Differences Between Two Gothic Characters
Uploaded by lmmu on May 23, 2007
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” are two examples of Gothic literature. There are many characteristics of Gothic literature eerie settings, pessimism, and evil prevailment over good. All of these traits exist in both stories. The main characters of both stories, Roderick Usher and Emily Grierson, both feature similar traits since both stories are of similar style. For instance, both deal with a death; however, there is a lot that the two do not have in common. One character, though dealing with death is remorseful and not mad, while the other is not remorseful and quite loony.
One major similarity between Roderick Usher and Emily Grierson is death. Usher’s sister, Lady Madeline, dies. He buries her in a tomb in his house and later realizes that she is not dead. He unknowingly buries her alive! Conversely, Emily Grierson, after realizing that her lover is not serious about a relationship knowingly procures arsenic and kills him. Therefore, murder—or the possibility of it—exists in both stories.
Despite some similarities, there are many differences between the two characters. One such example is insanity level. It is clear that Emily is insane and, contrastly, Roderick is not. Emily lives in a state of denial about paying taxes. She kills a man, makes love with the cadaver and, above all, sees nothing wrong with this. She is utterly mad. Roderick, however, is merely ill. He grieves over his sister’s death and honestly thinks her dead, but upon realization that she is alive, he is scared. Also, it must be noted that Roderick says, “I have no abhorrence of dangers, except in its absolute effect—in terror.” Basically, Roderick is just a fearful and misunderstood creature, not a raving madman.
This proves the next point: remorse. Roderick is, though not guilty of murder, quite remorseful over burying his sister alive. He does not fix the problem due to fear but, nevertheless, feels quite sorry. Emily, on the other hand, shows no remorse and keeps her dead cadaver of a husband (whom she sleeps with) in her attic. That is odd and crazy, as well.
In conclusion, though there are many similarities between Roderick and Emily, there are many, if not more differences between the two characters....