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Originally written in 1839, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” has been the object of many literary questions and criticisms. One of the most interesting questions ever raised would undoubtedly pertain to the illness that Madeline Usher suffered. Many theories have been put forth about “the disease of Lady Madeline [that] had long baffled the skill of her physicians.” (Poe 786). The most obvious conclusion on this disease is that Madeline Usher suffered from vampirism. Although Poe never actually said outright that this is what affected Madeline, he did give enough evidence throughout the story for it to be a possibility and when paired with the society-of-the-time’s view of death and gothic literature, vampirism is the most logical answer. Most of the writing of Poe’s literary works occurred in the middle of the 1800s. “At the heart of nineteenth century romantic cult of the dead, lay a profound ambivalence towards the dead body” (Pike Par. 2). This enabled Poe to do many stories that dealt with the dying or deceased. It was a “hot” topic. “The Fall of the House of Usher”, however, is slightly different. The “dead,” that America loved at the time, had a new side. Since, according to Kendall, “Both male and female vampires abounded in literature by the time [Poe] published his contributions to the genre in 1839” (Par. 2) the backbone, the popularity of vampirism, was already in place for the short story to be accepted in the society. In short, by afflicting Madeline with “living” death, Poe not only appealed to the audience of those infatuated with death in general, but he was also able to target those that were interested in the darker, more gothic side, as well. There are many characteristics to look for when deciding if one is a vampire or not. Roxana Stuart’s Stage Blood: Vampires of the 19th Century Stage explains the traits of vampirism. For example, “Vampires can be either victims of a contagious disease, similar to rabies, or they can be a separate species from man; they are not necessarily connected with Satan and the powers of hell” (Qtd.
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