Class 11 English Lesson 2: Reference to the Context

 

Reference to the context (p 205)

a.      What is the central theme of the story? Who is the woman depicted in the oval portrait?

The central theme of the story ‘The Oval Portrait’ is the relationship between life and art. Art and love can lead us towards perfection but they can invite unexpected results in our life too. The painter gets success in his painting work whereas his wife has contributed her life for the shake of her husband work. She must have loved her husband more than any other thing found in this world that is why she has not revealed her sufferings. Therefore, the story has reflected the bad consequences of excessive passion for something.  The woman depicted in the oval portrait is the wife of the passionate painter.

b.     "The Oval Portrait" is a short horror story by Edgar Allan Poe involving the disturbing circumstances surrounding a portrait in a chateau. Elaborate.

The story presents a fearful and horrific setting of a desolate Chateau in one of the mountainous ranges of central Italy. The Chateau stated in the story is a completely isolated and deserted place. The place inside and outside of the place is very dreadful. The apartments inside the Chateau are very old, dusty and unmanaged. The place where the narrator and his servant stay is decorated but they are rotten and become useless. The portrait is found in the dark corner of the room. The portrait is disturbing because of the carelessness. The arrival of the narrator along with his servant is also disturbing in that place.

c.      "The Oval Portrait" suggests that the woman's beauty condemns her to death. Discuss.

‘The Oval Portrait’ suggests that the woman’s beauty condemns her to death. Hence, the wife of the painter is so beautiful who is entering into her womanhood. The painter wants to sketch her picture. He is very passionate about his work than any other thing. He keeps his wife in the chair posing for him while sketching her picture. It takes weeks to complete the painting work. He does not care about the condition of his wife during the painting period. But she suffers and becomes feeble. Therefore, by the time he completes his painting, he gets his wife dead on the chair.

d.     Discuss the story as a frame narrative (a story within a story).

A-frame narrative is a technique of writing a story that has a story within a story. One story starts with a different plot and setting but later appears another story within it. Hence, this technique shows that how a single story involves the next story within it. In this present story, the narrator and his servant have their story but when the narrator finds the portrait, another story starts from that point in the story. This story details the portrait including its background information.

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?

The descriptive style allows the narrator to describe everything in the story as the narrator experiences them. In the story, the narrator describes the portrait as his lived experiences when he gets in the room where they have stayed that night. We find many images and symbols used in the story. The intention of the narrator to use these images and symbols is to present horror in the story. The image of Chateau reflects the thrill to the readers and the image of two visitors reveals the curiosity of the readers. Similarly, the story writer has used many images such as dark rooms, oval paintings, trophies, and rays of a candle to present the setting of the story. The use of images in the story represents the gothic elements in the story. The oval portrait symbolizes mortality of love and immortality of art. Moreover, the portrait has taken the life of the young woman. Her love and devotion for her husband lead to her death but her husband passion for art made her immortal in his artwork.

f.       What does the expression “She was dead!” mean?

The expression ‘She was dead!’ refers to the moment of the death of the painter’s wife on the chair which is a shocking moment. The painter is very fond of his painting work so he keeps his eye on his work only but not to his life partner while sketching the portrait. He forgets to investigate the unfavourable condition of his wife. He paints the portrait regularly for weeks. Being happy, he turns his painting towards her after completing it, but, he finds her dead. Hence, the artwork takes the life of its main subject. 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hikfELhUMwQ 

***

Click for next lesson: https://limbuchandrabahadur.blogspot.com/2025/08/class-11-english-lesson-2-reference.html