52 pages • 1 hour read
T. KingfisherWhat Moves the Dead
Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Reinterpretation of Classic Literature
To incorporate this theme, T. Kingfisher breaks from the patterns associated with Gothic literature and draws attention to historical elements of sexism within real-world culture. While the tropes of traditional Gothic literature often depict an innocent maiden being exploited or abused by an antagonistic force, Kingfisher’s version of the story challenges this stereotype, for Madeline is far from being an innocent maiden. Instead, she is a middle-aged woman who is complicit in the fungus’s attempt to take over her body. By accepting this alternative version of existence, she rejects society’s expectation for her to prioritize finding a husband, and she accepts the fungus’s presence as her life’s purpose. As she reflects, “I was a pretty doll for my mother to dress up and for men to look at, and then she died and eventually I came here, where there were no men to look at me. And at last, I found a purpose” (146). Rather than being an innocent victim, Madeline is empowered by her rejection of social norms. By actively welcoming the fungus into her body and teaching it, she finds new meaning in raising and protecting it—almost as if it is her child. In the climactic scene, her use of the Gallacian pronouns va/van to refer to the fungus supports this interpretation, for these pronouns are only used to refer to children.
Easton, Miss Potter, and Denton also contribute to the development of this theme, and Easton’s situation, personality, and actions are perhaps the most notable examples of Kingfisher’s endeavor to reinterpret Poe’s original tale. In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe’s unnamed narrator is understood to be a man, and he does little to help the Ushers; in fact, during the climax of the short story, the narrator flees, abandoning Roderick and Madeline to their mysterious fate. By contrast, Kingfisher’s Easton is portrayed as nonbinary, and ka stays to help the Ushers and to destroy the fungus despite the risk to kan safety, challenging the stereotypical traditional idea that men alone embody the roles of brave and protective social leaders.
Although Miss Potter and Denton are fresh characters and therefore have no direct counterpart in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” they serve to advance Kingfisher’s modified plot and contribute significantly to the author’s broader message by challenging traditional gender expectations. For example, Miss Potter has a strong interest in mycology but is unable to professionally pursue the field because she is a woman and is therefore unfairly restricted by societal rules. However, her invaluable knowledge and desire to help lead Easton to the discovery of Madeline’s fungal infection. In this light, Denton’s supposedly authoritative presence as a man with professional medical training and experience is rendered moot, for in contrast to Miss Potter’s astute observations, he is helpless to diagnose Madeline’s ailment or ease her symptoms. Just as Easton’s character challenges the traditional view of gender as a binary construction, the contrasting roles of Miss Potter and Denton challenge the notion that men are intellectually superior—a common belief during the historical time frame depicted in the story. Thus, by reinterpreting “The Fall of the House of Usher” through a modern lens, Kingfisher exposes and critiques the sexism ingrained in both literary and cultural norms and demonstrates the importance of challenging outdated stereotypes.
The Psychological Impact of Isolation and Environment
This theme is portrayed both directly and indirectly, for the characters’ visceral reactions to the setting indicate the uncanny nature of their surroundings, and Denton and Easton’s contemplations of the long-term impacts of war underscore the fact that they are fighting yet another battle during their time at the Usher house. As Easton first approaches the ominous house, Kingfisher spends considerable time using vividly grotesque imagery to invoke a sense of foreboding and danger. Significantly, the understated evidence of the fungus features prominently in these passages, for Easton notices the dilapidated state of the house and the prevalence of odd fungal growths throughout the landscape. Pointed foreshadowing is also delivered when ka quickly concludes that the Ushers would benefit from leaving the property entirely. Denton also arrives at this conclusion, and in retrospect, Roderick and Madeline’s outright refusal to leave indicates that the fungus already exerts significant influence over their thoughts and actions.
As the story unfolds, the visitors at the house can perceive the connection between the Ushers’ health and the isolated, decaying environment, and they also begin to experience the impacts of the environment themselves. For example, Denton experiences increased nightmares from his time at war, and Easton acknowledges that the house is exacerbating kan negative emotions, admitting, “Perhaps this miserable place had weighed down my spirit and left me vulnerable” (97). While in practical terms, it is clear that the presence of the fungus is influencing the siblings’ determination to remain, Roderick’s refusal to leave despite his and Madeline’s declining health is also designed to symbolize the human reluctance to relinquish outdated traditions. Thus, the house itself can be interpreted as a symbol of crumbling and obsolete traditions. Although the Usher family was once wealthy and respected, both the people and the estate now languish in irreversible decline, mirroring the similar decline of traditional views that were once more respected and popular in mainstream society. In this context, the Ushers’ refusal to leave the house represents the reluctance of some individuals to let go of outdated concepts and practices.
The allusions to PTSD and the lasting effects of war that Easton and Denton describe also indicate the innate connection between environment and mental health. Easton and Denton repeatedly mention their war experiences, bonding over them the night of Easton’s arrival, and Denton also shares his nightmare about severed limbs and his prior experience with “soldier’s heart” when the sound of flapping flags reminded him of cannon blasts and frightened him. Likewise, Easton describes the influence of kan war experiences on kan dreams and present-day life, and ka also discusses Roderick’s time in the military. Thus, the experiences of all three characters emphasize Kingfisher’s implicit contention that environments dramatically impact physical and mental health long after the individual has left the traumatic setting. Thus, this theme coincides with The Reinterpretation of Classic Literature by addressing the lasting impacts of trauma, which was not well-known during the late 1800s. Through the interrelation of these two themes, Kingfisher acknowledges the importance of environment on health, encouraging a critical examination of this dynamic and stressing its relevance to real-world relationships.
Mycology and the Possibility of Intelligent Fungi
This theme pervades multiple aspects of the narrative, just as the fungus’s insidious mycelium insinuates itself throughout the setting and invades the very bodies of the characters. Because Miss Potter’s scientific expertise is introduced simultaneously with the appearance of the fungi in the beginning of the text, this scene deliberately signals the central importance of fungus and mycology to the broader narrative. The area surrounding the Ushers’ house is home to several unique fungi, and the house itself is likewise infested with mold and other fungi that coats the walls and furnishings and accelerates decay. The symbolic meaning of the fungus can be interpreted from multiple perspectives. Most prominently, it represents the inevitability of death and decay, but, the fungus also symbolizes societal progression and the decay of outdated traditional values.
Miss Potter plays a key role in the development of this theme, for although she calls herself an amateur and is barred from pursuing mycology in a professional capacity, she is nonetheless an expert in the field. Just as the novel fungus invades the landscape, Miss Potter’s bold feminist outlook acts as a subversive influence on the traditionally oppressive views of the patriarchy, and she acts as an advisor to Easton, supplying relevant scientific information and delivering key references to real-world professionals like Beatrix Potter and Friedrich Zopf, a German mycologist. The mycological information that Miss Potter facilitates the characters’ discussion of fungi in general and confirms the crucial possibility that the fungus inhabiting the tarn is sentient.
The possibility of an intelligent fungus is first suggested through the lights that Easton sees in the tarn. In this moment, Easton reflects on past experience with bioluminescent plankton, but those types of bioluminescent displays are random, while the lights in the tarn are coordinated, subtly suggesting intelligence. However, the full extent of the fungus’s intelligence and sentience does not appear until Chapter 12, as Madeline—or rather, the fungus inhabiting her body—is explaining matters to Easton. Madeline asserts that the fungus is benevolent and is learning about the world. Significantly, she speaks of it as if it is a child, using the Gallacian va/van pronouns to indicate this. As she states, “Va’s like a child, va needs someone to care for van, and I know you’ll protect van and stand up for van, like you always did for me” (147). Madeline’s coercive tone renders her unreliable, and Kingfisher deliberately declines to clarify whether the fungus is lying or whether Madeline’s consciousness is still partially intact. The fact of the fungus’s sentience also makes the characters’ decision to kill it morally questionable at best.
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