AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, Volume 10. Number 2. May 2026 Pp.17-27
Department of Foreign Languages
College of Arts
Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
As one of Edgar Allan Poe’s most significant short stories, “The Fall of the House of Usher” has received many discussions and critical analyses. This paper focuses on Poe’s representation of Madeline Usher as the only female character in the narrative. Poe’s critics often regard Madeline as a marginalized character who appears briefly in a male-dominated narrative. Critics often misinterpret her silence as a sign of Poe’s misogynistic and patriarchal attitude towards women. This paper challenges this accusation through a close reading of the story informed by feminist criticism and Gothic tradition. The analysis shows that, despite her silence and marginalization, Madeline remains central to the narrative and ultimately controls it. Moreover, it examines her characterization within the context of Poe’s personal experience and within the context of the nineteenth-century Gothic tradition that shaped Poe’s tales, thus questioning claims of Poe’s misogyny. This conclusion encourages closer readings of Poe’s female characters through a combination of feminist and Gothic frameworks.
Qashgari, S. S. D. (2026). “We have put her living in the tomb!”: Burying the Female’s Voice in “The Fall of the House of Usher”. Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies 10 (2):17-27
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Dr. Sawsan Qashgari graduated from Taif University with honours in 2007 with an English major and a minor in Education. In 2011, she received an MA degree in American Literature from the University of Essex in the UK. In 2015, she was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy in American Literature from the University of Essex. Since then, she has been working as an Assistant Professor at Taif University. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8842-0183