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1Chapter1Introduction1.1RationalePrevailinginFranceinmiddle19thcentury,symbolismgenerallyreferstothesystematicuseofsymbolsinordertorepresentoralludetosomething.AsPoe’stalesaretypicallyofsymbol,Poebecametheiconofthesymbolistmovementsandhisworkswererecognizedas“fineart”bycriticsandreaders.TheFalloftheHouseofUsherisconsideredasoneofPoe’sbeststories.AnditprovidesapossiblekeytoencodingPoe’ssymbolicmeaningsinotherstories.Whenoneattemptstounderstandthesemeaningsinthestory,basically,hehastobearinmindwhatPoe’swritingpurposeis.Poe’sintentionofwriting,somehow,hasprofoundconnectionswithhisconceptionoftheuniverse.InPoe’sview,theuniverseisaperfectpoemwrittenbyGodwhoisasupremepoet.Asmanentershisadultlife,helosestheabilitytoperceivethefirstororiginalbeautyandheisnolongerimaginativebecausereasonhasdominatedhissoul,whichfinallyresultsintwoconflicts.Oneisbetweenpoeticsoulandphysicalworld,andtheotherwithinpoet’snature.Thenaquestionraisedishowamancouldgetridofthetwoconstraintsandagainperceivetheauthenticbeauty.InGraham'sMagazine,Poeholdstheideathatitisontheverybrinkofsleepthathecanglimpsethespirit’souterworldwherehisconsciousnessispurelyimaginative.Withadesireforthelostbeauty,Poe’swritingsaimtocapturetheglimpsesandtransferthemintolanguage.Withthenotionsabovereached,itisthennotwithdifficultytoconcludethatthestoryisadreamjourneywherethesoulisfreeandimaginativeandregainhispowertoperceivethefirstbeauty.21.2LiteratureReviewPoewasoftendismissedbycontemporaryliterarycriticsbothbecauseoftheunusualcontentofhisstories,andbecausetheshortstorygenreheemployedwasnotyetregardedasseriousliterature.NoteveryonewillagreethatPoe’sstoryhasanaccessibleallegoricalmeaning.Somecriticsregardhistalescomplicatedmachinesforsaying“boo”.FreudiancriticsdeclarethatifonefindsthatPoeunintelligibleheshouldcongratulatehimself,sincehecouldunderstandPoeitwouldbeproofofhisabnormality.Buttheoppositeisnearerthetruth.Poeassuresusthathisworkdoeshavemeaningandthatthemeaningisnotonthesurfacebutinthedepths.(LiHuifang,2001)AsRichardWilbur(2004,807-23)arguesinhisTheHouseofPoe,thepatternofthestoryisadreamjourneytoself.Thusthesymbolicmeaningsinthetalearesomethingrelatedtothedifferentstepsoftheprocessofadream.HeevencitesMs.FoundinaBottleasanexampletoexplainhistheory.Histheoryisaone-wayformulationandhefocusesonthefinalplungetothedarknessofdream.InFebruaryof1848,PoedeliveredalectureontheUniverse,whichformedthebasisofhiscosmologicaltreatise,Eureka,whichPutnampublishedinJune.InEureka:AnEssayontheMaterialandSpiritualUniverse,Poe(2004,668-84)tellshisconceptionofuniverse.Generallyspeaking,PoeholdsthattheuniverseisplotofGodwhichislikeataleorpoemandGodissupremepoet.AsScottPeeples(2002,178-88)analyzesinhisPoe’s“constructiveness”and“TheFalloftheHouseofUsher”,thisstoryiswellstructured.PartofhisarticleendeavorstopointouthowtheHouseisbuilt,meanwhilethearticlealsogivesdetailsoftheHouse’scharacteristics.3AsDarrelAbel(1949,176-85)arguesinhisAKeytotheHousethatthethemeofthestoryistheoppositionofLife-ReasontoDeath-Madness.Allthesymbolsshow“ascendantevilencroachingupondecadentgood.”(1949,178)InGraham'sMagazine,Poe’sintentiontowritethetaleliesindescribingthe“outré-tombe”consciousnesswhichPoetermsit“fancies”.Poebelievesonacertainstateofmindoneisabletoglimpsethese“fancies”.(Poe,1848)1.3OrganizationoftheThesisThethesiscanbedividedintofourparts.Thefirstpartisanintroductiontosomeimportantnotionsneededtointerpretthestoryandvariouscommentsfromcritics.Thesecondpartfallsintotwosections,namelyPoe’swritingpurposeandthestoryasadreamjourney.ByexploringPoe’sconceptionoftheuniverse,thepaperconcludestwoconflictsinPoeandhistalesandthatPoe’swritingpurposeliesincapturingglimpsesontheedgeofsleepintowordswheresoulescapesfromtheconfineofphysicalworldandbody.Inthissense,thestorycanberegardedasadreamjourneytothedepthofthesoul.Inordertomakeitmoreconvincing,thepaperanalyzesWilbur’spatternofthestoryinsecondsection.InChapter3,thethirdpart,thepaperattemptstointerpretmainsymbolsinthestoryfromtheperspectiveofmind’svoyage.ThemainsymbolsaretheHouseandUsher.Thefourthpartwhichisalsothelastpartissettomakeaconclusionofthewholethesis.4Chapter2StoryasaDreamJourneyInthischapter,onecoreissuetobearticulatedisthepatternofthestory,thatis,adreamjourneytothedepthofthesoul.Inordertorevealit,thepaperbeginswithPoe’sconceptionoftheuniverseandfromitthepaperconcludestwoconflictswhichcanbeescapedfrominacertaindreamstateofmind.DuetoPoe’sdesireforthelostbeautyandimagination,hiswritingpurposeistorecordwhatheseesinthedreamstateofmindwhichhebelievesisimaginativeandfreeforthesoul.Thus,Poe’stalescanbeconsideredasmind’svoyage.ThenthepaperbettersWilbur’sformulationandbrieflyanalyzesthestoryasadreamjourney.2.1Poe’sPurposeofWriting2.1.1Poe’sConceptionoftheUniverseInEureka:AnEssayontheMaterialandSpiritualUniverse,Poedesignsto“speakofthePhysical,MetaphysicalandMathematical—oftheMaterialandspiritualUniverse.”(Poe,2004,568)PoeexplainsthatGodissupremepoet.Accordingly,theoriginoftheuniverseisapoemandPoetermsit“plotofGod.”(Poe,2004)Thus,it’snaturalthatcreaturesonthispla