There is a certain clever rhetoric from the buried protagonist in the introduction ―The
Premature Burial‖, Edgar Allan Poe‘s tale: ―The boundaries which divide Life from Death,
are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and the other begins?―
(Poe 322), as he finds himself ―buried‖ in what he believes to be a coffin, as the story starts to
intrigue us with one of the most terrifying and arguably uncanny experiences – live burial.
The narrator is obsessed, a walking ―dead man‖, who eventually saves himself from
the terrifying experience and exaggerated fear, but not from the uncanny feeling. It is as much
dreadful as when we as readers perceive the buried-alive Lady Madeline Usher breaking the
vault steel door of her coffin, uttering eerie sounds and appearing bloody at her brother
Roderick‘s door in Poe‘s even more gruesome tale, ―The Fall of the House of Usher‖. The
protagonists too are quite different, as are the representations of the motive of live burial in
both stories – one hand we deal with, as this essay will try and prove, an evident incestuous
relationship and perhaps Roderick‘s certain repressed wishes, and on the other hand the
exaggerated, almost satiric general fear of a seemingly cataleptic state and death.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Freudian’s Approach to Reading Poe: Live Burial
2.1. The Longing for the Womb in “The Fall of the House of Usher”
2.2. Lady Madeline Usher as Freud’s Uncanny Muse
2.3. The Return of the Repressed and Breaking the Moral Order
2.4. Repressed Wishes for Death in “Premature Burial”?
3. Conclusion
Objectives and Core Themes
This academic paper explores the motif of live burial in Edgar Allan Poe's tales "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Premature Burial" through the lens of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory on "The Uncanny." The primary objective is to demonstrate that the terror associated with live burial is a psychological transformation of an original desire for intra-uterine existence, connecting the protagonists' experiences to repressed internal wishes.
- Application of Freudian psychoanalytic theory to 19th-century American Gothic literature.
- Analysis of the relationship between the "uncanny" (unheimlich) and the "homely" (heimlich).
- Examination of Roderick Usher's incestuous desires and death-wish as projections of the repressed.
- Distinction between the psychological internal conflicts of Roderick Usher and the external fear experienced by the narrator in "The Premature Burial."
- Investigation of the "moral order" and the role of art as a fetishistic device in Poe’s narratives.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
There is a certain clever rhetoric from the buried protagonist in the introduction “The Premature Burial”, Edgar Allan Poe’s tale: “The boundaries which divide Life from Death, are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and the other begins?“ (Poe 322), as he finds himself “buried” in what he believes to be a coffin, as the story starts to intrigue us with one of the most terrifying and arguably uncanny experiences – live burial.
The narrator is obsessed, a walking “dead man”, who eventually saves himself from the terrifying experience and exaggerated fear, but not from the uncanny feeling. It is as much dreadful as when we as readers perceive the buried-alive Lady Madeline Usher breaking the vault steel door of her coffin, uttering eerie sounds and appearing bloody at her brother Roderick’s door in Poe’s even more gruesome tale, “The Fall of the House of Usher”. The protagonists too are quite different, as are the representations of the motive of live burial in both stories – one hand we deal with, as this essay will try and prove, an evident incestuous relationship and perhaps Roderick’s certain repressed wishes, and on the other hand the exaggerated, almost satiric general fear of a seemingly cataleptic state and death.
Yet in both stories, the buried-alive come back, and along with them the repressed returns. Both accounts intimidate the reader , undoubtedly perform a Poe-like effect on us as readers, a great deal we ascribe to Poe’s terrifying premature burial. Yet why would we choose to argue about the terrifying in the premature burial? Is there more to a general obsession with death in that the narrator in “The Premature Burial” goes through all the details to prevent an inside-the-coffin experience?
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the research focus on the motif of live burial in two of Poe's tales and introduces the theoretical framework based on Sigmund Freud’s essay "The Uncanny."
2. Freudian’s Approach to Reading Poe: Live Burial: Establishes the psychoanalytic foundation by defining the uncanny as a transformation of the wish for intra-uterine existence.
2.1. The Longing for the Womb in “The Fall of the House of Usher”: Examines Roderick Usher’s psychological state and his projection of repressed death-wishes onto his sister Madeline.
2.2. Lady Madeline Usher as Freud’s Uncanny Muse: Explores the symbolic role of Madeline as a personified idea of Roderick's forbidden desires and the return of the repressed.
2.3. The Return of the Repressed and Breaking the Moral Order: Analyzes how the breach of moral boundaries through incestuous dynamics serves to regulate the negotiation between desire and authority.
2.4. Repressed Wishes for Death in “Premature Burial”?: Contrasts the narrator of "The Premature Burial" with Roderick Usher, noting the lack of internal, repressed conflict in the former.
3. Conclusion: Summarizes findings, concluding that Poe’s work serves as a practical application of Freudian theories regarding the circular nature of life and the return of the repressed.
Keywords
Edgar Allan Poe, The Uncanny, Sigmund Freud, Live Burial, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Premature Burial, Psychoanalysis, Repression, Intra-uterine existence, Roderick Usher, Lady Madeline Usher, Death-wish, Moral Order, Incestuous Relationship, Gothic Literature
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper examines the literary motif of live burial in two specific stories by Edgar Allan Poe through the perspective of Freudian psychoanalytic theory.
Which stories are analyzed in the work?
The study focuses on "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Premature Burial."
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to determine if the terror of live burial in these tales can be understood as a "psychological transformation" of the desire for a return to the womb (intra-uterine existence), as proposed by Sigmund Freud.
Which scientific method is utilized?
The author employs a psychoanalytical reading, specifically using Freudian concepts such as the "return of the repressed," "the uncanny," and "fetishism" to interpret character behavior.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body breaks down the Freudian interpretation of Roderick Usher’s mental state, the symbolic role of Madeline, the significance of breaking moral order, and a comparative analysis with the narrator of "The Premature Burial."
What are the essential keywords?
Key terms include Edgar Allan Poe, The Uncanny, Psychoanalysis, Repression, Intra-uterine existence, and Death-wish.
How does the author interpret Roderick Usher's relationship with his sister?
The author argues that the relationship is incestuous and that Roderick buries Madeline to suppress his forbidden desires, only to have her "return" as a manifestation of his repressed death-wish.
What distinction does the author make between the two narrators/protagonists?
Unlike Roderick Usher, who exhibits deep internal conflicts and repressed wishes, the narrator of "The Premature Burial" is viewed as having no such internal struggle, representing a more external, fear-based experience of potential live burial.
- Citar trabajo
- Gaj Tomas (Autor), 2011, Tomb or Womb: The Freudian Approach to Live Burial in Edgar Allan Poe‘s "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Premature Burial", Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/176926
