“The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Yellow...

â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†: A Comparison Introduction Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† has received wide praise for its accurate depiction of madness and the symptoms attributed to mental breakdowns (Shumaker 1985). While these symptoms may seem obvious from today’s psychological perspective, Gilman was writing at the close of the 19th century when the discipline of psychology was still emerging out of a rudimentary psychiatric approach to treating the mentally ill. Though doctors have attempted to write about the treatment of insanity since ancient Greece, the history of madness has most often been characterized by a series of popular images, images that may have stunted the†¦show more content†¦Most immediately, Roderick’s hair is described as â€Å"wild† and of â€Å"Arabesque expression,† which the narrator is unable to connect â€Å"with any simple idea of humanity† (Poe 2003). Similarly, Roderick’s manner strikes the narrator with â€Å"an incoherence – an inconsistency,† and his voice is compared to that of â€Å"the lost drunkard, or the irreclaimable eater of opium† (Poe 2003), all of which mark his social difference as not understandable. After the entombment of his sister, Roderick’s external madness intensifies: he roams with â€Å"unequal, and objectless step,† has a â€Å"more ghastly hue† of face, a â€Å"species of mad hilarity in his eyes,† a â€Å"restrained hysteria in his whole demeanor,† and speaks in a â€Å"gibbering murmur† (Poe 2003). But all of these are, as the narrator puts it, â€Å"the mere inexplicable vagaries of madness† (Poe 2003). When it comes to representing the internal process of mental breakdown, Poe (at least in this story) still only describes Roderick’s irrationality from an external and stereotypical position. Roderick describes his condition as a â€Å"deplorable folly† that will force him to â€Å"abandon life and reason,† he is â€Å"enchained by certain superstitious impressions,† and suffers from â€Å"melancholy† and â€Å"hypochondria† (two terms associated with earlier misunderstandings of madness) (Poe 2003). The only time we see the irrational thought process represented is in Roderick’s monologue about entombing hisShow MoreRelatedANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesmanipulate their settings as a means of arousing the reader’s expectations and establishing an appropriate state of mind for events to come. No author is more adept in this respect that Edgar Allan Poe. In the following passage from The Fall of the House of Usher, the narrator first enters Roderick Usher’s room. Notice how Poe not only provides the details of setting, but tells the reader just how to respond to them: The room in which I found myself was very large and lofty. The windows were long