For me The Fall of the House of Usher is a challenge to the mind. It takes us into the supernatural and goes beyond, into madness in a way. I think that Poe’s intention is to create a fear deep in the soul. That is why he creates madness in the characters mind, signifying something that lies deep within. He uses a lot of cult like things, for example, the vortex and the “other …showed first 75 words of 724 total…

…showed last 75 words of 724 total…lot to Roderick. This is stated in lines like the one saying that the light goes out in his eyes after her death and the moon doesn’t return until Madeline does. The heritage of the Usher family and Roderick’s state all rush down completely in the “union” of Madeline and Roderick. Exactly why this all happens between the two of them, I’d say Roderick was simply mad, or maybe both of them.