Usher's Hypochondriasis: Mental Alienation and Romantic Idealism in Poe's Gothic Tales

Abstract

O N THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS narrator of Fall of House of refers to Roderick as a hypochondriac.' It seems odd that he should do so, since he never expresses slightest doubt that Roderick is really sick: indeed upon greeting Usher narrator is shocked by his boyhood friend's terribly altered appearance (III, 278). The apparent contradiction is explained, however, when we realize that narrator, who lays claim to some knowledge of the history of mental (III, 292) is using term in its medical rather than its popular sense. Although he is at least initially unaware of broad ramifications which disease has acquired in Usher's world, he has correctly diagnosed Roderick's peculiar combination of physical and mental complaints as symptomatic of hypochondriasis, a melancholic disorder which has been recognized for centuries and which was widely discussed among physicians in Poe's own time. The issue is of more than passing interest, since failure of modern critics to identify Usher's illness correctly has obscured one of most important themes in Poe's story: for only when we discover exact nature of Usher's disease can we fully appreciate rich parallels which Poe's tale develops between medical theories about progressive derangement of mind and romantic theories about growth of mind's perceptive powers.2