Class 11 Section II English Lesson 2

Exercise

About the Story

The Oval Portrait is a short gothic horror story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842. It centers on the disturbing history of an oval portrait found in a desolate chateau. The story explores macabre and mysterious events in a lonely, eerie setting.

About the Writer

Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was one of America’s most celebrated literary figures, known for his poems, short stories, and works of mystery and the macabre. Despite his short life of 40 years, he created influential works that remain widely studied and admired.

Main Theme

The central theme is the relationship between life and art. Poe shows how devotion to art can be inspiring and elevate life, but excessive obsession can lead to tragedy and destruction.

Publication

• First published in 1842 in Graham’s Magazine under the title Life in Death (longer version).

• Shortened and retitled The Oval Portrait in 1845 in the Broadway Journal.

Setting of story

• Location: A desolate chateau in the Apennines of central Italy.

• Atmosphere: Gothic, mysterious, and eerie.

• Technique: Frame narrative — a story within a story.

Main Narrator

• Unnamed narrator recounting an experience during one painful night spent with his servant, Pedro, in the chateau.

• Seriously wounded and seeking shelter from the cold.

Plot Summary

Arrival at the Chateau

• The narrator and his loyal valet Pedro arrive at the chateau in the evening.

• The narrator is badly injured; Pedro forces entry to protect him from the cold.

• They occupy a small, strangely decorated room filled with old paintings, tapestries, and trophies.

Discovery of the Portrait

• Unable to sleep, the narrator examines the paintings.

• Finds a small book detailing the history of the artworks.

• Adjusting a candelabrum, he notices an oval portrait of a young woman in the prime of life.

• The lifelike image startles him; he reads the story of the portrait in the book.

Story Within the Story (Frame Narrative)

• The woman was the young wife of a talented but obsessive painter.

• The painter loved his art more than anything — including his wife.

• He began painting her portrait soon after their marriage.

• She posed willingly, enduring weeks of immobility in the tower studio.

• The painter became consumed by capturing every detail, ignoring her declining health.

• The light, confinement, and neglect weakened her until she was near death.

• When the portrait was finished, the painter cried, “This is life itself!”

• Turning to share his triumph, he found his wife dead.

Key Literary Features

• Personification: Life is given to art, while art drains life from the subject.

• Symbolism: The portrait represents art’s ability to preserve beauty but also its power to consume the living.

• Gothic Elements: Isolated setting, mystery, death, and psychological intensity.

• Frame Narrative: The outer story (narrator in the chateau) encloses the tragic inner tale (wife and painter).

Main Message

Art, when pursued with obsession and disregard for human life, can destroy what it seeks to immortalize. The story warns of the dangers of allowing passion for perfection to outweigh love and compassion.