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The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allan Poe
Table of Contents
GLOSSARY OF THE TEXT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Name: Edgar Allan Poe
Nationality: American
Date of Birth: January 19, 1809
Birth Place: Boston, Massachusetts, U.S
Death: October 7, 1849, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S (At the age of 40)
He was a writer, poet, editor and literary critic. He was best known for his poetry and short- stories.
ABOUT STORY
MAIN THEMES
This story, "The Oval Portrait," is based on the theme of the relationship between life and art. The story has revealed the fine idea that art can lead anyone towards perfection if it is applied in life in a very positive way. But it can even destroy anyone's life if it is applied in the wrong as well as the right way.
We find other themes in the story too. For example, the immortality of art and the mortality of love This story has presented the concept that art remains immortal forever. There is no fixed time for art. Art and artistic creations remain immortal. Art can even influence human life and its related feelings.
The story has even presented the destructive power of love. The feelings of love can even lead our lives to very destructive consequences.
PUBLICATION
This story was initially published in the year 1842 in Graham's Magazine in a longer version entitled 'Life in Death'. Later on, it was published on April 26, 1845, in the edition of the Broadway Journal in a shorter version with a new name called "The Oval Portrait."
SETTING
This story has a gothic setting of a desolate chateau in the Apennines of central Italy. The setting and the frame narrative technique (a story within a story) of the story have made all the readers feel fearful as well as curious.
MAIN NARRATOR
The main narrator of the story is unnamed here. From beginning to end, he keeps on telling his own story, which he has experienced once. He relates the event of one painful night that he had spent with his male servant Pedro in a desolate chateau in central Italy.
MAIN CHARACTERS
MAIN SUMMARY
When they (the narrator and his servant Pedro) arrived at a desolate chateau, the narrator wasn't in a good state. He was desperately wounded. The valet (servant) didn't want his master to stay in the open air due to his wounded state. He took the narrator inside the château forcibly, without anyone's permission. They chose one of the smallest apartments in Chateau to spend their night. The apartment had rich but decaying decorations. There were tapestries, trophies, and paintings. The narrator kept on watching the paintings. While watching, the interest of the narrator increased so much towards paintings. He asked his valet, Pedro, to close the heavy shutters in the room. Pedro closed the shutters, lit a candelabrum, and opened the bed curtains for the narrator to study the artwork easily.
The narrator found a book on his pillow in which there was a description of each painting with history and background. The narrator was thoroughly engrossed in reading the book. His valet, Pedro, slept. He kept on reading the book till midnight. The position of the candelabrum disturbed the narrator. He shifted the candelabrum himself without disturbing his valet.
When the light fell upon the painting in a corner that had previously been in shadow, the narrator saw an oval-shaped painting of a young girl who was "just ripening into womanhood." The narrator felt an impulse to close his eyes. He did so in order to calm down and view the painting more clearly. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that his senses had momentarily deceived him and startled him into wakefulness.
The painting of the head and shoulders of a young woman in an oval frame startled the narrator because it seemed so lifelike. The narrator looked at the painting more intently because he was too attracted to the artistry and beauty of the young woman. The narrator opened his book again and looked at the oval portrait in it. He started reading about the history of a particular painting.
Frame Narrative Technique (A story within Story)
According to the history of painting, the beautiful woman in the oval portrait was the wife of a passionate painter. The painter loved his artwork more than anything. One day, the painter desired to watch his wife's portrait. She agreed to her husband's proposal and sat on a chair obediently to pose in the dim light of the torrent. She kept on giving her a smiling pose for her husband. The painter took a very long time to paint her portrait. He seemed quite engrossed in his task of painting, which went on not only for days but for weeks. His wife became frailer and more ill while sitting on the chair. But she didn't complain about her husband's pleasure in executing the portrait.
During the time of completion, the painter locked himself and his wife in the tower away from visitors so that he could focus on his task of painting. He didn't realise that his wife was growing paler as the portrait grew more lifelike.
Finally, when the painter finished brushing tints over her eyes and mouth, he stepped back and stared at his painting and cried in a loud voice, "This is indeed life itself." When he turned his painting towards his wife, he found his wife dead on that chair in a posing state.
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
a. Where did the narrator and his servant make a forcible entrance?
Answer:
The narrator and his servant Pedro made a forcible entrance into a desolate chateau that was located in the Appennines of central Italy.
☆ The narrator was seriously wounded. His valet didn't want the narrator to stay in the open air. He took the narrator inside Chateau forcibly without anyone's permission.
b. Which special picture did the narrator notice in the room?
Answer:
The narrator noticed an oval-shaped picture of a young girl in the room when the rays of the candelabrum fell on it. The narrator didn't notice it before. The young girl seemed to be just ripening into womanhood in that picture. The picture of that woman was so beautiful, which attracted the narrator's attention.
☆ The oval picture of a young girl made him awake and curious. He kept on reading the history behind the portrait in his serious state. He was engrossed in finding its background through the book he had found in bed.
c. Describe the portrait that the narrator saw in the room.
Answer:
The portrait that the narrator saw in the room was quite artistic and lifelike. The narrator saw it when the rays of the candelabrum fell on it. The portrait was oval-shaped with a beautiful picture of a young girl on it. Its frame was richly decorative. The young girl seemed to be just ripening into womanhood. The narrator seemed completely startled to find the lady's shoulder and head with radiant hair so real. The brushwork of tints in the portrait seemed so real.
☆ The narrator felt the impulse to notice that portrait. He closed his eyes once and opened them. He couldn't believe his eyes to see such wonderful artistic creativity.
d. What is the relationship between the portrait painter and its subject?
Answer:
The relationship between the portrait painter and its subject is husband and wife. The husband of the subject (the lady) is a passionate painter who has painted his wife's portrait. He has painted his wife's portrait for many weeks.
REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT
a. What is the central theme of the story? Who is the woman depicted in the oval portrait?
Answer:
The central theme of the short story 'The Oval Portrait' is the relationship between life and art. This story has shown the destructive power of art and love. Art and love can lead anyone towards perfection, but they can also have destructive results in our lives. The painter in this story has become successful through his artistic works, but his wife has become the victim of his artistic tasks. She loves her husband extremely; that's why she doesn't reveal her pain. The story has shown the bad results of excessive passion for something. The woman depicted in the oval portrait is the wife of a passionate painter who has painted this oval portrait.
b. "The Oval Portrait" is a short horror story by Edgar Allan Poe involving the disturbing circumstances surrounding a portrait in a chateau. Elaborate.
Answer:
This short story has presented a terrible and gloomy setting of a desolate chateau in one of the mountain ranges (Apennines) of central Italy. The chateau, which we find here in this story, is completely deserted and very old-fashioned. The settings inside and outside seem very terrible. The apartments inside Chateau are so unmanaged and dirty. The apartment where the narrator and his valet stay has many things for decoration, but all of them are in a decaying state. The life-like portrait has been placed in one of the dark corners. The surroundings of the lifelike portrait are so disturbing due to the unmanaged conditions everywhere. The arrival of visitors has also added disturbance to the environment. The portrait seems quite valueless in that desolate environment of the chateau.
c. "The Oval Portrait" suggests that the woman's beauty condemns her to death. Discuss.
Answer:
"The Oval Portrait" suggests that the woman's beauty condemns her to death. Here, the wife of the painter is so beautiful and has just stepped into womanhood. The painter wants to paint her portrait. He is a quite passionate painter who loves his artwork more than anything. He places his wife on the chair to pose for him. He is obsessed with his artistic work. The painter takes weeks to paint her portrait. During his task, he doesn't notice his wife's health condition, which becomes quite weak. By the time he finishes the portrait, he finds his wife lying dead on the chair.
d. Discuss the story as a frame narrative (a story within a story).
Answer:
Frame narrative is a literary technique that reveals a story within a story. It starts with a different plot and setting of the story, but later on immerses itself with the next story within it. Here, this technique reveals to us how a single story involves the next story within it. The story starts with different information about the narrator and his valet in a different setting. The readers here move along with the story's flow at first, but later on, the next story starts within it with an amazing description of the oval portrait, its details, and background information. The readers reach the next level of the story. The technique of frame narrative works by showing a single story and the next story within it.
e. The story is told in a descriptive style, with plenty of imagery and symbolism. Which images and symbols do you find in the story?
Answer:
Here in this story, we find various images and symbols. The writer has used images to present his horror elements beautifully here in this story, where there is immense use of darkness and light. The image of the desolate Chateau in the Appennines has created a beginning thriller for the audience. Similarly, the image of two visitors in the dark, desolate setting has increased the readers' curiosity. Inside the chateau, the writer has used many images to present the setting of apartments, torrents, etc. Here, we find various images such as dark rooms, wall tapestries, trophies, the oval painting, among other paintings, candelabrums, books, rays of light, etc. The historical background of the oval portrait also presents the image of the painter and his wife in a high torrent of the chateau. The perfect use of images has presented this story with gothic elements beautifully. Like images, the symbols have also played a vital role in understanding this story on a deeper level. The oval portrait symbolises the mortality of love and the immortality of art. This portrait has snatched the life of its main subject's wife. Her love for her husband leads her to death, whereas her husband's passion for artwork has snatched her life and made her immortal in his artwork. The next symbol that we find here is the time during artwork. This time in the artwork symbolises the painter's obsession, where he has forgotten everything around him and led his wife to death.
f. What does the expression “She was dead!” mean?
Answer:
The expression "she was dead" means the shocking moment of the death of the painter's wife on the chair. The painter was quite obsessed with his work. He was engrossed in his task of painting. He forgot to inspect his wife's condition. He kept on painting his wife's portrait for weeks. When he turned his painting towards his wife being happy, he found his wife dead, posing on the chair. Here, the artwork took on the life of its main subject.
REFERENCE BEYOND THE TEXT
a. Do you think there is life in art?
Answer:
I don't think there is life in art. Art is just a creation to be displayed that has meanings related to different things. But, in a literal sense, artists create life in art. They try to find life within the art.
b. As a thing of art nothing could be more admirable than the painting itself. Explain.
Answer:
This statement is right about painting. Painting is a very admirable form of art. The painters work hard to create quality paintings with meaning. The painting itself speaks in a literal manner. Painting provides us with various facts related to life. Here in this story, the oval portrait is one of the finest examples, which has startled the narrator. He feels completely puzzled to see that painting. He wants to know about its lady and painter.
c. A more intense look at the painting reveals the illusion. Have you noticed any such painting?
Answer:
Yes, I have noticed such a painting. The painting becomes more meaningful when it is watched by a viewer who is passionate about paintings. But those viewers who don't have an idea about paintings find illusions all the time. In my case, I watched a typical painting for a long time, but I didn't get any meaning from it. I tried a lot to grasp its meaning, but in vain. Later on, I got its meaning from my friend.
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