Chilled Into Stone

Welcome to Celebrate Poe. Episode 378 -  Chilled Into Stone

Well, in the previous episode Mr.Poe and I were engaged in a vigorous - don’t know if that is the right word for it - a vigorous discussion about what many consider to the his best story - The Fall of the House of Usher - although to be honest, I prefer The Tell Tale Heart or possibly The Cask of Amontillado - but I better say that before Mr. Poe arrives.

Greetings, Mr. Bartley

Oh, Hello, Mr. Poe, I didn’t realize you were there.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - you are certainly entitled to your opinion - such as it is.

Ah, Mr Poe, I don’t know what to say - don’t want to offend the literary master.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - sometimes the best thing to say is nothing.

Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Poe.

Transcript

Mr. Bartley - plain text

Mr. Poe - bold text

Welcome to Celebrate Poe. Episode 378 -  Chilled Into Stone

Well, in the previous episode Mr.Poe and I were engaged in a vigorous - don’t know if that is the right word for it - a vigorous discussion about what many consider to the his best story - The Fall of the House of Usher - although to be honest, I prefer The Tell Tale Heart or possibly The Cask of Amontillado - but I better say that before Mr. Poe arrives.

Greetings, Mr. Bartley

Oh, Hello, Mr. Poe, I didn’t realize you were there.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - you are certainly entitled to your opinion - such as it is.

Ah, Mr Poe, I don’t know what to say - don’t want to offend the literary master.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - sometimes the best thing to say is nothing.

Mr. Poe - could you briefly - if possible - bring us up to date regarding the story?

I will certainly do my best. Now the decay of the physical House of Usher serves as a powerful metaphor for the decline of the Usher family lineage, intertwining physical, psychological, and moral deterioration.

Mr. Poe - how did you develop that deterioration?

Ah, Mr. Bartley, One method was to physical decay as lineage collapse. What I mean by that is that I utilized the mansion’s "bleak walls," "vacant eye-like windows," and "barely perceptible fissure" to mirror the Ushers’ dwindling bloodline. The house’s visible rot—fungi, discoloration, and structural weakness—reflect the family’s inbred corruption and impending extinction, suggesting their fate is inseparable from their environment.

Thank you, Mr. Poe - I’d say that is a rather complete answer regarding physical deterioration.  But what about various psychological parallels?

Ah, Mr. Bartley - Roderick’s "morbid acuteness of the senses" and paranoia intensify alongside the house’s disintegration. The widening fissure symbolizes hidden familial weaknesses, culminating in the mansion’s collapse at the moment of Roderick’s death—a literalization of the family’s mental and genetic fracture.  One might even attribute an element of the family’s demise to what one might refer to as incestuous corruption.

Mr. Poe - how is that?

Ah, Mr. Bartley, The house’s claustrophobic, insular structure mirrors what may very well be the Ushers’ incestuous lineage. The family’s "direct line of descent" without "enduring branches" traps them in a cycle of decay, with the house acting as both prison and amplifier of their doomed genetics.
Mr. Poe - I have been referring to The Fall of the House of Usher as a vampiric story.  Do you believe that is valid?

Oh yes, Mr. Bartley - you see, the house consumes the Ushers like a parasite, its "evil and diseased atmosphere" draining their vitality. The siblings’ deaths "satisfy" the house, which then implodes—a metaphor for the lineage’s exhausted lifeforce.  And the house’s collapse into the tarn near the conclusion of the story erases the Usher name, literalizing the end of their tainted bloodline. The simultaneous destruction of family and home underscores their shared identity: the mansion is the Ushers, and its fall is their extinction.

Mr. Poe - so one might deduce that your symbolism in the story merges setting and heredity: the house’s decay is the Ushers’ decay, a Gothic testament to the inescapability of inherited doom.

Mr. Bartley - just when I come to the conclusion that you are a mediocre thinker, you almost surprise me.

Thank you, Mr. Poe - I guess.  Let’s take a look at how you handled your descriptions of the physical House of Usher.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - a most interesting observation - you see, I mentally designed descriptions of the architecture of the House of Usher to embody and amplify the story’s themes of decay, creating a setting that is both a physical structure and a living metaphor for the family’s decline.

Yes, Mr. Poe - that is a fascinating topic and a creative environment that you handled well.

Thank you, Mr Bartley.  One must note that the house’s visible deterioration—its "bleak walls," "vacant eye-like windows," and "minute fungi" creeping over the facade—mirrors the Usher family’s dwindling bloodline. The "barely perceptible fissure" running down the masonry symbolizes hidden fractures in the family’s lineage, foreshadowing its eventual collapse. Like the hereditary "madness" afflicting Roderick, the house’s decay is an inevitable, inescapable process.

Mr. Poe - it is almost as though you have animated the house.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - I DID animate the house from a literary standpoint - with
the "eye-like windows" suggesting a watchful, almost predatory presence, while the "fissure" acts like a wound. This blurring of architecture and biology reinforces the idea that the house is not just a backdrop but an active participant in the Ushers’ doom, feeding on their suffering like a vampiric entity.

Mr. Poe - that gives me the shivers.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - my writing was intended to do more than THAT.  For example, in the story under discussion, the mansion’s oppressive, labyrinthine interiors—narrow passages, vaulted crypts, and heavy draperies—reflected the family’s insularity and psychological torment. The lack of natural light and stagnant air evoke a tomb-like atmosphere, emphasizing the Ushers’ entrapment in their own decaying legacy.

Mr. Poe - I was really blown away by the end of the story.

Mr. Bartley - blown away?  What an interesting term - but you must note that the house’s final implosion into the tarn coincides with Roderick’s death, signifying the end of the Usher line. The fissure’s rapid widening mirrors Roderick’s mental breakdown, while the mansion’s fall erases all traces of the family, as if their corruption demanded annihilation.

Mr. Poe, I would like to address the topic of the house’s architecture and the family’s downfall more

You ARE trying to address nearly every aspect - I find that most agreeable.

Well, Mr. Poe - with a story like Usher, one needs to be thorough.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - I quite concur - in my story, I utilized the House of Usher's architecture as an active agent of decay, creating a physical manifestation of the family's psychological and hereditary deterioration. For example, the aforementioned "vacant eye-like windows” of the house and the "minute fungi" coating its walls suggest a living, watching presence. This personification blurs the line between structure and inhabitant, implying the house absorbs and reflects the Ushers' madness. The building doesn't merely house decay—it enacts it, with its "barely perceptible fissure" symbolizing the hidden fractures in the family's sanity and bloodline.

Mr. Poe - I remember in an early podcast, I talked about environments that one might find in a Gothic story, such as castles. Such castles made excellent backdrops for the characters. 

Ah, Mr. Bartley - that is precisely the point. Here the physical house of Usher is not only a background - it IS a CHARACTER. The mansion's labyrinthine interiors—narrow passages, vaulted crypts, and heavy draperies—mirror the Ushers’ incestuous isolation - however you define incest. The lack of light and stagnant air create a tomb-like atmosphere, trapping the family in their own hereditary curse.

Mr. Poe - I never really thought of it that way until recently.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - the house's physical decay parallels Roderick's mental collapse: as his paranoia intensifies, the fissure widens. The final implosion—where the mansion cracks along its fault line and sinks into the tarn—occurs simultaneously with Roderick's death, literalizing the family's extinction. The architecture becomes a timeline of doom.

Mr. Poe - the architecture becoming a timeline of doom - I like that phrase.

Thank you, Mr. Bartley - remember that the house in the story operates as a parasitic entity, its "evil and diseased atmosphere" (absorbed from the surrounding decay) draining the Ushers' vitality. Like a Gothic vampire, it thrives on their suffering until their deaths "satisfy" its hunger, triggering its self-destruction.

Mr. Poe - that is REALLY creepy.

Ah, Mr. Bartley, my literary intention was to make the house's design a participant in the horror. Its walls aren't just settings—they're symptoms of a doomed lineage, where every stone and shadow conspires in the Ushers' unraveling. The architecture is the family's epitaph.

So, Mr. Poe - looking at the story overalll as a piece of literature, how do you believe the key themes are interelated

Ah, Mr. Bartley, I firmly believe that the key themes in The Fall of the House of Usher intertwine to create my signature Gothic horror, focusing on psychological and physical decay, the supernatural, and the collapse of identity.

Mr. Poe - that is a mouthful.

Pardon me, Mr. Bartley.

Mr. Poe - that is a lot to say - concepts that might be difficult to - ah - mentally asimulate the first time you hear them.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - that is much clearer to a 19th century ear.  Concentrate on the concepts of both physical and moral decay. The crumbling mansion mirrors the Usher family’s decline, with its "bleak walls," "vacant eye-like windows," and fissure symbolizing hereditary corruption and inevitable doom. The house’s collapse coincides with the twins’ deaths, literalizing their shared fate.

Mr. Poe - that is somewhat clearer.

And to continue, there is the topic of madness and psychological deterioration.

Ah, now the story is getting heavy.

Mr. Bartley - I feel I have lost you - The Fall of the House of Usher has no real connection to the concept of weight.  The house certainly collapses near the end of the story, but to believe that the destruction is caused by excessive weight is to miss the point of the story.

Ah, Mr. Poe - I was using the word heavy to mean that the concepts that are overwhelming.

Mr. Bartley - perhaps with that usage of the word, you closer to my original intentions.

Mr. Poe - you know, language DOES change.

Ah, Mr. Bartley, but words DO matter. I was later to write, “"Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality”.  And regarding spoken words, I penned in my work The Power of Words, I suggested that spoken words have an everlasting impact, as "every vibration once set in motion is eternal”.

So, Mr. Poe - it certainly is true that every word you wrote - even the most mundane - were works of art.

And Mr. Bartley, in a similar vein - the words you include in a modern-day podcast have the potential to live forever.

But we degress … getting back to The Fall of the House of Usher -

Yes, I was just about to address the reality that Roderick’s hypersensitive nerves and paranoia reflect Gothic "madness," exacerbated by the house’s oppressive atmosphere. And Madeline’s cataleptic state and burial alive amplify themes of mental unraveling.

Ah, Mr. Poe - again, that is really heavy.

And again, Mr. Bartley, the character’s emotions are not measured according to weight.

Ah, Mr. Poe - I know this might be difficult for you - but I am not talking about measurable weight - but the fact that your sentences portray an intense situation.

Then, Mr. Bartley - perhaps that 21st century usage is appropriate. 

Mr. Poe - as touched on before, an example of such a controversial subject as incest and a family curse in the story suggests inbreeding.

Yes, Mr. Bartley - sometimes I feel we are so close in our thinking, but other times quite far away.  For example, I admit that I intentionally leave ambiguity - is Madeline’s so-called resurrection supernatural, or a product of Roderick’s insanity?

And Mr. Poe - I believe that the eerie events surrounding the house heighten uncanny tension.

And Mr. Bartley, while I never intentionally wrote of inbreeding between Roderick and Madeline, the phrase "direct line of descent” regarding the Ushers suggests inbreeding, linking their physical and mental decay to biological corruption. The twins’ bond—metaphysical or incestuous—drives their shared demise.

You know, Mr. Poe, I even found what might be considered Roderick’s art (so to speak, "The Haunted Palace") to be quite creepy.

As well you should, Mr. Bartley … as well you should.  The Haunted Palace reflects Roderick’s obsession with the house’s decay, blurring art and reality. His creative output therefore becomes a symptom of his decline.

Ah Mr. Poe - from the opening description of the house’s fissure to its final collapse, the story emphasizes inescapable doom, a hallmark of Poe’s Gothic fatalism - or at least that is my take.  And my Poe, I am not using the word take as a verb - I am using the word using one of its current definitions - the word take to mean “my personal opinion regarding the matter.”

Well, Mr. Bartley, why did you refrain from using the words “my personal opinion regarding the matter.”

Mr. Poe - Because “my take on” is definitely shorter.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - words can be most beautiful, and I believe that one is entitled to utilize as much vocabulary as necessary to express one’s ideas.

Mr. Poe - I am afraid we are both creatures of our times.  Your idea of entertainment is to spend hours reading a well written novel - mine is watching a well-produced 10 minute YouTube video.  So one might say we basically have differing attention spans.

Yes, Mr. Bartley - that is true on a fundamental level - but one can always aspire to borrow other forms of knowledge.  And while it is true that I favored literary works that could be read at one sitting. For example, the few minutes that The Tell Tale Heart requires to read - even aloud - is far shorter than a novel such as War and Peace.

Ah, Mr. Poe - I doubt that we will ever completely agree - after all, we both may be human beings, but we are both products of different eras.

I cannot help but agree regarding that sentiment.

And Mr. Bartley - while I favored works that could be read at one sitting, I also believed that a story’s themes should coalesce in my "totality" technique, where every element—setting, character, and symbolism—reinforces a singular atmosphere of dread and even dissolution.

Then Mr. Poe, getting back to The Fall of the House of Usher - how do you believe the theme of decay in that story manifests itself through the inseparable deterioration of the Usher family's physical health, mental state, and ancestral home.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - you have asked several heavy questions there. By the way, is that the correct usage of the word heavy?

Somewhat, Mr. Poe.  I really want to know how your intertwine the elements.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - one must realize that the Ushers’ "direct line of descent" (implied incest) results in degenerative illness: Madeline suffers from "a settled apathy" and cataleptic seizures, while Roderick exhibits extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and touch—symptoms of a wasting disease.
Their pallid, gaunt appearances mirror the mansion’s "discolored" walls and "minute fungi," suggesting their bodies are as eroded as their home.

Mr. Poe - that seems clear enough.

Mr. Bartley, Roderick’s "morbid acuteness of the senses" escalates into paranoia and hallucinations. He believes the house’s atmosphere poisons him, blurring the line between his psyche and its decay.  And the narrator, initially rational, absorbs the Ushers’ instability, reflecting the contagion of their madness.

Mr. Poe, again I am reminded of the house itself as a living metaphor.

PRECISELY, Mr. Bartley.  At the risk of sounding repetitious, the mansion’s "vacant eye-like windows" and "fissure" symbolize the family’s fractured sanity and doomed bloodline. Its collapse—triggered by Madeline’s death—literalizes their extinction.  And Roderick’s poem The Haunted Palace allegorizes this: the "evil things" corrupting the palace mirror the Ushers’ mental and physical rot.

Mr. Poe - in my opinion, the story seems to be taking an unavoidable road to the simultaneous deaths of the twins and the house’s implosion - if that makes any sense. I believe that Madeline’s reanimated corpse, "covered in blood," embodies the family’s grotesque, unresolved suffering.

Yes, Mr. Bartley - I believe you are finally comprehending the dynamics of the story.  One must be cognizant of the fact that the decay of the house if inevitable - that the Ushers are doomed by lineage - that their bodies and minds are as fissured as their ancestral home.

Mr. Poe - that is really heavy.

Ah, Mr. Bartley - falling on contemporary cliches again.

Well, man - this is really intense.

Mr. Bartley - one must be cognizant of the fact that the physical decay of the House of Usher serves as a direct reflection of the Usher family's mental and physical deterioration, creating a symbiotic relationship between setting and character that underscores my themes of hereditary doom and psychological collapse.

Mr. Poe - I think I understand.  But to be honest, that is a lot to take in, and I think we better stop there until the next episode.   Is that ok with you, Mr. Poe.

Certainly, Mr. Bartley - I would not want to go outside the limits of your comprehension.

Thank you, very much Mr. Poe, I think.  Join us for episode 379 - Oppressive and Evil.

Sources include: Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography by Arthur Hobson Quinn, The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Dwight R. Thomas and David K. Jackson, The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Poe, Evermore by Harry Lee Poe, and the online site of the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore.

Thank you for listening to Celebrate Poe.