How did Madeline Usher survive without food or water?

Question

In *The Fall of the House of Usher*, Madeline Usher is put in the vault for a week, without food or water, in a coffin. This is in addition to the fact that she had been sick, and so wasn't at her healthiest then. **How did she survive without food and water?**

Answer 1

If you notice Roderick Usher throughout the story, he never takes any form of nourishment especially since so many things like sound and feeling cause him such emotional and physical pain. The lack of food and water adds to the vampiric nature of these siblings who seem completely isolated from normal life. I am not suggesting that they are vampires, but Poe’s gothic environment renders the Ushers not quite human and not completely alive.

Answer 2

A human being can go without food for three weeks on average. The longest known fast is 73 days during the 1981 Irish hunger strike. Water is more essential to life; normally, we can only go for four days without drinking it. Some people have survived for a week without water, so it is technically possible that Madeline could have survived. Note that she was put into the family vault, which would have been a very cool place. The cooler the temperature, the less water you need. In addition, Madeline suffers from catalepsy, which slows down bodily functions.

Perhaps the major consideration for Madeline Usher’s survival is that this is a tale of the supernatural. Roderick believes that the house is alive, haunted, and cursed. Madeline might have been possessed by a spirit.