Juno Usher is Roderick Usher’s second wife, who is used by him to prove that Ligodone is safe. Ruth Codd plays Juno Usher in The Fall of the House of Usher.
Years after divorcing his first wife, Annabel, Roderick marries Juno, a woman who is much younger than him. Roderick’s children do not welcome her into the family, even though Roderick has his reasons for marrying her.
A dream that did not come true
As Juno was in a bad car accident, her leg had to be amputated. In the hospital, she was given Ligodone, an opioid that Fortunato markets as a non-addictive painkiller. No one has ever been given a dosage as high as Juno’s. Despite that, Juno was conscious.
This led to Roderick meeting Juno and eventually marrying her. Even after recovering, Juno’s Ligodone dosage remains as high as ever, and as Ligodone is addictive, Juno becomes an addict.
Roderick’s children neither like nor respect Juno. In fact, they only see her as an addict. When Juno married Roderick, she thought she would be becoming part of his family. Juno, who does not have a family of her own, craves love and wants to belong somewhere.
However, even Roderick does not trust or love her. He does not talk to her most of the time. He even keeps his illness from her. More often than not, Juno is left alone in his huge house, which makes her feel small. She feels like no one sees her, and the loneliness suffocates her.
Roderick’s miracle
Juno wants to decrease her dosage, but Roderick does not let her do that. Even with the highest dosage ever known, Juno is alive and well. She is the living proof that Ligodone is safe. As Roderick allows his wife to take the drug, it makes people trust it.
Juno knows that the drug is more addictive than anything she has ever taken. She consults her doctor and finds out how she can stop taking Ligodone. When she tells Roderick about her decision, she comes to know that he never loved or cared about her.
Juno is nothing but Roderick’s miracle, his beautiful proof that his profitable drug is safe. Roderick tries to scare her by telling her what will happen to her if she stops taking Ligodone. Juno finally realizes that she married a monster.
However, Juno, who now knows that her husband has been using her and does not even see her as a human being, is ready to do whatever it takes to go off the drug. She would prefer that discomfort over living with Roderick.
After all the Ushers die, Juno successfully weans herself off Ligodone. She inherits Fortunato and dissolves it. She then uses the money for rehabilitation programs as well as addiction and recovery research.
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