The Fall of the House of Usher: Who is Rufus Griswold? Poe ties
While you can say that the entirety of this show is an amalgamation of some of the writer’s greatest works, there are also moments where you could view Roderick Usher as a substitute for Poe himself. There are multiple characters who are references to people he knew in real life, with Rufus Griswold being one of the most notorious of individuals.
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So who was the real-life Rufus to Edgar Allan Poe? Well, the two were contemporaries during their literary careers — though a more accurate way to describe their relationship may be “rivals.” The two developed a history of contentious behavior, one that including some harsh accusations and at one point, Griswold taking over a publication in Graham’s Magazine from Poe and at a higher salary. Griswold also wrote an exceptionally cold obituary to Poe following his death, which was shrouded in mystery.
By making Griswold into an actual character in The Fall of the House of Usher, executive producer Mike Flanagan is clearly working to have a bit of fun with certain aspects of Poe’s life. Also, we tend to think that Edgar Allan himself would appreciate some of the dark humor that is present with some of this — and the series itself is very much a love letter to some of his work.
What have you thought about what we’ve seen from The Fall of the House of Usher to date?
Do you appreciate all of the references to Edgar Allan Poe’s work? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Once you do just that, remember to come back — there are other updates coming that we won’t want you missing.
(Photo: Netflix.)
This article was written by Jessica BunBun.