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52 pages 1 hour read

T. Kingfisher

What Moves the Dead

Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 2022

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Symbols & Motifs

Fungi

Fungi appears throughout the story in many different forms. It is first introduced as a motif when Easton stops to examine the stinking redgill, and various types of fungi cover the Usher house and everything in it. Later, the narrative reveals that the fungi in the tarn is sentient and deliberately commandeers animals’ bodies to extend its reach and influence on the world. Thus, the fungi is portrayed as a dominant lifeform. As Miss Potter explains, “mushrooms are not the only fungus. There are many, many types in the world. We walk constantly in a cloud of their spores, breathing them in. They inhabit the air, the water, the earth, even our very bodies” (45). The pervasiveness of the fungi, combined with fungi’s biological role of decomposing organic matter, reinforces its presence in the narrative as a motif of inevitable death and decay.

From a philosophical perspective, fungi causing the deterioration of the house of Usher also reflects the declining social status of the Usher family. They were once a wealthy and respected family, but their finances and influence have since decreased, and Madeline and Roderick are the last of the line. This diminishment suggests that all wealth and power must inevitably come to an end. The connection to human death and decay is portrayed more directly and appears through the successive demises of Alice, Madeline, and Roderick. Furthermore, the ambiguous ending of the story suggests that although death and decay can be delayed, they cannot be overcome.

The Tarn

The tarn is a complex motif in What Moves the Dead. In the beginning of the text, the tarn is portrayed as an eerie mountain lake, and its appearance sets the mood for the entire novella. As the narrative states, “[The tarn] lay dark and very still, reflecting the grotesque mushrooms and the limp gray sedges along the edge of the shore. It could have been five feet deep or fifty-five” (2). In this context, the tarn represents the unknown depths of festering decay, reflecting the demise of the house of Usher and the family associated with the property. However, as the plot progresses, it becomes more apparent that the tarn is not merely a passive mirror, but an ominously sentient presence.

The tarn thus becomes increasingly suspicious, acting as a motif of mystery. The idea that something is living within the tarn is first suggested when Easton tries to skip rocks across the water. As Easton observes, “The first skip went well enough and left the correct ripples, but the second seemed to land in something gelatinous and the rock vanished into the water” (44). At this point, Easton still sees the tarn as inanimate; ka assumes that the gelatinous material is something that lives within the lake. At this early stage, death and decay are yet portrayed as passive.

However, when Madeline is speaking to Easton while sitting on Roderick’s bed, she refers to the tarn as a living entity, calling it by the pronouns va/van, which are reserved for children in Gallacian society. In this way, the tarn becomes a personified version of death and decay, and it actively spreads death by leaving the bounds of its watery domain and infecting the hares and humans living nearby. Through this process, it learns more about the world and becomes a more effective and elusive killer. The story ends with the suggestion that the tarn may yet live undetected within humans unnoticed, and T. Kingfisher also implies that it may continue to live in the hares that it has already infected. The tarn’s symbolic representation as the active personification of death and decay enhances the horror-based aspects of the story and highlights the thematic discussions of Mycology and the Possibility of Intelligent Fungi.

The Shroud

Madeline’s death shroud acts as a blatant yet ironic symbol of death. The shroud is first depicted covering Madeline’s face in the crypt, and as Easton leaves the crypt after kan initial visit, ka admits, “It came to me, as we made our way up the steps, that anyone could have been under that shroud. I could not tell that it was Maddy. I could not tell that it was anything human at all” (97). In this case, the shroud obscures Madeline’s appearance and identity, foreshadowing the presence of the fungus and the fact that her body is destined to undergo a grotesque reanimation. This ironic depiction of the shroud is further supported by Easton’s attempts to self-sooth by repeating the phrase, “The dead don’t walk” (91). Ultimately, the uncanny Gothic elements of the story are confirmed by Madeline’s mysterious disappearance from the crypt.

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