zz1 Spé B à Coubertin

  THAT MELANCHOLY OF MIND SUMMARY Lorenzo tries to save his sister who was kidnapped by a Catholic Monk. At that time, Great Britain was Protestant. sacrifice, melancholy, solitude, delusions, gloom,  universal silence, Gothic.   Translation Time It was with difficulty that I could bring myself to admit the identity of the wan being before me with the companion of my early boyhood. p.94 c'est avec difficulté que [...] moi-même admettre l'identité de [...] avant moi avec le compagnon de mon début. je pouvais difficilement accepter le fait d'être le pâle avant d'être moi-même auprès des autres enfants lors de ma première jeunesse. c'est avec difficulté que j'ai admis l'identité [...] ce n'était pas sans peine que j'ai pu me permettre d'admettre que l'identité du blafard étant avant moi avec le compagnon de ma naissante ère de garçon. En traduction, il convient de respecter les deux règles d'or : 1. traduire le sens du texte d'origine ( ...

  For Poe, the reason is feminine, but it's tottering. Usher's poem explores the themes of old age, religion and decay. It's reminiscent of other poems by Poe ( Annabel Lee, the Raven ). The trees and the fungi near the house are sentient, they seem to be awakening.  The books in Poe's library are all connected with the plot somehow: they evoke underground passages, physical evil, the impossibility for the Apollonian side to win ( The City of the Sun is a utopia), and the inescapability of fate (with Chiromancy ). The Latin book highlights a very important element of the story : Madeline dies, and Roderick insists to put her body in a vault, under the house. Her body seems still fresh. The Dyonisian side of Usher seems to be winning. In the end, Poe uses pathetic fallacy to insist on the "terror and the beauty," the sublime aspect of the situation.  SUMMARY pp 98-105 - Usher improvises, and sings a ballad. - the Poem - Usher and the narrator evokes the nature...

Observations ! The narrator uses very specific words to describe his friend. He says he's an ennuyé man of the world (which echoes the French expression mal du siècle to speak about the Romantic age) ; he's also described like a tragic hero : his "struggles" are "feeble and futile," and he inspires "fear and awe" (see Aristotle).  Catharsis=purification Greek Tragedies were devoted to Dyonisius When Usher says his sister and him are going to die, is it plausible, is it avoidable ? Furthermore, his sister Madeline is also Roderick's twin.  The Theme of the Double : In The Fall of the House of Usher , the narrator insists on the physical ressemblance of Lady Madeline and her brother Roderick. They both have a classical beauty, and are week and feeble. They're twins. They're both sick. They're both likely to die soon. They both have some sort of a link with the House. Poe had already explored the theme of the (evil) double in ...

  Dyonisan ? The appearance of Roderick's sister. illness / mental disorder Roderick's condition : his senses are overactive. Archetype of the Romantic artist. "Hypocondriac" (p.98) ? Apollonyan ? Art : they're reading, writing, painting, playing music, talking. These moments are counterpoints to insanity, disease and death, through the intellect, reason and beauty. Symmetry : the House reflects in the tarn, the Usher twins reflect in each other, the family reflects in the House. This symmetry maintains the cohesion of order and sanity.   Julie : we get to feel sad by proxy (the happiness of being sad) A phantasmagoria was a type of show that was popular in the late 18th, early 19th century in Europe and in the USA. It used magic lanterns (old-school projectors) and special frames with painted glass that could move, and these images would reflect on smoke in the dark.  Gothic Novel 101 Frankenstein, 1818 Summary : it talks about the creator of Frankens...

 plot summary labyrinth The Theme of the Double In The Fall of the House of Usher , the narrator insists on the physical ressemblance of Lady Madeline and her brother Roderick. They both have a classical beauty, and are week and feeble. They're twins. They're both sick. They're both likely to die soon. They both have some sort of a link with the House. Poe had already explored the theme of the (evil) double in another short story entitled William Wilson , where a doppleganger (evil double) replaces the main character and takes over his life. French psyhciatrist Capgras later found that some people thought that their family had been replaced by doubles.