated that Roderick's decision to hide away Madeline's body followed his burial of her while she was still alive. … Roderick, therefore, buried his sister alive
because his hypochondria caused him to fear that her disease might spread to him
. This is his motive for the murder.
What is Usher most afraid of?
What does Usher say is his biggest fear? What expectations does this set up about his fate? he is
afraid he is going to lose his sick sister
. This could mean he would go insane.
What does the narrator see when Roderick opens the window during the storm?
what does the narrator see when Roderick opens the window during the storm? he sees
a super strong short, and an unnatural light
.
How does Roderick keep the narrator from knowing Madeline is still alive?
In the story, the narrator had received a letter from Roderick, which was his childhood friend. How does Roderick keep the narrator from knowing that Madeline is still alive?
He rushed the closing of the casket once she starts moving, then chains her casket shut, and takes her body and buried her alive.
What disease does Madeline Usher have?
According to Roderick, Madeline suffers from
a cataleptic disease
that has gradually limited her mobility. As Roderick talks about his sister's illness, the narrator sees her pass through a distant part of the house.
What is wrong with Madeline?
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.
What happens to Roderick in the days after they bury Madeline?
How did Roderick change after Madeline's death? He becomes even more uneasy after Madeline's death
and constantly looks at the door
. What was unusual about the night Roderick couldn't sleep? There was a bright gas outside that surrounded only the house.
Why are Roderick and Madeline twins?
In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Roderick and Madeline are twins
to show that they are doubles or doppelgängers
. In Freudian thought, doppelgängers represent the uncanny, the parts of the self that are hidden and thus strange.
Is Roderick Usher insane?
Roderick Usher is not well. While parts of his affliction seem to manifest themselves physically, in his overly-acute senses, his
illness is primarily a mental one
.
Do I not distinguish that heavy and horrible beating of her heart?
Do I not distinguish that heavy and horrible beating of her heart?
Madman!
”—here he sprang furiously to his feet, and shrieked out his syllables, as if in the effort he were giving up his soul—“Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door!”
What does Roderick tell the narrator about his sister?
What does Roderick tell the narrator about his sister and himself?
They have a nervous disease and are dying
.
