Max Nutter

Answer to Lauren Corley:
I think that Usher felt relieved when he was burying Madeline alive because he did not want to see her suffer and die from her sickness. While Usher did feel guilty for doing so, he probably saw burying her alive as the only solution to the emotional pain he endured as he watched her slowly die. He knew that Madeline was going to die eventually and he did not want to have to watch that process or look upon her corpse. The text states how Usher's depression was only worsened because of the bond he shared with Madeline, his twin sister, and the sorrow he felt for her sickness. Later, Usher did go into hysterics and apologized for knowingly burying her alive, making it clear that, while he was hoping to be relieved of his suffering by burying Madeline before her death, he could not escape his guilt for doing so.