suppress fem voice

• topic sentence?

  Poe employs imagery dialogue to convey central ideology of COB, leading to suppression of fem voice, heavily anchored in 19th century Western society, reflecting era's cultural and social zeitgeist.
• what is COB (sentence 2)

  worldview saw hierarchical structure, God at the top, followed by angels, kings

  • philosophy also permeated familial dynamics, men seen as head of house, and their wives as subordinates, mirroring a microcosm of the broader social hierarchy
• structural placement of LM and unnamed narrator as a reflection of the COB with LM "lying...immediately beneath... my own sleeping apartment."

  • imagery: illustrate hierarchical order of universe, with unnamed male narrator directly positioned above her, even in death.
  • underscores traditional power dynamics and gender roles prevalent in society at the time
  • further, portrays unnamed male guest being valued above the matriarch of the sacred Usher lineage-> highlight stark disparity in societal regard between even esteemed women of society and anonymous male counterpart
• structural placement of LM and unnamed narrator as a reflection of the COB with LM "lying...immediately beneath... my own sleeping apartment." Poe employs imagery to?(1.1.1)


  illustrate hierarchical order of universe, with unnamed male narrator directly positioned above her, even in death.

  • underscores traditional power dynamics and gender roles prevalent in society at the time
  • further, portrays unnamed male guest being valued above the matriarch of the sacred Usher lineage-> highlight stark disparity in societal regard between even esteemed women of society and anonymous male counterpart
• Additionally, Poe depicts the firmly anchored idea of suppression of the female voice as a result of the Chain of Being  in 19th century Victorian England

  • In climatic crescendo of horror, Roderick stresses "said i not that my senses were acute?... I hear it.... I heard them- many, many days ago"
  • dialogue: depicts literal epitome of female suppression in the 19th century, embodied by Roderick’s ignorance towards Madeline’s desperate cries from her coffin, dismissing her screams, refusing to exhume her
• in the climatic crescendo of horror, Roderick stresses "said i not that my senses were acute?... I hear it.... I heard them- many, many days ago" Poes use of dialogue?

  Roderick knows unmistakably -> only one to save her from death, yet he unwilling to relinquish place on hierarchical Chain of Being, even if it descending to the perceived lower status, would save sister’s life.

  • His refusal to act reveal narcissist - prioritized own elevated status on the Chain of Being, over preservation of Madeline’s life.
  • Instead, silences her pleas with superficial entertainment.
• Said I not that my senses were acute? ...  I hear it… I heard them- many, many days ago

  • This striking moment encapsulates the systematic suppression and dismissal of women’s voices during this era, where their cries for liberation and autonomy were often ignored or dismissed.
  • With unchallenged authority, he dictates her fate, further cementing her powerless position within the patriarchal family structure.
  • result, Lady Madeline rendered voiceless, devoid of any autonomy to carve out her own path.
• context

  mirrors many women of the 19th century; constrained to the domestic sphere, stuck in patriarchal marriages, with husbands holding legal and social authority over their voices and opinions domestically and publicly.