Confusion And Delusions In The Story Of Roderick Usher

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Recommended: Role of Roderick Usher in The Fall of the House of Usher

Roderick Usher is frequently subject to both confusion and delusion alike throughout the story. Both are indicitave of the genetic disorder schizophrenia. Usher frequently references his belief that the house is alive and has a will of it's own. Those who suffer from schizophrenia have a tendency to be abnormally superstitious about everyday objects. Known by the medical community as delusions, these beliefs "result from the patient's inability to separate real from unreal events." (Ford-Martin, Odle, Costello 5) While reality may dictate that houses do not have a concious, Usher's mental disorder blurs the line between reality and the supernatural. "In other words," Jonathan A. Cook argues, "the whole physical world, both animate and inanimate,"

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