Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809, to his mother Eliza Poe. Edgar’s father left them not long after he was born. When his mother died in 1811, he became a foster child of Frances and John Allan. After going to school, Poe moved in with his aunt Marie Clemm, and her young daughter Virginia. Eventually, Poe and Virginia got married at the ages of 13, and 26. But, in 1847, Virginia died and Poe was alone again. Loneliness seems to be a theme in many of is stories, and it probably has to do with the abundance of death around him, which always ended up leaving him by himself. The Fall of the House of Usher shows how family expectations can tear them apart. Many of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories incorporated elements of Romantic and Gothic Literature. The Fall of the House of Usher had many Gothic elements in the anecdote. The story takes place in a castle and has many overwrought emotions from a set of siblings. There are a number of inexplicable events, and a woman in distress because of her family’s expectations. Poe also threw in Romantic elements, such as imagination and looking to the past for wisdom, because Roderick Usher must pursue his family’s footsteps to keep the family name alive. …show more content…
He has become distraught, and tortured by many things encompassing him. Roderick is only able to wear clothes of a certain texture, he could not look at the light, and the scent of flowers drove him crazy. The protagonist seemed to be burdened with an unknown illness and wrote to the narrator for help. The antagonist of this story is Fear. Roderick, the narrator, and Roderick’s sister, Madeline, all seem to be terrified of something throughout the whole story. Madeline seems apprehensive of the idea to keep her family’s name animate. Fear has held Roderick hostage in his own mind and driven him mad, and definitely, hasn’t helped his sister’s viewpoint towards the