Come into the Light Roderick!

Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher presents an unimaginable death; being buried alive. The story is twisted and involves a mentally mad man, Roderick, burying his ill sister, Madeline, alive within the walls of the house after mistaking her as dead. The setting of the story really plays into the unfortunate tragedy that occurs. As a participant in the story, I would recreate the setting disregarding all the gloom and doom attributes Poe includes in the original story. Part of the mystery in the story, and perhaps even Roderick’s madness can be correlated to the dark and dreary essence manifested through the physical House of Usher. Had this story taken place in the middle of a bright spring day rather during the course of dark, stormy nights perhaps the events would have occurred differently. Maybe all Roderick needed was a kiss of sunlight on his forehead to cure the deep madness that had overcome his entire being!

Weather has a tendency to effect human emotions and in turn encourage how we act for that day. Consider the emotions that overcome you when waking up on a bright Saturday morning versus a dreary rainy Monday. Even in movies or other literature, psycho killers, zombies, or raging criminals are more inclined to act in light of their given persona in the comfort of the night. Tragedies traditionally occur during a storm just as the ideal wedding occurs on a clear sunny day. Roderick’s actions may not be directly blamed on the setting and the weather but the overall “feel” of the story would take on a new tone if placed in the middle of a sunny day in April in a beach house. The ultimate outcome may be altered entirely as a result of this slight setting modification.