Decadent Style Decadent Writing During

Decadent Style

Decadent writing during the 19th century took several forms. At its basis was the increasing decadence of society, along with the decay of the feudal system, the hold of the Church and the power of those associated with these institutions. Gothic literature therefore lent itself with particular poignancy to the depiction of declining values and institutions of this time. As such, Edgar Allan Poe frequently treated in his gothic works the themes of royal decadence and decline, with its concomitant mental and physical decay. While he also worked in other genres such as poetry and detective fiction, Poe's depiction in the decadent style was most evident in the fiction that is today classified within the horror genre. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is an example of such a work.

The elements, images and themes in this well-constructed all conspire to depict Poe's central image of decay and indeed of decadence. When the first paragraph of "The Fall of the House of Usher" is for example examined, it filled with linguistic and symbolic imagery. None of this imagery bodes well for the narrator. Everything is focused upon decay and degradation, spelling little hope for the occupants inside or indeed for the narrator as visiting and possibly helpful friend. Indeed, even the weather contributes towards the gloom of the scene, as can be derived from the opening sentence of the story:

During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. (Poe, par. 1)

Another element of decadence that becomes clear in this sentence is the sense of isolation. The narrator travels alone. Despite the gloom and the approaching evening however, there is not so much a sense of immediate danger as there is one of future, impending doom. This atmosphere is accomplished by the rhythm of the narration. The most obvious rhythmic element is the sentence length. The long sentence provides a large amount of information pertaining to atmosphere rather than action. The only indication of movement in the sentence is the narrator's horse. The pace is slowed considerable through descriptive elements, as well as expressions such as "at length" and "dreary." These words visually and aurally slow the pace of movement through the country. The visual length of the sentence does the same thing; the narrator engages a number of the reader's senses to portray a sense of not only loneliness, but also of slow travel, physical exhaustion and emotional depression. The sentence furthermore visualizes the end of the journey by ending with the name of the narrator's destination: the House of Usher. The reader can almost hear the dark tolling of large bells when reading the name of the House.

The emotion depicted by the opening sentence is emphasized by the gloomy tone of the description. Words to this effect include "dull, dark," "oppressively" and "melancholy." These words demonstrate in no certain terms the emotions inspired by the scene, and furthermore predict the state of the occupants in the House of Usher. Interestingly, the narrator reveals only slightly later that the House of Usher is a phrase used to refer both to the building itself and the Usher family that occupies it. The only remaining members of the long line of Usher is a brother and sister, both of whom have falling ill and are declining at a steady pace. This human decline is predicted by the decay and decline of the house that the narrator describes before even seeing the shocking state of the brother, his friend.

When continuing with the description in his first paragraph, the narrator offers his audience no relief from the stark surroundings of his destination, nor does he experience any relief himself. He emphasizes the unusual gloominess with a comparison:

the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasurable, because poetic, sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible" (Poe, par. 1).

Regardless even of the narrator's efforts to relieve the gloomy vision of the house by changing his viewing angle, the gloom persists stubbornly. So extreme is the gloom that the narrator uses progressive extremes in comparison and diction to describe it. He suffers for example an "utter depression of soul," progressing from the mere physical and mental depression of the long journey and gloomy surroundings. Every single natural element surrounding the House of Usher, including shrubs and trees, contribute to the gloom rather than relieving it. Interestingly, he compares the progressive depression of his soul to a return from an opium-induced revelry. This is also particularly an element of decadence: mind-altering drugs. The surroundings of the House of Usher therefore act as the reality of a specifically gloomy life, from which escape might be sought by means of substances such as opium.

These initial images of mental states that alternate between revelry and extreme gloom serves to foreshadow both the physical and mental state of the occupant of the House. Later in the narration, it is revealed that Roderick Usher had summoned the narrator with a letter depicting his suffering from a malady affecting both his senses and his psychology. The narrator has been summoned to provide assistance in the form of friendship and companionship. In the light of later events, this summons can therefore be seen as a desperate and final attempt to relieve the constant mental anguish of inevitable decay and final death. The narrator can even be regarded as a type of "opium" to help Roderick escape, even if only temporarily, from his suffering.

The narrator starkly contrasts his mental reaction to the scene with the physical realities that the demands of rationality forces him to consider. The imposition of reality does not however last long. Continuing with his first paragraph, the narrator's references to the "mere house" and "simple landscape features of the domain" again degenerate into personifications such as "vacant eye-like windows," indicating that there is a merge of reality and horror. This is followed by the opium comparison, which in turn indicates that reality has become the horror and fantasy the relief. Reality must however always impose itself again, without any escape. As such, the narrator finds himself with little choice than to succumb:

There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart -- an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime." (Poe, par. 1).

In the sentence above, there is a strong ambiguity in the word "torture" to denote the extreme sense of negativity the narrator is experiencing. The progression of gloom, demonstrated by diction such as "iciness," "sinking" and "sickening of heart," is so strong that not even torture could be used on the imagination to force even an inkling of a more positive "sublime," or of even a memory of relief from the utter gloom of the landscape, surroundings and house itself.

In the second part of the paragraph, it is as if the narrator suddenly experiences a reawakening, or a sense of sudden questioning. He pauses and thinks about his perception of the House of Usher. It is here that the separation of reality and the extreme gloom around the narrator attempts to reassert itself in doubt. Rationality leads the narrator to an attempt in changing the scene, which fails. The narrator is forced to return to his former conclusion, that a supernatural gloom has inserted itself into simple objects of landscape and building to create a perpetual doom that is inescapable.

Indeed, the perpetuity and inevitability of this doom is no less pressing when the narrator approaches the house, or enters it to see his friend, Roderick Usher. The progression of gloom is further emphasized by the state of Roderick, who is shockingly pale and wan. He is however no longer alone, and indeed, the narrator's visit appears to offer some temporary relief. Furthermore, Roderick also initially indicates that his malady is not fatal, and is likely to pass with time. Nevertheless, it later becomes clear that both this assessment and the relief offered by the narrator are temporary, and Roderick continues his descent into mental instability until his end. This could be compared with the role of opium in the beginning paragraph. As already indicated, the narrator serves as a temporary, opium-like escape from reality. The terrible reality however always lurks closely to reclaim its position. Hence it was impossible for the narrator to change anything in the progressing fall.

In fact, even the narrator progressively succumbs to the psychological effects of his friend's condition. This works concomitantly with other decadent stylistic elements Poe often uses in his gothic literature. Life and death exist side by side in the House of Usher; one often posing as the other. In the beginning, the narrator describes that the house has not yet fallen, but that the decay of the building is so extreme, it is unlikely to remain upright for long. The same is true of the people inside. They live in a kind of living death, waiting for the end to claim them.

The idea of dual life and death culminates in Roderick's sister, whose image in perceived death is one of smiling peace, almost as if still alive. The narrator's comparison of her similarity to her brother can be interpreted both literally and more supernaturally. As Roderick explains, they are twins. It is only however when he believes her to have died that the narrator makes this comparison, indicating a rather more morbid interpretation: she is dead, and he is close to it.