Edgar Allan Poe: life, works, and literary influence

Edgar Allen Poe is one of the most famous American authors, but many of his works are not explicitly about the American experience. His "gothic" fiction is filled with suspense, the macabre, the grotesque, and the dark side of human nature. However, a deeper analysis of Poe's works can reveal parallels between his fiction and the American experience. One of Poe's works that can particularly symbolize and exemplify the American experience is his short story "The Fall of the House of Usher." While Poe may not have intended the symbolism and motifs in "The Fall of the House of Usher" to represent the American experience, there are several elements in the story that show that the author was at least on some level aware of the connection. In several ways, Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a parable of the American experience because the author illustrates the illusory glory of paternity, the myth of material success, and the presence of incriminating dark secrets.

One of the main problems plaguing the Usher family is the ending of the family name. The "House of Usher" not only refers to the physical mansion but to the patrilineal line that ends with Roderick. Poe's childhood friend, with whom he was not particularly close, has descended into madness for many reasons. One of these is his acute disturbance and disappointment with his inability to carry on his father's name. The "fall" of the House of Usher refers not only to the destruction of the house at the finish of the tale but also to the termination of the official family name. Roderick's keen sense of responsibility stems from the intense pressure placed upon his by his father and the rest of his family. This is not unique to the American experience, but during the time "The Fall of the House of Usher" was written, paternity and patrilineality were far more important to American culture than they are today. Thus, the story symbolizes the illusory, dysfunctional nature of traditional patriarchy in America. Lady Madeline being buried alive also indicates that the suppression of the female is a symptom of general societal illness.

Poe further illuminates the American experience through "The Fall of the House of Usher" by portraying the fallacy of material success. The House of Usher, far from being a regal home, is a decrepit "mansion of gloom." As such, the House of Usher is a symbol for the homeland of America. The Usher family obviously enjoyed a large degree of material success. However, because of the incumbent pressures on Roderick and his twin to conform to the ideals of the American Dream, the House literally falls to pieces. The author does not necessarily imply that life in America is filled with gloom and oppression. Rather, Poe proves that the good life in America is not necessarily dependent on material goods.

A more subtle way in which Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" parallels the American experience is in the existence of deep, dark, deathly secrets. The American government, even in Poe's time, believed itself to be righteous even in times of abject corruption. For example, slavery and the degradation of women were salient issues in Poe's time. They were also secrets that the American government buried alive, much as Roderick buried Lady Madeline alive in his own home. In modern times, the secrets that the American government keeps are deeper and darker still.