There are many links between the narratives seen in the three stories. Even though the story line and the characters themselves are different, the houses seen in the stories all have foundations, all have hidden secrets that haunt them. Through those foundations, we see the historical and phycological trauma. Madeline Usher, Mathew Maule and the Shinnecock Indians all are thought to be forgotten and erased in those foundations but yet manage to manifest themselves in the present of those stories.
Lets start with "The Fall of the House of Usher". In Poes story, the narrative receives a letter from his long lost childhood friend, Roderick Usher. In that letter, we learn that he is suffering from a mental disorder, an acute bodily illness (172 Poe), and that he is asking his boyhood companion to come and pay him a visit. In the gloomy mansion known to be the Usher home, Roderick lives with his twin sister called Madeline. The narrative reveals that the Usher family was self-isolated and lacked contact with the outside world since the entire family lay in the direct line of descent enduring branch (172 Poe). Mental illness was the unknow of the period in which Poes story occurs. Viewed as a fear, nobody knew how to cope with Ushers disorder which resulted with him not being treated properly during his childhood. In the present of the story, Roderick is described to be tormented by his own fears and oppressed by his anxiety. As the story advances, we quickly realize that Rodericks identity is shared with his twin sister. We do not see much of Madeline, but we do learn that she is terribly sick and it greatly affects her brother. In order to put her out of her misery and perhaps get rid of some anxiety (ideology), Roderick buries alive his sister in the family donjon below ground. By doing such thing, this could symbolize that Madeline is a physical embodiment of Rodericks fears. However, that didnt solve the problem. Madeline makes it out of the coffin in which she was placed in and goes after her brother. She was coming back for him after what he did to her and bringing Roderick down with her.
Different story but yet the weaker and more vulnerable are also buried underneath the house seen in the The Old Pycheon Family. The narrative in Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story from the outside and reveals hidden history of the story and of the time period itself. Hawthorne does a great job on bringing us back to the original roots of America, where the American dream all started. The story takes place...
