What is fear? Webster defines fear as "a basic element of human emotion that is caused by the anticipation or realization of danger". From this definition one could say that fear can be beneficial by restraining us from actions that may lead to harm or danger. Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" takes that theory and runs the other way. In this story Poe is trying to show us the negative influences of fear. These negative influences ultimately lead to death and the end of a family line. This other side of fear is displayed in the story as single effect. The story revolves around this single effect of fear and Poe's suggestion that the denial of our fears can lead to madness.
Roderick and Madeline Usher aren't just twins but represent the mental and physical components of a single being. From this allegory one can identify that a good part of Roderick's insanity was caused by the "death" of the physical component of the being. As Madeline's illness approached physical paralysis, Roderick's mental agitation took the form of a "morbid acuteness of the senses" that separates his body from the physical world making all normal sensations painful. One of Roderick's fears is death. He is from a wealthy family and he fears that the Usher line will not be passed on with only two descendants left.
When Madeline is placed into the vault, Roderick's fear increases and his madness becomes more evident. "Having deposited our mournful burden upon tressels within this region of horror, we partially turned aside the yet unscrewed lid of the coffin, and looked upon the face of the tenant." I think that this scene in the story best demonstrates the single effect of fear in this story. This scene is especially horrifying after discovering she was not dead. I think this is the best scene because looking back on it, if we had known she was alive, it would have been the most horrifying by far. Even though the narrator notices the pink in her...