"Oval portrait". Brief summary of the story of life and art

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Edgar Allan Poe was the very first professional American author. Before him, none of the writers tried to live their craft. He endlessly corrected and rewrote his texts, so every word in Poe's stories is at least the result of a third or fourth revision. He knew the value of art very well. Of course, if you read not in the original, you will lose a lot of pleasure from reading the story "The Oval Portrait". A brief summary of it will allow you to notice that the work is built according to the “story within a story” scheme, unusual for that time.

Storyline

The narrator, being wounded, finds himself in a chateau left by people. The one on whose behalf the narration is being conducted cannot be considered a completely reliable source, since he is ill, he is tormented by fever, and the reality seems to be slightly distorted. There are many decorations and paintings in the house. The narrator finds a notebook that describes the story of creationmany pictures. Suddenly, he draws attention to the portrait of a beautiful woman-girl, which for a moment seems to him absolutely alive, and not painted. The summary of the story "The Oval Portrait", which you are reading, will allow you to penetrate the secret of the portrait.

Who is this girl? The narrator learns about this from the notebook. Drawn on canvas was a girl of rare beauty, distinguished by great cheerfulness and energy. For love, she married an artist who created an oval portrait depicting her. The summary does not allow to describe in detail the features of how impressive the creation of the artist looked. For him, the creator paid a huge price. But more on that later.

The artist is not just a genius, he is a diligent genius devoting long hours to his craft. He loves him no less than his young wife. But over time, she develops an aversion to the work of the artist and his tools, because the woman has to compete for the love of her husband with his brush and paints. Although, in general, negative feelings are not characteristic of her - she is naturally kind and cheerful.

What else is described in the story "The Oval Portrait"? The summary also includes a description of the history of the creation of the portrait. One day, not at all perfect, the husband wants his wife to pose for him to create a spectacular picture. She doesn't like the idea. But she is obedient and loves her husband, and therefore agrees to spend long hours in a dark tower, where he decided herdraw. By the way, it is in this tower that the wounded narrator of the main story spends the night, reading the story of the creation of the portrait.

When it's almost finished, the artist and his wife lock themselves in the tower and try to complete it with dignity. He is so obsessed with his passion for drawing that he does not notice that his wife is looking worse and worse. The portrait becomes bright and full of life, while the wife turns pale and weakens. He finishes his work and exclaims "Yes, this is life itself." And suddenly realizes that his wife died when he made the last stroke of the brush.

So ends Poe's Oval Portrait. The summary cannot convey all the features of the language and details, so you should read it in full, especially since the story is not large in size. This work is characterized by a frequent motif for Poet - the destruction of a loved one. The story "The Oval Portrait" tells about the betrayal of life and love in the name of art.