Poe's Stories brief biography of edgar allan poe
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Short Story By Flannery OConnor
| The visions that began as dim, hazy mirages become clearer and the red color of the wine is definite now. Though the narrator excuses his visions as a product of the drugs, there is a definite correlation between them and Rowena’s state – after the mysterious addition to the wine, she loses all strength. Are these the narrator’s drug-filled visions? Is something supernatural going on Is the narrator himself half-unknowingly killing Rowena and reenacting the death of Ligeia? Nothing is clear. The fourth night that the narrator of "Ligeia" watches over Rowena indeed turns out to be her last. Ashe sits with the body, he sees visions and shadows. He looks to see if the angelic shadow is on the ground but it is not so he looks back at the corpse of his wife. Memories of Ligeia flood back to him and he is heartbroken as he remembers watching Ligeia on her own death bed. A pattern has occurred in the sightings of this angelic presence and the fading of Rowena’s spirit. Now, as the hallucinations cease, the paranormal spirit and Rowena are acting as one. At midnight, the narrator of "Ligeia" believes he hears a low sob coming from the bed. He is filled with superstitious fear and eagerly watches the corpse for any change. Eventually he thinks he detects a slight change in color on Rowena’s cheeks. For a moment he is stunned but duty takes over and he knows he must do something, but no one is around, so he tries to callback Rowena’s spirit. His efforts are in vain though. Rowena quickly looks even more deathly than before. The illusion of the wine can be seen in Rowena’s blushing cheeks and the ebb and flow of Rowena’s strength corresponds exactly with the narrator’s dreams about Ligeia. This shows how godlike the narrator’s mind (or Ligeia’s ghost) is at this point, and how much of an empty vessel his new wife has always been to him. The narrator of "Ligeia" falls back down onto his couch and the visions of Ligeia comeback to him. Hours of this pass until another sign of life comes to the body of Rowena, a sigh. The narrator rushes to her and sees her lips quiver, then the same coloration on her cheeks, even a heartbeat. There is no doubt that the lady has comeback to life. But just like before, as the narrator tries to help her, the color disappears and she seems to go back to death. These signs of life in Rowena are the most life and beauty we have seen yet in the narrator’s description of her. It is as if the thoughts of Ligeia are bringing her back to life, fuelling the narrator’s passion so strongly that the dim impression he had of his new wife is erased. Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com ©2017 LitCharts LLC www.LitCharts.com Page 22 Fora third time, the narrator of "Ligeia" dreams of Ligeia and fora third time, Rowena seems to awaken. He can’t bear to describe every occasion of this terrible transformation, but he tells us that it goes on all night, and he no longer tries to do anything. He just sits in a stupor of fear. Again, Rowena seems to comeback to life, but this time, actually stirs, rises slowly from the bed and walks into the room. The narrator is paralyzed with fear. His mind races. It must be Rowena, but he starts to see some differences – this figure is taller for example. The narrator rushes to the figure and she starts to takeoff the cloth that enshrouds her, letting loose raven-colored hair, and then revealing a pair of large, wild eyes. The narrators shrieks. It is Ligeia. The narrator cannot getaway from Ligeia. His inability to stop thinking about her seems to have resulted in the haunting of his mind becoming a reality – the physical world has formed before him in the image of his grief. His obsession with Ligeia, the influence of Download 0.58 Mb. Share with your friends:
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