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Setting

The story begins on one "...dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year...." From the very beginning, the reader, as a result of Poe's imagery, is aware of a sense of death and decay. Even the narrator, Roderick's childhood companion, describes "a sense of insufferable gloom [which] pervaded [his] spirit" as he approached the House of Usher. The term "House of Usher" refers not only to the crumbling mansion but also to the remaining family members who live within. (See Style and Interpretation )

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