The story was written under the inspiration of the Gothic Tale. The uses traditional Gothic elements such as inclement weather and a barren landscape were used along the story. Poe creates a sensation of claustrophobia in this story. Characters cannot move and act freely in the house because of its structure, so it assumes a monstrous character of its own—the Gothic mastermind that controls the fate of its inhabitants.
There are theories that Madeline is actually just a conflicted version of Roderick Usher. Even tho they r twins, they :have distinct differences as male/female, mentally ill/ physically ill, e.t.c… Roderick’s action to bury her knowing she has catalepsy is considered an act of committing suicide as he rushed to assume that his “shadow” had disappeared.
Some scholars have argued that Madeline does not even exist, reducing her to a shared figment Roderick’s and the narrator’s imaginations.
