The Oval Portrait

The Oval Portrait is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and originally published in 1842. The story deals with the themes of love and art.

A lost man must take refuge from the night in an abandoned castle with his servant.

It had recently been abandoned, so it was in very good condition. Of grand proportions, it was decorated with large tapestries and paintings. All the works were described in a book that the protagonist finds on his pillow.

Suddenly, the protagonist illuminates with the candelabra an area he had not seen before and discovers a portrait of a young woman, which he looks up in the book and begins to read her story...