Similarities Between The Red Death And The Fall Of The House Of Usher

The Evil Inside Most contemporary authors lack the creativity, or simply the desire to construct a story that focuses on the evil and sinful ways of humans. But during the Dark Romantics period, several writers openly embraced this new style of writing. Edgar Allan Poe was one such writer. His view on man’s inherent evilness is evident in his stories, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Masque of the Red Death.” Although the characters in each of the stories are in different settings, their prevalent trait represents the hedonistic, obsessive, and deranged beings humans are. In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe wrote a tale about a mentally deranged man and his cataleptically ill sister. The man, Roderick, lives alone with nothing

On the other hand, Madeline’s health deteriorates due to her being in a trance-like state. “…a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character…” (Poe 418). The illnesses that affect Roderick and his sister are thought to be the result of the Usher bloodline being kept ‘pure.’ “…that the stem of the Usher race, all time-honored as it was, had put forth, at no period, any enduring branch; in other words, that the entire family lay in direct line of descent…” (Poe 414). Not only has that been hinted to being the origin of their disorders, but it implies that Roderick and Madeline were in an incestuous relationship. Due to Madeline being the focal point of his life, Roderick exhibits more than the customary sibling love. Roderick even states that he and Madeline have a special connection to one another. “…that the

The plague is known as the Red Death and it causes a very bloody and almost instantaneous death. The ruler of the country, Prince Prospero, decides to shirk his responsibilities as the leader and isolate himself and his friends. “When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and lighthearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys.” (Poe 447-448). To keep everyone distracted from the grim reality that lied outside the abbey walls, Prince Prospero organized several forms of entertainment. “The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was beauty, and there was wine.” (Poe 448). His citizens were dying horrible deaths, yet he and his friends’ gluttony caused them to get drunk. A few months later, a masquerade ball is held all the while the Red Death is rampaging through the country. “…and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence.” (Poe 448). Prince Prospero’s first concern was to confine himself and his friends, forgetting his obligations as a leader; alternatively choosing to