"The Oval Portrait" is a horror

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by American writer

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

, involving the disturbing circumstances of a

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...

in a château. It is one of his shortest stories, filling only two pages in its initial publication in 1842.

Plot summary

The tale begins with an injured

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

(the story offers no further explanation of his impairment) seeking refuge in an abandoned mansion in the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

. The narrator spends his time admiring the paintings that decorate the strangely shaped room and perusing a volume, found upon a pillow, that describes them. Upon moving the candle closer to the book, the narrator immediately discovers a before-unnoticed painting depicting the head and shoulders of a young girl. The picture inexplicably enthralls the narrator "for an hour perhaps". After steady reflection, he realizes that the painting's "absolute life-likeliness" of expression is the captivating feature. The narrator eagerly consults the book for an explanation of the picture. The remainder of the story henceforth is a quote from this book – a

story within a story A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes ...

. The book describes a tragic story involving a young maiden of "the rarest beauty". She loved and wedded an eccentric painter who cared more about his work than anything else in the world, including his wife. The painter eventually asked his wife to sit for him, and she obediently consented, sitting "meekly for many weeks" in his turret chamber. The painter worked so diligently at his task that he did not recognize his wife's fading health, as she, being a loving wife, continually "smiled on and still on, uncomplainingly". As the painter neared the end of his work, he let no one enter the turret chamber and rarely took his eyes off the canvas, even to watch his wife. After many weeks had passed, he finally finished his work. As he looked at the completed image, however, he felt appalled, as he exclaimed, "This is indeed itself!" Thereafter, he turned suddenly to regard his bride and discovered that she had died.

Analysis

The central idea of the story resides in the confusing relationship between art and life. In "The Oval Portrait", art and the addiction to it are ultimately depicted as killers, responsible for the young bride's death. In this context, one can synonymously equate art with death, whereas the relationship between art and life is consequently considered as a rivalry. It takes Poe's theory that poetry as art is the rhythmical creation of beauty, and that the most poetical topic in the world is the death of a beautiful woman (see "

The Philosophy of Composition "The Philosophy of Composition" is an 1846 essay written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe that elucidates a theory about how good writers write when they write well. He concludes that length, "unity of effect" and a logical method are importa ...

").

Publication history

"The Oval Portrait" was first published as a longer version titled "Life in Death" in ''

Graham's Magazine ''Graham's Magazine'' was a nineteenth-century periodical based in Philadelphia established by George Rex Graham and published from 1840 to 1858. It was alternatively referred to as ''Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine'' (1841–1842, and Ju ...

'' in 1842. "Life in Death" included a few introductory paragraphs explaining how the narrator had been wounded, and that he had eaten

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy '' Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which ...

to relieve the pain. Poe probably excised this introduction because it was not particularly relevant, and it also gave the impression that the story was nothing more than a

hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...

. The shorter version, renamed "The Oval Portrait" was published in the April 26, 1845 edition of the ''

Broadway Journal The ''Broadway Journal'' was a short-lived New York City-based newspaper founded by Charles Frederick Briggs and John Bisco in 1844 and was published from January 1845 to January 1846. In its first year, the publication was bought by Edgar Allan P ...

''.

Critical reception and impact

The story inspired elements in the 1891 novel ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical '' Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''The Picture of Dorian G ...

'' by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

. Five years before the novel's publication, Wilde had praised Poe's rhythmical expression.Sova, Dawn B. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z''. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001: 178. In Wilde's novel, the portrait gradually reveals the evil of its subject rather than that of its artist.Meyers, Jeffrey. ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy''. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992: 290. A similar plot is also used in Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1843 tale "

The Birth-Mark "The Birth-Mark" is a short story by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. The tale examines obsession with human perfection. It was first published in the March 1843 edition of ''The Pioneer'' and later appeared in ''Mosses from an Old Manse'', a ...

". There are similar elements in "

The Fall of the House of Usher "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in ''Burton's Gentleman's Magazine'', then included in the collection ''Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque'' in 1840. The short story ...

", such as a painter, his lover/model in a remote setting and especially their obsessions about inanimate objects that are living (the house of Usher, the painting in Portrait). In 1928 a French film-maker, Jean Epstein, filmed ''La Chute de la Maison Usher'' which combined both stories. Artist

Richard Corben Richard Corben (October 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the ''Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film ada ...

combined them in his 2012 adaptation after adapting each on their own.

Lance Tait Lance Tait is an American playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and composer. Tait has written over forty full length and one act plays, including seventeen plays based on short stories of Edgar Allan Poe. He has also published two books of comedy ...

's 2002 play ''The Oval Portrait'' is based on Poe's tale. Laura Grace Pattillo wrote in ''The Edgar Allan Poe Review'' (2006),

References

External links

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Full text on PoeStories.com
with hyperlinked vocabulary words *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oval Portrait, The 1842 short stories Gothic short stories Short stories adapted into films Short stories by Edgar Allan Poe Works set in castles Works originally published in Graham's Magazine