The narrator ends up ironically falling into the same preoccupation with
the woman’s portrait that the painter himself did
. The story’s abrupt ending implies that he may have died in the midst of this, just as the painter’s wife died while he was lost in his obsession with capturing her beauty.
Who is the narrator in The Oval Portrait?
“The Oval Portrait” by Edgar Allan Poe is narrated by the main character,
the wounded man
. He uses a first-person point of view to describe his night in an abandoned chateau, where he learns the tragic story behind a mysterious portrait.
Why does the narrator valet break into the chateau?
1. Why did the mysterious gentleman and his valet break into the abandoned chateau? a) The valet brings the mysterious gentleman, who is also the narrator, into an abandoned chateau
because the man is injured and he does not want the man to have to sleep outside
.
What is the climax of The Oval Portrait?
The climax in “The Oval Portrait” was when
the narrator realized that the painting “sucked” the life out of the young girl
. The climax was when the narrator was reading the description and realized with each brush stroke, a portion of her life was being taken away.
Is the narrator in the oval portrait reliable?
The short story “The Oval Portrait” by Edgar Allan Poe is told in the past tense by
a limited first-person narrator, the wounded man
, who is also the main character. … The story suggests that the narrator might be unreliable since he is wounded and possibly starting to hallucinate.
How does narrator find out about the woman in the oval portrait?
➜ The narrator noticed an oval-shaped picture
of a young girl in the room when the rays of candelabrum fell on it
. The narrator didn’t notice it before. The young girl seemed just ripening into womanhood in that picture. The picture of that woman was so beautiful which attracted the narrator’s attention.
Why was the narrator so startled upset by the portrait oval portrait?
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 towards the artistry and beauty of the young woman. … He started reading about the history of a particular painting.
Did the painter love his wife in the oval portrait?
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.
Why did he close his eyes when he saw the painting?
When the narrator moves his candelabra to get a better view of the book he is reading, he “glanced at the painting hurriedly, and then closed [his] eyes.” He does not at first quite understand why he closes his eyes, but
he realizes that he needs to assure himself that he is indeed awake
and that his vision is not …
Why is it ironic that the painter’s wife sat for the portrait?
Irony is important to this story because it shows as
the painter finishes the portrait his wife becomes sicker and his painting is becoming more alive as
if it was taking life from her.
What is the narrative structure of the oval portrait?
The story follows a linear plot structure, and it is
a frame narrative (a story within a story)
. It includes narrative techniques like backstory and foreshadowing. The characters include the wounded man, who is the main character, and the painter and his young wife, about which the man reads in a book.
Who is Pedro in relation to the narrator?
Pedro is
the narrator’s servant
, and is only mentioned briefly at the beginning of the story. His role in the narrative seems to be purely functional: it’s with his help that the injured narrator gains access to the chateau, but his involvement essentially ends there.
What is the rising action in the oval portrait?
The middle of the short story develops the rising action. The wounded man studies the paintings and the book for a long time. He moves the
candelabrum
so he can read better, and this produces an unexpected effect – he discovers a painting that was previously hidden in the dark (ll. 32-35).
What does the narrator see when he moves the candelabrum?
He sees
a portrait of a young girl
.
How did Edgar Allan Poe react to his wife’s death?
Virginia’s death had a significant effect on Poe. After her death, Poe was deeply saddened for several months. A friend said of him, “
the loss of his wife was a sad blow to him
.
What was it about the painting that affected the narrator the most?
9. What was it about the painting that affected the narrator the most? a.
The golden frame
.
Why do you think the painter didn’t notice his wife’s declining health the oval portrait?
Why do you think the painter didn’t notice his wife’s declining health?
She never showed any signs of being sick
. She continuously assured him that she was fine. He wasn’t around her to notice since he was so busy with his work.
Why did Poe write the oval portrait?
Answer and Explanation: Poe wrote The Oval Portrait
to demonstrate his philosophy about art and artists
. Poe believed that art could be addictive and many artists were narcissistic. In The Oval Portrait, the painter is so addicted to the work that he ignores his bride.
How is the mansion described in the oval portrait?
The two men hole up in a remote bed chamber whose decorations are
“rich, yet tattered and antique
.” It is an oddly-shaped room that is full of nooks due to the chateau’s “bizarre architecture.” The chamber boasts a number of tapestries, “armorial trophies,” and “an unusually great number of very spirited modern …
What happened to the painter’s wife in the oval portrait?
When he has just about finished the portrait and turns to regard his wife, it is
to find that she has died
.
How is the artist’s wife depicted in the oval portrait?
The artist is subtly portrayed as a sort of
metaphorical vampire
in the way that he sucks the youth and health out of his wife in order in order to immortalize her, although her immortalization is, of course, a figurative one on canvas.
What is the relationship between the portrait painter and its subject?
The relationship between a portrait painter and his or her subject is
an intimate one
. The subject must bear it while the painter undresses them with his eyes—metaphorically, that is.
What was the painter obsessed with in the short story The oval portrait?
The painter was so enamored by his obsession that
he was able to portray his young bride well
. … The Painter’s mad obsession was focused only on mirroring his young bride’s beauty in his canvass. There was nothing else that held his attention. It consumed him to the point that he failed to see her as a human being.
What word is repeated by the raven when it perches inside?
The lover, often identified as a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further distress the protagonist with its constant repetition of the word “
Nevermore”
.
Who is the protagonist in The Oval Portrait?
The most important characters in the short story “The Oval Portrait” by Edgar Allan Poe are
the wounded man
, who is the main character, the painter, and the young woman in the portrait, as secondary characters.
Why is the story The Oval Portrait called frame narrative?
It is also a
frame narrative
, or a story that contains another story. However, ‘The Oval Portrait’ is more literal than most. The story describes the style of the painting and its frame in considerable detail, and its title focuses more on the presentation of the portrait than on its subject.
Why did the narrator the luncheon feel he had his revenge at last?
Answer: The narrator seized with panic after ordering an asparagus because he thought that he would not have enough money to pay the bill. … The narrator had his revenge at last when he came
to know that she now weighs twenty one stones which means she had grown very fat
.
Is the oval portrait set in the mountains?
“The Oval Portrait” was set in
an empty chateau in the Apennines
, a mountain range in Italy.
How is Maiden described first?
How is the maiden first described? How and why does the maiden’s physical and emotional health change? She is described as
a lovely lady full of glee
, all light and smiles, maiden rarest beauty, humble, frolicsome, and obedient.
What does the portrait symbolize in The Oval Portrait?
Frames, both physical and abstract, play a major role in “The Oval Portrait,”
symbolizing the danger of trying to capture and exert ownership over physical beauty
. The framed portrait of the artist’s wife represents… Shtutin, Leo.
What is an example of a metaphor or simile in the passage the story of The Oval Portrait?
tongues of a tall candelabrum
: Metaphor comparing candle wicks to tongues. she a maiden of rarest beauty . . . and frolicsome as the young fawn: Simile comparing the young lady to a fawn.
