Similarities Between Gothic Literature: The Fall of The House of Usher and House Taken Over

All gothic literature has subtly similar undertones and symbolism, such as the weather,

isolation, good vs. evil, etc. Two pieces of which are The Fall of The House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe and House Taken Over by Julio Cortázar. In both stories there are overlapping undertones which include each house has an unknown, feared, presence, each has a dysfunctional sibling, and there is a certain level of ambiguity among the text.

In both, The Fall of The House of Usher, and House Taken Over, it’s apparent that in both mansions there is an unknown presence residing, terrorizing its inhabitants. As the narrator is slowly coming to a moment of truth over Usher and what illness is obligating him to be there, it is revealed that, “To an anomalous species of terror I found him a bounden slave. ‘I shall perish:’ said he, ‘I must perish in this deplorable folly.’” This quote represents gothic literature because it mentions that the narrator has no idea why or what is affecting Rodrick. It’s as if he feels some sort of obligation to die in the house to prevent anyone else from experiencing the madness he did. That Usher is more accepted and prepared for death if it means he will stop experiencing the terror and pain of the house, because as Usher falls closer towards death, so does the house.

With the same fashion the home in House Taken Over is afflicted with an unnamed presence. As the narrator made his way to heat the kettle for mate the following occurred, “The sound came through muted and indistinct, a chair being knocked over onto the carpet or the muffled buzzing of a conversation. [...] ‘I had to shut the door to the passage. They’ve taken over the back part.’” As the story progresses, the narrator, as he does here, consistently uses ‘they’, never explaining who or what has taken over his house. He also at one point mentions that he and Irene can no longer sleep comfortably, if at all because of what is occurring. When the house is completely taken over the narrator is said to have thrown himself against the door in fear and run away. Now, as for symbolism, this carries a tremendous amount. Julio Cortazar was living in Argentina at the time this story was written, in 1946, just after World War II, who refused to fight with the allied powers against Adolf Hitler. The author fled Juan Peron and Argentina five years later. The symbolism could be about political takeover, dominance, and the fear and uneasiness with which he lived his life in Argentina.

In each story characters are found to have siblings, each with their own dysfunctional traits and experiences. The dysfunctional sibling in The Fall of The House of Usher, is Usher himself. Amidst a fit, the narrator attempts to lend a friendly, comforting hand to Usher but discovers this shocking truth, “I dared not speak! We have put her living in the tomb! Said I not that my senses were acute? I now tell you that I heard her first feeble movements in the hollow coffin. I heard them— many, many days ago—yet I dared not— I dared not speak!” This quote displays the mental trauma and dysfunctionality Usher experiences in his brain. When Usher was a young boy, he allowed his sister to suffocate with no explanation. Obviously, haunting him well into old age he begins to crumble, or split in two. Correspondingly, Irene, the sister of the House Taken Over narrator showcases dysfunctional habits.

One habit would be that she consistently does the same thing, day in, day out, even when it isn’t providing any purpose to them. The narrator is describing his sister, Irene, whom he lives with, “Irene never bothered anyone. Once the morning housework was finished, she spent the rest of the day on the sofa in her bedroom, knitting. I couldn’t tell you why she knitted so much” This implies that Irene may need a distraction from the outside world. That, she needed a constant relief from her mind, as she had knitted so much it became second nature and she didn’t need to focus, she could just relax and daydream.

As I was reading along the stories, there were certain aspects of ambiguity and mystery of the plot. In The Fall of The House of Usher many questions are left unanswered, such as why Rodrick had wanted to see the narrator. After receiving an odd letter from Rodrick Usher, the narrator, obligated, makes his way to the House of Usher to see his childhood friend,

“I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. [...] Its proprietor, Rodrick Usher, had been one of my boon companions in boyhood; but many years had elapsed since our last meeting.”

This showcases that maybe Usher hadn’t had many friends. It also never explains why he and Rodrick drifted apart saying that they were boon, or a blessing, as a friend and why he chose to write the Narrator and not relatives? Had Usher never had anyone to care about him besides the Narrator, is that why he contacted him? As a matter of fact, in House Taken Over there are quite a few of questions left unanswered.

One question left open-ended was ‘Who was on the other side of the corridor?’ The day goes on normally for Irene and the unnamed Narrator when just before bed the narrator suddenly has a thirst, as he heads off to the kitchen, he notices something, “I heard the noise in the kitchen; if not the kitchen, then the bath, the passage off at that angle had dulled up the sound. [...] We stood listening to the noises, growing more and more sure that they were on our side of the oak door,” Who? Who or what is on the other side of this oak door, causing them to flee and leave all their belongings behind? What was terrorizing them to this extent? Why was it stealing their home? All of which are never answered, left up to the readers imagination. Ambiguity being a staple in traditional gothic literature. Nonetheless, House Taken Over and The Fall of The House of Usher have several of the same traits throughout the stories.

Each house having an unknown, substantially feared, presence, each has dysfunctional sibling, and ranging standards of ambiguity throughout are just some of the overlying similarities in House Taken Over and The Fall of The House of Usher. They were similar in that their houses were being afflicted or taken by some unnamed presence, they each had a dysfunctional sibling, Irene and Rodrick, and there was always ambiguity as a lingering substance of questioning. It is important to read Gothic literature to gain a perspective into history, to better understand symbolism, language, and how to bring literature down to its basics all while indulging in a fantastic book or short story.