Kiara Fuentes
Young
March 8, 2013
Period 2

Roderick Usher Diagnostic Synopsis Throughout The Fall of the House of Usher Roderick Usher expresses many signs of having some type of disorder but it never really was diagnosed in the short story. The narrator explains that Usher had once been an attractive man and “the character of his face had been at all times remarkable.” However his appearance deteriorated over time, and he suspects that Roderick’s altered appearance was probably caused by his insanity. The narrator makes note of a variety of symptoms of being crazy from Usher’s behavior including, being very sensitive to loud noises, or strong smells. Little things throughout the story show that Roderick’s conditions worsen. With the clues and information given in the text of the short story possible disorders of Roderick Usher could have been Borderline personality disorder and Hypochondriasis. Borderline personality disorder or BPD is a serious psychological condition. BPD is associated with specific problems in interpersonal relationships, self-image, emotions, behavior and thinking. The narrator explains how Roderick Usher has some of these symptoms throughout the story. When the narrator first enters the house and meets his old friend Usher again Usher tells him that he is not well. While the story is being told it is expressed that Usher was very overwhelmed with the thought of losing his love, his sister. This caused a great deal of anxiety in Roderick which caused him to over think many situations and when his sister “passes away” he goes mad. This is when the hypochondriasis comes into play. Hypochondriasis is a belief that physical symptoms are signs of a serious illness, even when there is no medical evidence to support the presence of an illness. The symptoms of this illness are the inability to control ones fear or worries. Usher dealt with his madness through artistic forms. He played instruments, wrote poetry and painted. He also shows anxiety, which is another symptom of hypochondriasis. He shows anxiety towards the end of the story when everything is scaring him. The night he went into the narrator’s room during the storm and was freaking out about the lightning to the point that he opened the windows and let in all the rain and wind. Then finally when his sister appears from out the chamber and just collapses and dies in his arms, he died of a heart attack because he finally reached the point of not being able to control that