Roderick Usher's observation of "the sentience of all vegetable things" extends to his conviction that even inorganic things, such as the stones of his mansion, take on a certain consciousness of their environment and those who dwell within.
Usher is convinced that non-living things of the natural world, as well as the living things, have "molded the destinies of his family" and made him what he is. While the narrator declares that he will...
Roderick Usher's observation of "the sentience of all vegetable things" extends to his conviction that even inorganic things, such as the stones of his mansion, take on a certain consciousness of their environment and those who dwell within.
Usher is convinced that non-living things of the natural world, as well as the living things, have "molded the destinies of his family" and made him what he is. While the narrator declares that he will make no comment on this opinion, the idea of pathetic fallacy enters the narrative at this point. Usher believes the arrangement of the stones, the fungi growing on the stones, and the decaying trees that surround the house have had a longstanding effect upon the destinies of the Usher family; furthermore, they have even affected the formation of his own being.
In this part of his narrative, Poe seems to extend the concept of the influence of one's environment as one that has not just a psychological effect, but also exerts a physical one. That is, Roderick believes the outward decay and conditions have affected the lives of the Ushers. Interestingly, ancient peoples attributed the ravages of fungi to the wrath of the gods, so they, too, felt an influence upon their lives by such growth.
No comments:
Post a Comment