To date, no scholar seems to have examined in depth Poe’s familiarity with Roman Catholicism. More to our point, it appears that the Church of Rome did not escape the attention or interest (1) As we shall see, far from being a “forgotten church,” Roman Catholicism played an active, indeed prominent role Working knowledge of - perhaps even a sympathy for - a number of the Church’s basic teachings. Indeed, a careful evaluation of Poe’s literary legacy suggests that Poe possessed a good As with so many aspects of Poe’s writings, however, the On Poe’s part of the Catholic Church as a mere curious artifact. Here we are faced with what a casual reader might regard as a notable dismissal “the manual of a forgotten church” (M2:409). Secundum Chorum Ecclesiae Maguntinae ( Vigils for the Dead according to the Use of the Church of Mainz), a Roman Catholicīook of prayers for the dead referred to by Usher’s friend as This work, so we are told, served as Roderick’s “chief delight.” It is The Vigilae Mortuorum Treatises dealing with the occult, torture, and demonology - not exactly ideal material for relaxation.Īlthough the complete contents of the Usher family library are worthy of scholarly attention, one curious tome merits But what sort of books do we find on Roderick’s shelves? Usher’s study abounds with Poe’s speaker believes that reading to Roderick will help his friend “nervous agitation” deserves special notice. Unidentified condition which has elicited various explanations from scholars over the years. Most naive (and one of the luckiest) figures in American fiction, does his best to help Roderick survive a mysterious malady, an That the head of the Usher family was Poe’s nineteenth-century version of Jimi Hendrix. Her brother, theĬadaverous Roderick Usher, passes his time with wild improvisations on the guitar, which once prompted a student of mine to conclude Madeline Usher, for example, can only be described as a woman of few words. Almost immediately, the reader of this tale is confronted by a number of characters who mustĬertainly be considered quite peculiar. Few would disagree, at least, that it is one of Poe’s most One of the greatest short stories in all of world literature. MANY READERS CONSIDER EDGAR ALLAN POE’S “The Fall of the House of Usher” to be
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