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The narrator arrives at the House of Usher.
On a day near the end of the year, the narrator approaches the house of Usher and finds it gloomy. He notes the fissure was running down the middle of the house. -
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The Fall of the House of Usher By Edgar Allan Poe
timeline -
Roderick greets the narrator and explains his condition.
When he arrived, a servant took the narrator's horse, and then he entered into a large and high room, which was full of books, but it seemed gloomy. Roderick's appearance has changed enough to disturb his friend. He tells the narrator how much he has wanted to see him and about his illness. His condition, which runs in the family, makes his senses acute. He's frightened, and sure he will die soon. -
Madeline's appearance
Usher's depression is caused partly because of his sister Madeline.
While Roderick explains his situation to the narrator, Madeline moves through the room without seeming to notice the narrator, making him inexplicably afraid. No doctor can explain Madeline's illness, a state of trance characterised by loss of motion -
Attempts to cheer up Usher
He and Usher try to busy themselves by painting, listening to music and doing art. The narrator describes some of Usher’s artistic creations as pure "ideas" or "abstractions" in his mind. In terms of music, he can only play and listen to wild music because of his increased feeling of the sense. -
Madeline's death
One evening, Madeline dies, and Roderick says his sister wanted her body preserved for two weeks before being buried. The narrator helps Roderick prepare the vault for this period. After that, he discovers that they are twins, and he notes how healthy Madeline looks in death.
Later, Roderick becomes paler and starts getting mad. -
The strange sounds and the storm
Seven or eight nights after they put Madeline in the vault, the narrator feels nervous and worried due to strange sounds, which makes him unable to sleep because of a powerful storm. Roderick goes to his room, and to distract themselves from the weather, they try to pass the night away by reading. Everything he narrates from the book can be heard as sounds coming from the mansion. -
Madeline's Return
The narrator hears a similar metal clang from somewhere in the house. After that, Roderick asks the narrator if he can listen to the sounds that prove they buried his sister Madeline alive in her vault. He says all the sounds they've heard have been of her from fighting to escape the vault. As a result, Roderick has to flee from her because she'll be there soon. -
Roderick's death
The doors suddenly opened. The narrator thought it was because of the wind, but Madeline Usher was standing there, covered with blood in her white dress. She remained trembling at the door for a moment, and then she fell upon Roderick's. This action caused the twins to fall to the ground dead, which ended with Roderick's fears of terror. -
The scape and collapse of Usher's House
The narrator runs from the house. The storm is still blowing wildly. As the narrator crosses the bridge, there's a strange light. He turns to look back. A blood-red moon is setting behind him, shining through a crack in the house. As he watches, the gap widens. The fissure goes from roof to foundation, making the house split apart entirely and fall into the lake, leaving no trace behind the House of Usher.