"Oval Portrait". Summary of the story about life and art

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

Plot

The narrator, being wounded, finds himself in the shato abandoned by the people. The one on whose behalf the narrative is conducted can not be considered a completely reliable source, since it is bad for him, he is tormented by heat, and the reality seems a bit distorted. The house has many ornaments and paintings. The narrator finds a notebook in which the history of the creation of many pictures is described. Suddenly, he draws attention to a portrait of a beautiful girl-woman, who for a moment seems to him absolutely alive, not painted. The summary of the story "Oval Portrait", which you read, will allow you to penetrate into the secret of the portrait.

Who is this girl? The narrator learns about this from the notebook. Painted on canvas was a rare beauty girl, distinguished by great vitality and energy. She married for a love artist, who created and depicts her oval portrait. 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 about this a little further.

The artist is not just a genius, he is a zealous genius who devotes long hours to his craft. He loves him no less than his young wife. But over time, he disgusts the work of the artist and his instruments, because a woman has to compete for the love of her husband with his brush and colors. Although in general, it does not have negative feelings - it is by nature good and gay.

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

When it is almost finished, the artist and his wife lock themselves in the tower and try to finish it worthily. He is so obsessed with his passion for drawing that he does not notice that his wife looks worse and worse. The portrait becomes bright and full of life, the husband pale and weakens. He ends his work and exclaims "Yes this is life itself". And suddenly realizes that his wife died when he made the last move with a brush.

Thus ends the creation of Po Oval Portrait. The summary can not convey all the features of the language and details, so you should read it completely, especially since the story is not large in size. For this work is characteristic of frequent for Po motive - the destruction of a loved one. The story "Oval Portrait" tells about the betrayal of life and love in the name of art.