Roderick’s Nervous Decline

The Fall of the House of Usher

Roderick’s acute sensitivities and dread develop into agitation, guilty listening, and a fatal surrender to terror.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Frail Condition A Frail Condition from "The Fall of the House of Usher". The Changed Roderick Physical signs Roderick appears pallid and emaciated, with luminous eyes and unkempt, unusually fine hair.

A Frail Condition from "The Fall of the House of Usher". The Changed Roderick Physical signs Roderick appears pallid and emaciated, with luminous eyes and unkempt, unusually fine hair.

The Changed Roderick Physical signs Roderick appears pallid and emaciated, with luminous eyes and unkempt, unusually fine hair. The narrator struggles to recognize the boyhood companion beneath the change. Mind and body His appearance accompanies an unstable manner and rapid changes in voice. The portrait establishes illness as something visible in both his body and behavior.

Sensory Confinement Sensory Confinement from "The Fall of the House of Usher". A World Too Intense Heightened reactions Roderick can tolerate few foods, fabrics, scents, or lights.

Sensory Confinement from "The Fall of the House of Usher". A World Too Intense Heightened reactions Roderick can tolerate few foods, fabrics, scents, or lights.

A World Too Intense Heightened reactions Roderick can tolerate few foods, fabrics, scents, or lights. Only certain sounds from stringed instruments avoid provoking horror. Fear of fear He says that terror itself, rather than danger, will destroy him. His prediction identifies the emotion that ultimately governs his final moments.

Grief and Withdrawal Grief and Withdrawal from "The Fall of the House of Usher". A More Agitated Roderick Changed behavior Roderick neglects his usual occupations and moves restlessly through the mansion.

Grief and Withdrawal from "The Fall of the House of Usher". A More Agitated Roderick Changed behavior Roderick neglects his usual occupations and moves restlessly through the mansion.

A More Agitated Roderick Changed behavior Roderick neglects his usual occupations and moves restlessly through the mansion. His pallor deepens while his former brightness of eye disappears. Listening inward At times he gazes into emptiness as if attending to a sound. The narrator sees a mind burdened by a secret but cannot draw out a clear confession.

The Confession The Confession from "The Fall of the House of Usher". Fear Spoken Aloud Sounds recognized Roderick understands the noises as signs of Madeline struggling inside the vault.

The Confession from "The Fall of the House of Usher". Fear Spoken Aloud Sounds recognized Roderick understands the noises as signs of Madeline struggling inside the vault.

Fear Spoken Aloud Sounds recognized Roderick understands the noises as signs of Madeline struggling inside the vault. He admits that he heard her movements earlier but lacked the courage to speak. Guilt made explicit The confession changes his fear into knowledge of his own failure. He anticipates Madeline’s arrival as an accusation he cannot evade.

Terror Fulfilled Terror Fulfilled from "The Fall of the House of Usher". Death in the Chamber The feared return Madeline appears at the doorway, wounded and exhausted.

Terror Fulfilled from "The Fall of the House of Usher". Death in the Chamber The feared return Madeline appears at the doorway, wounded and exhausted.

Death in the Chamber The feared return Madeline appears at the doorway, wounded and exhausted. Roderick’s prediction of a terrifying confrontation becomes real. Fatal surrender She falls upon him, and he dies as her final death agonies overwhelm him. The emotion he had feared becomes the immediate setting of his end.

When the narrator first sees him

During their first conversation

After Madeline’s reported death

During the final reading

At the twins’ final encounter