What Moves the Dead

Roderick Usher is one of the last descendants of the Usher family, along with his twin sister, Madeline. The Ushers were childhood friends with Easton, and Roderick served in the Gallacian army under Easton’s command. Roderick is described as having always been pale with blond hair, but his condition in the book is designed to invoke a sense that something is profoundly wrong with his health. As Easton observes:

Roderick Usher’s skin was the color of bone, white with a sallow undertone, a nasty color, like a man going into shock. His eyes had sunk into deep hollows tinged with blue and if there was a spare grain of flesh left on his cheeks, I couldn’t see it (13).

This description combines with the discussion of his white hair to suggest that he has been taken over by the fungus from the tarn, even if the infestation has not yet infiltrated his brain.

Roderick is an important side character who primarily serves to advance the plot and develop the themes. His main character traits include his closeness with his sister and his intensifying anxiety. As Easton observes, “He had plenty of courage but little nerve, and he had loved his sister dearly” (106). Roderick’s love for Madeline is what ultimately drives him to break her neck; he knows that her body is infected by something alien, and he wants to end his sister’s suffering. The guilt he experiences afterwards exacerbates his anxiety and acts as further proof of his strong love for Madeline. By breaking Madeline’s neck, Roderick drives the plot forward and inadvertently compels the fungus in her body to reveal itself. The Psychological Impact of Isolation and Environment is also indicated through the portrayal of Roderick’s declining physical and mental health, which mirrors the pervasive decay of the house and echoes Madeline’s progressive malady.

Madeline is the twin sister of Roderick Usher and the childhood friend of Alex Easton. Like Roderick, she is extremely thin and pale. She also has cyanotic lips and fingertips and is covered in fine white hair that is eventually revealed to be evidence of a fatal fungal infection. Years ago, she lived with her mother in Gallacia but later moved to the house of Usher with her brother. A few months before the beginning of the story, Madeline almost drowned in the tarn, the mountain lake near the Usher house. It was at this time that she was infected by the fungus lurking in the water. During the climactic conversation in Roderick’s bedroom, the deceased and fungus-infested Madeline describes how she willingly taught the fungus as though it were a child. However, her assertions are not reliable, as the narrative never clarifies whether Madeline is expressing her own thoughts or whether the collective consciousness of the fungus is using her decaying body to voice these claims.

Because Madeline’s identity is intertwined with that of the fungus in the tarn, Madeline is both a victim and an antagonist. Well before Easton ever arrives at the house, Madeline was taken over by the fungus, which then fed on her and eventually killed her. Even so, the fungus continued to sustain the illusion of life in her body so that it could continue using her form as an avatar to further explore the world. At the same time, Madeline herself is an antagonist because she initially consented to the fungus’s presence, keeping it secret and allowing it to grow stronger and smarter. In the climactic scene, either she or the fungus attempts to convince Easton to accept the fungus into kan body.

Eugenia Potter is a woman who lives near the house of Usher. She is approximately 60 years old and is described in implicitly masculine terms as being “tall and broad” (2). The first time that Easton sees Miss Potter, she is “wearing men’s boots and a tweed riding habit,” as well as a “gigantic hat that made her look even taller and broader” (2). She soon establishes herself as an authoritative scientific figure in the story. She delivers crucial information about fungi, identifies the hairlike hyphae on Madeline’s shroud, and helps to supply the sulfur that is eventually used to kill the fungus in the lake.

As an important and outspoken side character, Miss Potter acts as the chief avatar to develop the theme of Mycology and the Possibility of Intelligent Fungi, imbuing the narrative with plausible scientific explanations that add credibility to the premise of the plot. Her knowledge of fungi proves essential to the climactic scene, and her character also represents yet another example of The Reinterpretation of Classic Literature, for her surname is an allusion to the real-world author Beatrix Potter, whom Miss Potter claims is her niece. Miss Potter’s deliberately masculine appearance combines with her adamantly feminist perspective to challenge traditional gender roles and express her bitterness at being excluded from the Royal Mycology Society because of her gender and despite her clear expertise. Her character therefore acts as the embodiment of an overtly feminist perspective, and her comments serve as a vehicle for Kingfisher’s critique on the oppressive conditions that many women faced in the late 19th century.

James Denton is Roderick’s friend, and he is also a retired army doctor. He is described as “a tall lanky man with silvering hair, probably approaching fifty if not quite over the edge […] and his mustache was too long for fashion” (16). Denton admits that his medical training is lacking and that his previous medical experience is limited to the wartime necessity of amputating soldiers’ limbs. He does his best to help Madeline but instinctively knows that her malady is beyond his skill to diagnose, much less cure. Despite his limitations, his determination to stay and assist in any way he can demonstrates his caring nature.

As the narrative progresses, Denton and Easton bond over their shared military experiences. They are both friends to the Ushers, and they both want to help the twins in any way possible. They also bond over their shared war trauma, exchanging stories and nightmares and supporting one another through the events of the plot. Denton is also an important allegorical character who represents common American attitudes. When Easton first meets him, ka is unable to determine Denton’s personality, stating, “Sometimes it’s hard to know if someone is insulting or just an American” (24). America and Americans are criticized multiple times in the text, which creates a satirical tone that mirrors modern-day cynicism toward the United States, particularly in relation to its citizens’ perceived arrogance and the lasting ill effects of industrialization.