Fall Of Usher

In the short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe, the author illustrates the fall of the Usher family in the perspective of an unnamed narrator which reveals the consequences of madness. Edgar Allan Poe used this unnamed narrator in order to assist the reader in knowing the Usher family which leads to a variety of unique scenes and view of other characters that can be viewed as examples of philosopher Jacques Derrida’s notion of “trace”. As a result of these examples from the point of view of the unnamed narrator, it can be seen that philosopher Jacques Derrida’s notion of “trace” is present throughout the short story. To put it in another way, philosopher Jacques Derrida’s notion of “trace” can be identified in the short

This exemplar can be seen as something that symbolizes philosopher Jacques Derrida’s notion of “trace” because of incest not being mentioned in the short story. Therefore, the term of incest is never mentioned in the short story, however, the unnamed narrator states, “The result was discoverable, he added, in that silent yet importunate and terrible influence which for centuries had moulded the destinies of his family, and which made him what I now saw him — what he was. Such opinions need no comment, and I will make none.” (Poe 9) which portrays that the unnamed narrator felt a sense of decay in the Usher house. With this in mind, it could be interpreted as “trace” of incest since the presence of incest in the Usher family is not present or mentioned in the short story but the house of the Usher family that is decaying throughout the short story can be interpreted as incest inducing the decay of the Usher family. Furthermore, incest can be interpreted as present in the short story since the unnamed narrator states, “The disease of the lady Madeline had long baffled the skill of her physicians. A settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character were the unusual diagnosis.” (Poe 6) which illustrates that Madeline had an ailment that was considered obscure for her

This example can be seen as something that depicts philosopher Jacques Derrida’s notion of “trace” in the short story because there is no mention of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. For this reason, the life of Edgar Allan Poe is never mentioned, but, the unnamed narrator states, “At the request of Usher, I personally aided him in the arrangements for the temporary entombment. The body having been encoffined, we two alone bore it to its rest.” (Poe 10) which portrays Roderick Usher and the unnamed narrator placing Madeline Usher in a tomb. In view of the notion of “trace”, the entombment of Madeline Usher can be interpreted as showing the presence of Edgar Allan Poe’s life since Edgar Allan Poe dealt with the entombment of his loved ones throughout his early years. Additionally, entombment is a common motif that Edgar Allan Poe frequently utilized in his works of literature, therefore it amplifies the meaning it had in his life. In essence, it can be inferred that through philosopher Jacques Derrida’s notion of “trace”, that although there is a no mention of Edgar Allan Poe’s life in the short story, it can be interpreted that Edgar Allan Poe’s life is present through the motif of entombment that is seen through the entombment of Madeline