The fall of the house of Usher/La chute de la mansion Usher: Bilingual edition/Édition bilingue

by Edgar Allan Poe

Overview

The story begins with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country complaining of an illness and asking for his help. Although Poe wrote this short story before the invention of modern psychological science, Roderick's condition can be described according to its terminology. It includes a form of sensory overload known as hyperesthesia (hypersensitivity to textures, light, sounds, smells, and tastes), hypochondria (an excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness), and acute anxiety. It is revealed that Roderick's twin sister, Madeline, is also ill and falls into cataleptic, deathlike trances. The narrator is impressed with Roderick's paintings, and attempts to cheer him by reading with him and listening to his improvised musical compositions on the guitar. Roderick sings "The Haunted Palace," then tells the narrator that he believes the house he lives in to be alive, and that this sentience arises from the arrangement of the masonry and vegetation surrounding it. Le narrateur (dont l'identité ne nous est pas connue) arrive à la maison de son ami Roderick Usher, ayant reçu de lui une lettre dans laquelle il se plaignait de maladie et réclamait sa présence. Cette maladie se manifeste par une hyper-acuité des sens et une grande anxiété. La soeur jumelle de Roderick, Lady Madeline, est elle aussi malade, tombant dans des états de transes cataleptiques. Après qu'il lui a récité le poème le Palais hanté, Roderick soutient à son ami que la maison est dotée de sens, ce qui proviendrait de la façon dont la maçonnerie est entremêlée à la végétation entourant le bâtiment. Plus tard, il lui annonce que Lady Madeline est décédée et qu'il a l'intention de conserver son corps durant 15 jours dans un caveau en attendant de procéder à l'enterrement définitif. Après avoir aidé son ami dans cette tâche, le narrateur constate une aggravation rapide de l'état de Roderick. Environ une semaine plus tard, le narrateur reçoit, par une nuit de tempête, la visite de Roderick qui semble très agité. Il tente de le calmer en lui faisant la lecture mais entend divers sons provenant de la maison. Roderick devient finalement hystérique et clame que ces bruits sont causés par sa soeur qu'ils ont en fait enterrée vivante et qu'il le sait depuis plusieurs jours. La porte de la chambre s'ouvre alors violemment et laisse apparaître Lady Madeline, en sang et dans son suaire. Elle avance vers son frère et tombe sur lui alors qu'elle rend le dernier soupir et que lui-même succombe à sa frayeur. Le narrateur fuit alors la maison et, à la lueur d'un éclair, voit la fissure parcourant la maison s'élargir, causant l'écroulement du bâtiment tout entier.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532953668
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	04/26/2016
Pages:	68
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.16(d)

About the Author

Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was orphaned at the age of three and adopted by a wealthy Virginia family with whom he had a troubled relationship. He excelled in his studies of language and literature at school, and self-published his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, in 1827. In 1830, Poe embarked on a career as a writer and began contributing reviews and essays to popular periodicals. He also wrote sketches and short fiction, and in 1833 published his only completed novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. Over the next five years he established himself as a master of the short story form through the publication of "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and other well–known works. In 1841, he wrote "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," generally considered the first modern detective story. The publication of The Raven and Other Poems in 1845 brought him additional fame as a poet.