After reading "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Alan Poe, I was completely speechless. It is a beautiful and tragic story about love and relationships with others and yourself. I absolutely love how Poe opened up the eyes of his readers to the reality of this story. The male and female in this passage viewed love as two different things. The difference between the two genders is amazing. Males and females truly think and act completely differently. This story is very deep and insightful to those differences.
The young woman in the story wants nothing more than to please her husband. She obediently sits day after day as he paints a picture of her, as her asked of her. She loves him to the point where she wants him to do what makes him happy and what he loves which is art. As a woman she is naturally jealous of the fact that she is not what brings the look of affection to his face, but she wants him to be filled with joy, even though it is not from her. In her eyes the best thing to do is to let him be consumed with the love of art, because it is what makes him happy. The compassion and unfailing love that she had for her husband must have been so amazing, she wished him happiness even if it meant losing her life.
The man in the story loves his wife, but he is consumed with an obsession for art that takes precedence over his bride. The man takes his wife's love for granted, and just expects her to be sitting there when he is finished with his first priority. He knows that if he asks the wife to sit for him to paint a portrait of her that she would never think twice about it, which is completely taking advantage of her. The man in turn chose art over his bride and killed her, in order to save his art.
There are two different kinds of love in this story. One, done by the woman is selflessly. The other, portrayed by the man is selfishly. The woman in this story shows her caring and nurturing instincts while the man represents a more self absorbed man. I am by no means saying that every woman is loving and affectionate, or that every male is selfish, I am just implying that there may be a lesson that should be taken from this. Do not take for granted what is I front of you, because it will one day disappear.
Erin, firstly I have to say that you made me feel kind of pathetic since I struggled with this, but in a good way! Second, great job describing the two different types of love. I especially liked that you addressed that not every man and woman are like that, as I thought of that while reading your piece. Fantastic job!
I loved your blog! I never thought to look at it as showing two different kinds of love, that was such a great angle. Also, your descriptions of the woman as "selfless" and "obedient" really stood put to me because they captured her perfectly. I think you seemed to understand this blog way more than I did. Well done!
Erin, I absolutely loved your blog! This was a great view to come at comparing the two types of love. I also really enjoyed your concluding sentence because it's very true. We often times take advantage of what we have and then one day it's gone and we miss it. Great work Erin!
Erin, I never considered that jealousy could play a role in the whole story. That was an excellent point! I also really enjoyed how you mentioned the different kinds of love. It really helped to put the story into perspective. Excellent job!
Erin, this was a great blog. Your comments about the different types of love and jealousy tied together very well to bring out the impact if gender roles in this story. They also weren't things that I originally thought of and improved my perspective on the story. Great job!
What is beauty? What exactly makes something beautiful? It is a slightly difficult concept to grasp as everyone views beauty differently. There are some things, however, that everyone believes to be remarkable. These things shape the course of world and the lives of those who are touched by it. So to does attraction to those of the opposite gender, or otherwise, change people's lives. Poe's "The Oval Portrait" touches on both of these subjects.
The poem itself is the shortest of Poe's works, and while it may contain some confusing terminology, it is otherwise a reasonably understandable piece. "The Oval Portrait" is basically about an injured man taking refuge in a dilapidated tower. While there, a portrait of a beautiful young girl catches his eye in the dim light of the candles. It is vivid and astonishingly well done. He then reads a description about the painting and description of the brief and gloomy marriage of the newlywed girl.
That is one major point in the poem. Both the girl's beauty and the painting's are unquestionable. The narrator is stunned by the portrait, and the husband is enraptured by the girl. In fact, the husband finds his wife so beautiful that he longs to portray her beauty with his own hands and tools.
Moving on to the role gender itself played, I am not sure that I am able to accurately detail that as I am a little shaky on what is being asked for. But if I had to take a stab at it, I would say that gender plays a role by showing men's attraction to beautiful women. However, that is a little cliche. I think that it is also important to note that in many of his poems, Poe's female characters are often beautiful and meet a tragic end. Perhaps that is thinking a little to deeply, as the poems are usually quite tragic in and of themselves. I think it is important to consider the possibility that the message could be that beauty is often smothered and women can be too.
While I did not have much to say about the actual topic for the blog, that does not mean that I found the piece uninteresting. Indeed, it was thrilling in a most ominous manner. My favorite part is undoubtedly the sentence near the end of the summary of the piece: "And he would not see that the tints which he spread upon the canvas were drawn from the cheeks of her who sate beside him". As I read these words, I could picture a once young and beautiful girl struggling to maintain her thin facade so her husband would not notice the pains she went to if only she could please him; her face growing whiter by the day even as the husband added a faint blush to her canvas countenance. Poe has a way with words that evokes images with a slightest prod, leaving you staring intensely at the piece, waiting to solve the riddles it contains.
The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allen Poe is, of course, a dark tragedy. The question of genders role in this short story isn't one that immediately springs to mind when analyzing it. I had to read it twice and take plenty of time to come up with the best answer to this question. In the beginning of the story there are two men, someone wounded and his valet. They stop at an abondoned home to rest for the night. This is where the female, or rather the portrait of the female is introduced.
All that is said about the portrait is how beautiful and lifelike it is. This could be a reference to the relation between genders because the narrator is immediately attracted to the woman, though he stifles that feeling when he convinces himself that it is nothing more than a portrait. Disturbed by the portrait, the narrator replaces it in the shadows. Then he begins to read the story about the young woman that was painted.
The story about the woman has a stronger gender theme throughout, although I wouldn't call it prominent. The young girl fell in love with a painter who married her because he thought her so beautiful. The story doesn't say that she was funny or smart, just a lovely young girl. This shows how the painter was focused on nothing but her outwards appearance. That is why the rest of the story came as no surprise. The painter became obsessed with creating a portrait that captured her beauty. The young woman, being the quintessentially devoted wife, sat and watched for months as he fell more on love with the painting than with her. In the end she dies as if her husbands deep passion for the portrait broke her heart. Or maybe, seeing as Poe has a twisted style, her soul, longing for the painters love, vacated her body and latched on to the one thing the painter turkey cared about. The portrait did look disturbingly lifelike, after all.
If Poe was trying to make a statement about gender, it would probably be that woman are sometimes only taken at face value. Then they are nothing more than beautiful objects to men. The young woman literally gave her life just so the man she loved could create the perfect portrait. Personally, I think Poe was trying to say that the painter took his beautiful wife for granted. The short story reminded me of another short story we read, The Birthmark.
Ann, great blog! I was really able to understand your interpretation of Poe's story. I really enjoyed your concluding paragraph. I too think that women are someone times treated as objects for men. Also, this story reminded me a lot of The Birthmark too. Good work Ann!
Ann, I completely agree with the fact that the painter took his wife for granted. I love how you compared this story to the birthmark. It makes so much sense if you think about it! Great thinking!
Ann, this was a really good blog. I like what you said about the man taking his wife for granted and I think the summary you had of the poem was very descriptive. I also was impressed with the allusion to the Birthmark. All in all, fantastic job!
Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Oval Portrait" is a good example of relations and gender roles. The story begins with the narrator being wounded. His valet takes him into the chateau and begins helping him. The narrator then comes across a portrait of a beautiful lady. This then begins the narrator's story.
He discovers that the woman in the painting is also the painters lover. This young woman's beauty was exposed for the benefit of the artist. The artist than began painting the woman as he wished she would look like rather than her natural beauty. While the male artist was busy painting and falling in love with the art rather than his wife, the wife is dying. She is in love with him and does whatever it takes to make him happy. The artist is blinded by the love of his wife because the art takes over. Then, as the artist finishes the painting, he realizes his wife has passed away and he was too obsessed with the portrait to realize.
This short story showed a lot of how gender roles played a part in the story. The man, the artist, was given the role of a creator. He began painting his wife, but then changing her into something he wished for. The role of men is said to be much like the creator. Whereas women are now playing the role of the assistant. Women are expected to do whatever the men request even if it means sitting on a chair while they paint them.
Poe's short story gave an excellent example on women's role verse men's role especially with love. Women are willing to do heather ever it takes to make a man happy and often times men are blinded by this love to fall in love with materialistic objects. Men should not be considers the creators, and women should not be considered the objects.
Jolene, I have to completely agree with your third paragraph. The concept of gender "roles" tends to be very sterotypical. I also liked how you said men are not creators and women are not objects. Good work!
Jolene, I do not feel the painter painted the woman how he wanted her to look but for how she did look. He fell in love with her pretty face and nothing more. He married his perfect model and that was all she was for, his art was still first above her. Her want for his devotion and love and her love for him gave her the strength to sit quietly and pose hoping to win over the painter's heart. In the end it did not matter for the beauty he fell in love with faded and all he had left was the thing he placed higher than her, Art.
I have never really been that big of an Edgar Allan Poe fan, however, this short story may have changed that. As I was reading through the story, I was trying to figure out how I was going to discuss the different gender roles. It only truly hit me in the very last line.
Ever since the earliest of times, women have been depicted as staying home, taking care of the children, and doing anything they could for their husbands. This is what popped into my mind when I read the last paragraph. The young lady that was being painted cared for her husband/the painter so much that she never complained about having to sit there, hour to hour, day to day. She did not tell him of her hunger or her tiredness. She sat patiently as her husband created the beautiful portrait of which Poe is speaking.
The woman that is being depicted in the painting only wants to please her husband. She gets upset when she finds out that it is not her, but painting that brings him joy. She does not show her emotions, however, because she just wants him to be happy, even if it is not directly her that makes him happy.
As for the role of gender throughout the story, I found it very stereotypical. The man fell for the beautiful woman and the woman fell in love with the man that made her feel special. What was very unlike any romantic fairytale I’ve ever heard, was the last line. “She was dead!”. The young woman was so patient and loved her husband so much that she died waiting for him to finish her portrait.
The thing about gender that really hit me was how the painter fell only for the beauty of the woman’s face. He may have gotten to know her somewhat, but I don’t think anyone could have guessed she would die trying to please him. Poe is definitely an amazing writer and I look forward to reading more of his pieces along with researching more about gender in our next unit.
Jess, I enjoyed how you said that this poem may have chanced your mind on Poe! I was also surprised to find out that the woman died for her husband, but I found it almost beautiful how much she loved him. Great job!
Jess, I feel that in the 1800s men more often than not married beautiful girls not for their intelligence but for how they would look on their arm. The girl fell for the painter and he found a real muse to draw inspiration off of for his painting. He might have loved the woman but his love for art won over all. The woman was loyal until the end through that proving that she truly loved him.
The oval portrait, an old tale by Poe with a tragic twist, and a new favorite for me. Before reading this, I was talking with some classmates and happy to discover our blog was on one of Edgar Allan Poe's works of art. I've always been intrigued by his writings, and the Oval Portrait didn't disappoint.
A beautiful portrait of a young woman is discovered with a story to go along. The story is of an attractive woman and an artistic man. Poe continues their love story where the man paints a portrait of the woman. Since they are in love, the woman would do anything for the man and she willingly agrees to be his model. The man spends days upon days painting. He is in love with this beautiful woman he has painted, this beautiful woman he has created, possibly more than he is in love with the actual woman in front of him. This woman is not blind, she can see the way he feels about his art, and she is heart broken over the fact that she cannot provide that satisfaction.
That is the story that it seems most of the class has read. However, there are two sides to every story, right?
Ladies, let's not forget. We are not dumb. We are pretty smart and intuitive, and often mischievous. We can be selfish, impatient, and a little insecure.
Recently, I have heard a phrase explaining that men often use money and power to obtain sex, and that woman often use sex to obtain money and power. So now let's take another look at how the story could have went.
This man, he is in love. He is in love with his wife and he is in love with his art. But we as women, tend not to like competition. This beautiful woman cannot stand that she is in competition. She wants to be the one and only love in her husbands life, after all, who wouldn't? The competition continues on when the man paints a portrait of his wife. His two loves. It has been days and days of is painting and her tedious modeling. Sitting there. Waiting. All she can do is think. She thinks of his painting, how it can give him a joy that she cannot. She is jealous of this and the thought that her husband could love his art more than he loves her breaks her heart.
As far as the gender topic goes with this particular poem, I think it could really go either way. Is is believed that men often take charge and control and the women live only to please their husbands, but let's be honest. Nobody's innocent. Maybe this is the story of a selfish man, or a selfish woman. Maybe it is the story of both, or simply the story of a love gone wrong.
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
The Oval Portrait is a tragic story about the desire and love people feel for different things. The story began innocent enough with Poe reading a book late into the night and happening to look upon a picture on the wall. He is intrigued because of how real it looks and reads the history of the painting. What he finds is the passion two people feel for each other but in two very different ways.
The beautiful woman in the story was very newly married to the painter and was deeply in love with him. She was so in love that she would do anything for him, even sit for weeks on end constantly so he could paint her image. The gentleman was a very passionate painter who became completely absorbed into his work and for lack of a better term became crazed while working. The story makes me wonder whether or not the painter truly fell in love with the woman or fell for her looks. An example of the different ways they saw each other was the woman gave everything of herself to her husband, even her life, while all he did was take from her her looks, time, and ultimately health. The two demonstrate a very lopsided relationship.
By me interpreting the story in this way, I do not mean that all relationships or males and females act this way. I believe the two roles of give and take can be reversed or can be quite even. I believed the theme of gender in the story is about how women were viewed in Poe's time as being obedient, loyal, and expected to be strong individual, everything the girl was in the story. She was the stereotypical bride of the 1800s.
Erin, this was a great post. I liked how you worded your first paragraph: "What he finds is the passion two people feel for each other but in two different ways." I also enjoyed how you compared her to the "typical bride of the 1800s". Maybe she chose not to speak up because of those stereotypical qualities. Nice work!
The Oval's Portrait, by Edgar Allen Poe is a great example of gender differences. For me personally, it took me several times until I caught on to what Poe was trying to convey across.
The Oval's Portrait begins by a man waking up in the middle of the night and looking at a painting on the wall. He sees that it is a picture of a young and beautiful girl.
This girl seemed to take pride in that the man really adored and loved her, so she was his model. He painted a portrait of her. The woman would sit there for hours upon end as he would paint the picture. It seemed that he was becoming more in love with that of the portrait than the woman herself. He stated as he was finishing the painting, "This is indeed Life itself!" This meant that the portrait of the woman had more power, life, and beauty than her herself! That is why at the end of the story the woman dies.
It becomes clear to me then that there is some gender disputation in the Oval's Portrait. It seems that the man was almost using the woman to achieve something for himself, yet the woman was not getting any reward for it. The man tricked the woman into believing that he really loved her, but after all he fell in love with the portrait.
Tori, I never thought about the fact that the man didn't truly love his wife. But your statement about how he had actually fallen in love with the portrait really brought that into perspective for me. Great blog!
Tori, I felt very similar to you in the way that I felt like the man felt that he could love what he could create more than he loved his own, beautiful wife. Great job!
Tori, I also thought this was a difficult read. Every time I read it I caught something different. I also like how you related the painting to taking the life away from the real woman. It was like every brushstroke drained a little bit of life, until all of her beauty was on the canvas before the artist. It makes me wonder how the artist felt after he realized that his wife had died when he was painting.
During the time when Edgar Allen Poe lived, women were not given the opportunities that we have now. They were mostly required to stay at home with the children, or if there weren't any, then to produce them, or worked in "women's professions" such as nurses or midwives. The women were expected to make the men look good. Only beautiful women were taken out to events, and often found matches for husbands quickly, unlike the women who were deemed undesirable. The men were allowed to go out and pursue an advanced education and could own businesses and work in any field for which they could acquire the skill.
In "The Oval Portrait", written by Edgar Allen Poe, a man who has suffered some sort of injury is brought to a house by his valet to recover. In the room where he lies, there are paintings all around the room. He studies each while reading about them in a volume found by the bed. When he moves the candelabrum, he is astounded by the intense beauty of a portrait of a young girl. The synopsis of the portrait states that it is a portrait of the painter's lover. This is where Poe begins to show how gender roles played out in his time, whether on purpose or not.
The woman, who was known for her beauty, not any other rewarding quality, so loves her husband, that she is willing to sit day after day, wasting away in a dark room, hidden from the world. She knew that to be a good wife she must be quiet and submissive. She is portraying the perfect woman of that time. Her husband is also showing the classic male role of that time. He had a beautiful wife who would make him look good if they went out to events, but she was also obedient. He was allowed to do as he wished, and pursued his dreams. He did not revere his wife for her other traits, but only saw her for the beauty of her visage. And because of this, he did not take into account that what he was doing was actually ruining her health until she perished at his hand. He didn't kill her in a physically dramatic way, but instead he slowly drew the health from her as he used it to bring alive his painting of her, the figure of her which he deemed most important.
To me, that is how I see the gender roles made relevant in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Oval Portrait". The woman, meek and submissive, does everything in her power to make her husband happy, even to the point of ignoring her own perishing health. I do not believe that the story was made specifically to portray the gender roles of that time, but I do believe that when they are found, it adds a greater depth to the story. Gender roles have continuously changed over the years, and the study of them has become more pronounced over the years.
Hannah, I like how you explain that the man only saw his wife for her beauty. He didn't notice any of her other qualities such as allowing him to paint a picture of her while waiting patiently for a long period of time. I also enjoyed how you stated that the woman did everything for her husband, even to the point of ignoring the major decline of her health.
“Gender in the Oval Portrait” by Edgar Allen Poe is a remarkable short story. It is amazing how much of a role gender actually plays. The story would have never been possible if males and females wouldn't exist. The short story is about love, and how different people can have different meanings of the gift of love. The story “Gender in the Oval Portrait” is definitely has a tragic outcome, but at the same time it has a lot of meaning to it.
In the story, the man who is a painter discovers a painting of a woman that he believes is beautiful. The painter just recently was united in marriage with his wife. She truly loved him as a person. The painter’s wife would do just about anything to please him. The painter began to paint a picture of his wife. She would sit for long periods of time because she wanted to satisfy her husband. The issue was that the man became too involved with his work after he started. His wife patiently waited for him to finish the painting, and he desired to do nothing but continue to work on his painting. The man was totally obsessed with his work, and never paid any attention to his wife that loved him so dearly. As the man was finishing his painting, he looked over at his wife and realized that she was dead!
Gender played a major role in the short story. The man did not realize that he truly was not appreciating his wife as much as he should have. The wife loved the man more than the man loved his wife. The wife loved everything about the man, but was not aware that the man only cared about her face in his painting. He was not worried about her personality or who she actually was as a person.
It often does seem that the man is known for controlling and ordering his wife around. In many stories, women are known for working around the house and taking care of the children. In any story, the scenario is different because the blame could be on the man or the women. In some situations, the blame is on both the man and the woman, and sometimes it seems like love is the true problem.
Drew, you third paragraph is fantastic. Saying that the woman loved the man more and the man just loved that he could paint or create with her was a great statement. Great job.
I have always found Edgar Allan Poe's literature to be creepy and odd. His short story, "The Oval Portrait" is no exception. Poe talks about relationships throughout much of the poem. Especially the relationships between men and women.
Especially in earlier times women were looked on as second class citizens. It is somewhat explained in this story. The beautiful woman in the portrait was made to sit for hours and be painted in a portrait. Not that this specific example applies to something that could happen today we see how women would do things they probably did not want to and did not think anything if it.
The man painting appeared to begin to love the painting more then his own wife. Is this because it was his creation and not a woman? It would appear to be so, because according to Poe in the story men like to be in charge and be the leader. Also according to Poe men will even try so hard to be superior and love their own creation more then their lover that it will cause the lover to die. This is an extreme exaggerated case but it really gets a point across.
This short story makes men seem like power hungry animals. Although this is not true in every case some men and even women could be this way. The short story "The Oval Portrait" is a prime example of gender disputation.
Austin, I like how you talked about what the man actually thought. Did he like the painting more than his own wife? Was it because he created it himself? I think it was good how you explained what Poe says about men. Poe states that men will try to be so superior, that they will cause their lover to die. This statement fits perfectly in the story "The Oval Portrait". Good work!
Austin, I also think Edgar Allen Poe's stories are creepy and odd. I think he writes with a Gothic theme, but I could be mistaken. I also like how you related the artist to a god-like creator. When I read this story I kept relating it to "Frankenstein", and how Victor was more obsessed with "playing god" then loving his creation.
Austin, I completely agree with you. I've always found Poe's stories to be odd as well. I never really enjoyed reading them, mostly because they have a dark side to them. I would have never thought of comparing men to being 'power hungry animals', but I like it! Nice Job!
The story begins with the narrator, who one can only assume is a man because he is accompanied by his “valet” which is used to describe a male servant of a man, entering a shifty, decaying chateau. While laying in bed reading, the narrator decides to shift the candelabrum, which ultimately sheds light into a dark corner, revealing the “oval portrait”. Within the portrait is a woman, a beautiful woman. The narrator then assumes that the artist must have painted with great passion and studious intent.
The artist, out of love for his wife, decides to replicate or create a double of his wife on canvas. Like the narrator suggests, the artist does paint with incredible passion, but he does not realize that with every beautiful brush stroke his wife slowly wastes away. The artist seems to become more compelled with the image on canvas rather than his stunning wife in front of him. Such interest in objective beauty over real beauty suggests that the man is superficial and seeks to control things. With his final strokes the artist proclaims, “this is indeed Life itself”, all the time not realizing his wife passed away.
Poe provides a very unique take on gender roles in his short story. For instance, the artist, while having great intents of creating a beautiful picture of his wife, becomes more interested in making a double of her beauty; he tries to become a creator of beauty. The woman on the other hand is not completely innocent. It bothers me when I see people stereotype the man as being controlling and demanding, while all the time the woman could have said something. The woman, our passive figure in the story, is willing to waste away into the shadows rather than speak up. The woman must have had some sense about her to realize that she did not have to compete with the artist’s tools. If she was as beautiful as the man had portrayed her as, then she could found someone else worth more of her time.
Edgar Allen Poe’s stories always seem to stir up a nice debate over gender roles. I think that is what makes his stories so interesting because there is always something to analyze and discuss. Maybe both the woman and man were to blame in this story. I guess it just depends on what angle you are coming from and what kind of viewpoint you have.
Ian, this was a nice analysis of Poe's work. I completely agree with you. Why didn't the woman just speak up? That, too, bothered me throughout the story. She was, exactly as you stated, just a "passive figure". Gender plays a huge part in nearly every tale, and I do agree that this issue depends on each person's perspective. Nice work!
After I posted my comment, I read Erin's opinions. Maybe the lady decided not to say anything because she was afraid to; after all, women at that time were expected to be obedient to their husbands. I guess it truly is just the angle each one of us approached this story.
Ian, you had an interesting perspective on this short story. When I was reading it, I was putting all the blame on the man for using the woman as model for his portrait. However, you brought up that the woman could be part to blame as well. I think this is true, I do believe that woman need to voice their opinion and speak up more in society.
Ian, I really enjoyed reading this because no one else seemed to argue with what Poe was saying about men in women. Focusing on how weak the woman was is what made your perspective so interesting because it shows how both of them are kind of at fault. Also, since your a guy, I liked how you weren't afraid to express how unfair it is to portray men ad always being that way. Excellent job!
At first, when I saw this was a short story by Poe, I was not looking forward to this blog. I do believe Poe is a genius writer, but I am usually not interested in his work. In other words, I appreciate it, but don't enjoy it. However, this was where I was wrong. "The Oval Portrait" was actually pretty interesting, and it fits perfectly into our gender unit.
A man in "desperately wounded condition" stumbled upon a painting of a young lady and read some words about the piece.
The artist was married to a beautiful young woman. However, this lady was his second love. His true love appeared when he had an empty canvas in front of him and a brush in his hand. The woman saw how much he loved his art, and she decided to be his model due to her humble and obedient qualities. She loved him so much, but with every stroke of the brush, she realized that she would never be his number one priority. It pained her, but she continued to smile on. As every hour went by, the man failed to see his bride's health deteriorate as her spirit slowly disappeared. He got so caught up in his art that he acted selfishly. The man was taking full advantage of the lady's beauty. When he finished the painting, he was extremely proud of himself. The man turned to his wife and realized she was dead. She died of a broken heart.
While considering the topic of gender, I noted a few points. First of all, men and women think differently and act differently. In this particular case, the man valued not only his artwork, but his superiority, too. He assumed the woman would do anything for him, and he seemed to take her for granted. He only saw her as a pretty face and utilized her like an object. The man probably did love the lady, but he truly loved himself more. He appreciated the painting more than the woman because he created it. The woman, on the other hand, wanted to do anything to please husband. She was very obedient and refused to stand up for herself. Her spirit slowly dimmed while the man's spirit continued to grow. The role of gender plays a different part in each story. In "The Oval Portrait" both characters were blinded by different forms of love, but they both failed to consider each other's feelings and thoughts.
After reading "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Alan Poe, I was completely speechless. It is a beautiful and tragic story about love and relationships with others and yourself. I absolutely love how Poe opened up the eyes of his readers to the reality of this story. The male and female in this passage viewed love as two different things. The difference between the two genders is amazing. Males and females truly think and act completely differently. This story is very deep and insightful to those differences.
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The man in the story loves his wife, but he is consumed with an obsession for art that takes precedence over his bride. The man takes his wife's love for granted, and just expects her to be sitting there when he is finished with his first priority. He knows that if he asks the wife to sit for him to paint a portrait of her that she would never think twice about it, which is completely taking advantage of her. The man in turn chose art over his bride and killed her, in order to save his art.
There are two different kinds of love in this story. One, done by the woman is selflessly. The other, portrayed by the man is selfishly. The woman in this story shows her caring and nurturing instincts while the man represents a more self absorbed man. I am by no means saying that every woman is loving and affectionate, or that every male is selfish, I am just implying that there may be a lesson that should be taken from this. Do not take for granted what is I front of you, because it will one day disappear.
Erin, firstly I have to say that you made me feel kind of pathetic since I struggled with this, but in a good way! Second, great job describing the two different types of love. I especially liked that you addressed that not every man and woman are like that, as I thought of that while reading your piece. Fantastic job!
DeleteI loved your blog! I never thought to look at it as showing two different kinds of love, that was such a great angle. Also, your descriptions of the woman as "selfless" and "obedient" really stood put to me because they captured her perfectly. I think you seemed to understand this blog way more than I did. Well done!
DeleteErin, I absolutely loved your blog! This was a great view to come at comparing the two types of love. I also really enjoyed your concluding sentence because it's very true. We often times take advantage of what we have and then one day it's gone and we miss it. Great work Erin!
DeleteErin, I never considered that jealousy could play a role in the whole story. That was an excellent point! I also really enjoyed how you mentioned the different kinds of love. It really helped to put the story into perspective. Excellent job!
DeleteGreat job, Erin. I agree with you on the jealousy part! I also loved how you talked about the different kinds of love. Nice work.
DeleteErin, this was a great blog. Your comments about the different types of love and jealousy tied together very well to bring out the impact if gender roles in this story. They also weren't things that I originally thought of and improved my perspective on the story. Great job!
DeleteWhat is beauty? What exactly makes something beautiful? It is a slightly difficult concept to grasp as everyone views beauty differently. There are some things, however, that everyone believes to be remarkable. These things shape the course of world and the lives of those who are touched by it. So to does attraction to those of the opposite gender, or otherwise, change people's lives. Poe's "The Oval Portrait" touches on both of these subjects.
ReplyDeleteThe poem itself is the shortest of Poe's works, and while it may contain some confusing terminology, it is otherwise a reasonably understandable piece. "The Oval Portrait" is basically about an injured man taking refuge in a dilapidated tower. While there, a portrait of a beautiful young girl catches his eye in the dim light of the candles. It is vivid and astonishingly well done. He then reads a description about the painting and description of the brief and gloomy marriage of the newlywed girl.
That is one major point in the poem. Both the girl's beauty and the painting's are unquestionable. The narrator is stunned by the portrait, and the husband is enraptured by the girl. In fact, the husband finds his wife so beautiful that he longs to portray her beauty with his own hands and tools.
Moving on to the role gender itself played, I am not sure that I am able to accurately detail that as I am a little shaky on what is being asked for. But if I had to take a stab at it, I would say that gender plays a role by showing men's attraction to beautiful women. However, that is a little cliche. I think that it is also important to note that in many of his poems, Poe's female characters are often beautiful and meet a tragic end. Perhaps that is thinking a little to deeply, as the poems are usually quite tragic in and of themselves. I think it is important to consider the possibility that the message could be that beauty is often smothered and women can be too.
While I did not have much to say about the actual topic for the blog, that does not mean that I found the piece uninteresting. Indeed, it was thrilling in a most ominous manner. My favorite part is undoubtedly the sentence near the end of the summary of the piece: "And he would not see that the tints which he spread upon the canvas were drawn from the cheeks of her who sate beside him". As I read these words, I could picture a once young and beautiful girl struggling to maintain her thin facade so her husband would not notice the pains she went to if only she could please him; her face growing whiter by the day even as the husband added a faint blush to her canvas countenance. Poe has a way with words that evokes images with a slightest prod, leaving you staring intensely at the piece, waiting to solve the riddles it contains.
The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allen Poe is, of course, a dark tragedy. The question of genders role in this short story isn't one that immediately springs to mind when analyzing it. I had to read it twice and take plenty of time to come up with the best answer to this question. In the beginning of the story there are two men, someone wounded and his valet. They stop at an abondoned home to rest for the night. This is where the female, or rather the portrait of the female is introduced.
ReplyDeleteAll that is said about the portrait is how beautiful and lifelike it is. This could be a reference to the relation between genders because the narrator is immediately attracted to the woman, though he stifles that feeling when he convinces himself that it is nothing more than a portrait. Disturbed by the portrait, the narrator replaces it in the shadows. Then he begins to read the story about the young woman that was painted.
The story about the woman has a stronger gender theme throughout, although I wouldn't call it prominent. The young girl fell in love with a painter who married her because he thought her so beautiful. The story doesn't say that she was funny or smart, just a lovely young girl. This shows how the painter was focused on nothing but her outwards appearance. That is why the rest of the story came as no surprise. The painter became obsessed with creating a portrait that captured her beauty. The young woman, being the quintessentially devoted wife, sat and watched for months as he fell more on love with the painting than with her. In the end she dies as if her husbands deep passion for the portrait broke her heart. Or maybe, seeing as Poe has a twisted style, her soul, longing for the painters love, vacated her body and latched on to the one thing the painter turkey cared about. The portrait did look disturbingly lifelike, after all.
If Poe was trying to make a statement about gender, it would probably be that woman are sometimes only taken at face value. Then they are nothing more than beautiful objects to men. The young woman literally gave her life just so the man she loved could create the perfect portrait. Personally, I think Poe was trying to say that the painter took his beautiful wife for granted. The short story reminded me of another short story we read, The Birthmark.
Ann, great blog! I was really able to understand your interpretation of Poe's story. I really enjoyed your concluding paragraph. I too think that women are someone times treated as objects for men. Also, this story reminded me a lot of The Birthmark too. Good work Ann!
DeleteAnn, I completely agree with the fact that the painter took his wife for granted. I love how you compared this story to the birthmark. It makes so much sense if you think about it! Great thinking!
DeleteAnn, this was a really good blog. I like what you said about the man taking his wife for granted and I think the summary you had of the poem was very descriptive. I also was impressed with the allusion to the Birthmark. All in all, fantastic job!
DeleteEdgar Allen Poe's short story "The Oval Portrait" is a good example of relations and gender roles. The story begins with the narrator being wounded. His valet takes him into the chateau and begins helping him. The narrator then comes across a portrait of a beautiful lady. This then begins the narrator's story.
ReplyDeleteHe discovers that the woman in the painting is also the painters lover. This young woman's beauty was exposed for the benefit of the artist. The artist than began painting the woman as he wished she would look like rather than her natural beauty. While the male artist was busy painting and falling in love with the art rather than his wife, the wife is dying. She is in love with him and does whatever it takes to make him happy. The artist is blinded by the love of his wife because the art takes over. Then, as the artist finishes the painting, he realizes his wife has passed away and he was too obsessed with the portrait to realize.
This short story showed a lot of how gender roles played a part in the story. The man, the artist, was given the role of a creator. He began painting his wife, but then changing her into something he wished for. The role of men is said to be much like the creator. Whereas women are now playing the role of the assistant. Women are expected to do whatever the men request even if it means sitting on a chair while they paint them.
Poe's short story gave an excellent example on women's role verse men's role especially with love. Women are willing to do heather ever it takes to make a man happy and often times men are blinded by this love to fall in love with materialistic objects. Men should not be considers the creators, and women should not be considered the objects.
Jolene, I have to completely agree with your third paragraph. The concept of gender "roles" tends to be very sterotypical. I also liked how you said men are not creators and women are not objects. Good work!
DeleteJolene, I do not feel the painter painted the woman how he wanted her to look but for how she did look. He fell in love with her pretty face and nothing more. He married his perfect model and that was all she was for, his art was still first above her. Her want for his devotion and love and her love for him gave her the strength to sit quietly and pose hoping to win over the painter's heart. In the end it did not matter for the beauty he fell in love with faded and all he had left was the thing he placed higher than her, Art.
DeleteI have never really been that big of an Edgar Allan Poe fan, however, this short story may have changed that. As I was reading through the story, I was trying to figure out how I was going to discuss the different gender roles. It only truly hit me in the very last line.
ReplyDeleteEver since the earliest of times, women have been depicted as staying home, taking care of the children, and doing anything they could for their husbands. This is what popped into my mind when I read the last paragraph. The young lady that was being painted cared for her husband/the painter so much that she never complained about having to sit there, hour to hour, day to day. She did not tell him of her hunger or her tiredness. She sat patiently as her husband created the beautiful portrait of which Poe is speaking.
The woman that is being depicted in the painting only wants to please her husband. She gets upset when she finds out that it is not her, but painting that brings him joy. She does not show her emotions, however, because she just wants him to be happy, even if it is not directly her that makes him happy.
As for the role of gender throughout the story, I found it very stereotypical. The man fell for the beautiful woman and the woman fell in love with the man that made her feel special. What was very unlike any romantic fairytale I’ve ever heard, was the last line. “She was dead!”. The young woman was so patient and loved her husband so much that she died waiting for him to finish her portrait.
The thing about gender that really hit me was how the painter fell only for the beauty of the woman’s face. He may have gotten to know her somewhat, but I don’t think anyone could have guessed she would die trying to please him. Poe is definitely an amazing writer and I look forward to reading more of his pieces along with researching more about gender in our next unit.
Jess, I enjoyed how you said that this poem may have chanced your mind on Poe! I was also surprised to find out that the woman died for her husband, but I found it almost beautiful how much she loved him. Great job!
DeleteJess, I feel that in the 1800s men more often than not married beautiful girls not for their intelligence but for how they would look on their arm. The girl fell for the painter and he found a real muse to draw inspiration off of for his painting. He might have loved the woman but his love for art won over all. The woman was loyal until the end through that proving that she truly loved him.
DeleteThe oval portrait, an old tale by Poe with a tragic twist, and a new favorite for me. Before reading this, I was talking with some classmates and happy to discover our blog was on one of Edgar Allan Poe's works of art. I've always been intrigued by his writings, and the Oval Portrait didn't disappoint.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful portrait of a young woman is discovered with a story to go along. The story is of an attractive woman and an artistic man. Poe continues their love story where the man paints a portrait of the woman. Since they are in love, the woman would do anything for the man and she willingly agrees to be his model. The man spends days upon days painting. He is in love with this beautiful woman he has painted, this beautiful woman he has created, possibly more than he is in love with the actual woman in front of him. This woman is not blind, she can see the way he feels about his art, and she is heart broken over the fact that she cannot provide that satisfaction.
That is the story that it seems most of the class has read. However, there are two sides to every story, right?
Ladies, let's not forget. We are not dumb. We are pretty smart and intuitive, and often mischievous. We can be selfish, impatient, and a little insecure.
Recently, I have heard a phrase explaining that men often use money and power to obtain sex, and that woman often use sex to obtain money and power. So now let's take another look at how the story could have went.
This man, he is in love. He is in love with his wife and he is in love with his art. But we as women, tend not to like competition. This beautiful woman cannot stand that she is in competition. She wants to be the one and only love in her husbands life, after all, who wouldn't? The competition continues on when the man paints a portrait of his wife. His two loves. It has been days and days of is painting and her tedious modeling. Sitting there. Waiting. All she can do is think. She thinks of his painting, how it can give him a joy that she cannot. She is jealous of this and
the thought that her husband could love his art more than he loves her breaks her heart.
As far as the gender topic goes with this particular poem, I think it could really go either way. Is is believed that men often take charge and control and the women live only to please their husbands, but let's be honest. Nobody's innocent. Maybe this is the story of a selfish man, or a selfish woman. Maybe it is the story of both, or simply the story of a love gone wrong.
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
The Oval Portrait is a tragic story about the desire and love people feel for different things. The story began innocent enough with Poe reading a book late into the night and happening to look upon a picture on the wall. He is intrigued because of how real it looks and reads the history of the painting. What he finds is the passion two people feel for each other but in two very different ways.
ReplyDeleteThe beautiful woman in the story was very newly married to the painter and was deeply in love with him. She was so in love that she would do anything for him, even sit for weeks on end constantly so he could paint her image. The gentleman was a very passionate painter who became completely absorbed into his work and for lack of a better term became crazed while working. The story makes me wonder whether or not the painter truly fell in love with the woman or fell for her looks. An example of the different ways they saw each other was the woman gave everything of herself to her husband, even her life, while all he did was take from her her looks, time, and ultimately health. The two demonstrate a very lopsided relationship.
By me interpreting the story in this way, I do not mean that all relationships or males and females act this way. I believe the two roles of give and take can be reversed or can be quite even. I believed the theme of gender in the story is about how women were viewed in Poe's time as being obedient, loyal, and expected to be strong individual, everything the girl was in the story. She was the stereotypical bride of the 1800s.
Erin, this was a great post. I liked how you worded your first paragraph: "What he finds is the passion two people feel for each other but in two different ways." I also enjoyed how you compared her to the "typical bride of the 1800s". Maybe she chose not to speak up because of those stereotypical qualities. Nice work!
DeleteThe Oval's Portrait, by Edgar Allen Poe is a great example of gender differences. For me personally, it took me several times until I caught on to what Poe was trying to convey across.
ReplyDeleteThe Oval's Portrait begins by a man waking up in the middle of the night and looking at a painting on the wall. He sees that it is a picture of a young and beautiful girl.
This girl seemed to take pride in that the man really adored and loved her, so she was his model. He painted a portrait of her. The woman would sit there for hours upon end as he would paint the picture. It seemed that he was becoming more in love with that of the portrait than the woman herself. He stated as he was finishing the painting, "This is indeed Life itself!" This meant that the portrait of the woman had more power, life, and beauty than her herself! That is why at the end of the story the woman dies.
It becomes clear to me then that there is some gender disputation in the Oval's Portrait. It seems that the man was almost using the woman to achieve something for himself, yet the woman was not getting any reward for it. The man tricked the woman into believing that he really loved her, but after all he fell in love with the portrait.
Tori, I never thought about the fact that the man didn't truly love his wife. But your statement about how he had actually fallen in love with the portrait really brought that into perspective for me. Great blog!
DeleteTori, I felt very similar to you in the way that I felt like the man felt that he could love what he could create more than he loved his own, beautiful wife. Great job!
DeleteTori, I also thought this was a difficult read. Every time I read it I caught something different. I also like how you related the painting to taking the life away from the real woman. It was like every brushstroke drained a little bit of life, until all of her beauty was on the canvas before the artist. It makes me wonder how the artist felt after he realized that his wife had died when he was painting.
DeleteNice job Tori!
During the time when Edgar Allen Poe lived, women were not given the opportunities that we have now. They were mostly required to stay at home with the children, or if there weren't any, then to produce them, or worked in "women's professions" such as nurses or midwives. The women were expected to make the men look good. Only beautiful women were taken out to events, and often found matches for husbands quickly, unlike the women who were deemed undesirable. The men were allowed to go out and pursue an advanced education and could own businesses and work in any field for which they could acquire the skill.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Oval Portrait", written by Edgar Allen Poe, a man who has suffered some sort of injury is brought to a house by his valet to recover. In the room where he lies, there are paintings all around the room. He studies each while reading about them in a volume found by the bed. When he moves the candelabrum, he is astounded by the intense beauty of a portrait of a young girl. The synopsis of the portrait states that it is a portrait of the painter's lover. This is where Poe begins to show how gender roles played out in his time, whether on purpose or not.
The woman, who was known for her beauty, not any other rewarding quality, so loves her husband, that she is willing to sit day after day, wasting away in a dark room, hidden from the world. She knew that to be a good wife she must be quiet and submissive. She is portraying the perfect woman of that time. Her husband is also showing the classic male role of that time. He had a beautiful wife who would make him look good if they went out to events, but she was also obedient. He was allowed to do as he wished, and pursued his dreams. He did not revere his wife for her other traits, but only saw her for the beauty of her visage. And because of this, he did not take into account that what he was doing was actually ruining her health until she perished at his hand. He didn't kill her in a physically dramatic way, but instead he slowly drew the health from her as he used it to bring alive his painting of her, the figure of her which he deemed most important.
To me, that is how I see the gender roles made relevant in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Oval Portrait". The woman, meek and submissive, does everything in her power to make her husband happy, even to the point of ignoring her own perishing health. I do not believe that the story was made specifically to portray the gender roles of that time, but I do believe that when they are found, it adds a greater depth to the story. Gender roles have continuously changed over the years, and the study of them has become more pronounced over the years.
Hannah, I like how you explain that the man only saw his wife for her beauty. He didn't notice any of her other qualities such as allowing him to paint a picture of her while waiting patiently for a long period of time. I also enjoyed how you stated that the woman did everything for her husband, even to the point of ignoring the major decline of her health.
Delete“Gender in the Oval Portrait” by Edgar Allen Poe is a remarkable short story. It is amazing how much of a role gender actually plays. The story would have never been possible if males and females wouldn't exist. The short story is about love, and how different people can have different meanings of the gift of love. The story “Gender in the Oval Portrait” is definitely has a tragic outcome, but at the same time it has a lot of meaning to it.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, the man who is a painter discovers a painting of a woman that he believes is beautiful. The painter just recently was united in marriage with his wife. She truly loved him as a person. The painter’s wife would do just about anything to please him. The painter began to paint a picture of his wife. She would sit for long periods of time because she wanted to satisfy her husband.
The issue was that the man became too involved with his work after he started. His wife patiently waited for him to finish the painting, and he desired to do nothing but continue to work on his painting. The man was totally obsessed with his work, and never paid any attention to his wife that loved him so dearly. As the man was finishing his painting, he looked over at his wife and realized that she was dead!
Gender played a major role in the short story. The man did not realize that he truly was not appreciating his wife as much as he should have. The wife loved the man more than the man loved his wife. The wife loved everything about the man, but was not aware that the man only cared about her face in his painting. He was not worried about her personality or who she actually was as a person.
It often does seem that the man is known for controlling and ordering his wife around. In many stories, women are known for working around the house and taking care of the children. In any story, the scenario is different because the blame could be on the man or the women. In some situations, the blame is on both the man and the woman, and sometimes it seems like love is the true problem.
Drew, you third paragraph is fantastic. Saying that the woman loved the man more and the man just loved that he could paint or create with her was a great statement. Great job.
DeleteI have always found Edgar Allan Poe's literature to be creepy and odd. His short story, "The Oval Portrait" is no exception. Poe talks about relationships throughout much of the poem. Especially the relationships between men and women.
ReplyDeleteEspecially in earlier times women were looked on as second class citizens. It is somewhat explained in this story. The beautiful woman in the portrait was made to sit for hours and be painted in a portrait. Not that this specific example applies to something that could happen today we see how women would do things they probably did not want to and did not think anything if it.
The man painting appeared to begin to love the painting more then his own wife. Is this because it was his creation and not a woman? It would appear to be so, because according to Poe in the story men like to be in charge and be the leader. Also according to Poe men will even try so hard to be superior and love their own creation more then their lover that it will cause the lover to die. This is an extreme exaggerated case but it really gets a point across.
This short story makes men seem like power hungry animals. Although this is not true in every case some men and even women could be this way. The short story "The Oval Portrait" is a prime example of gender disputation.
Austin, I like how you talked about what the man actually thought. Did he like the painting more than his own wife? Was it because he created it himself? I think it was good how you explained what Poe says about men. Poe states that men will try to be so superior, that they will cause their lover to die. This statement fits perfectly in the story "The Oval Portrait". Good work!
DeleteAustin, I also think Edgar Allen Poe's stories are creepy and odd. I think he writes with a Gothic theme, but I could be mistaken. I also like how you related the artist to a god-like creator. When I read this story I kept relating it to "Frankenstein", and how Victor was more obsessed with "playing god" then loving his creation.
DeleteNice job Austin!
Austin, I completely agree with you. I've always found Poe's stories to be odd as well. I never really enjoyed reading them, mostly because they have a dark side to them.
DeleteI would have never thought of comparing men to being 'power hungry animals', but I like it!
Nice Job!
Creepy and odd is a good description. I love that dark side he has! Good Job, Austin.
DeleteThe story begins with the narrator, who one can only assume is a man because he is accompanied by his “valet” which is used to describe a male servant of a man, entering a shifty, decaying chateau. While laying in bed reading, the narrator decides to shift the candelabrum, which ultimately sheds light into a dark corner, revealing the “oval portrait”. Within the portrait is a woman, a beautiful woman. The narrator then assumes that the artist must have painted with great passion and studious intent.
ReplyDeleteThe artist, out of love for his wife, decides to replicate or create a double of his wife on canvas. Like the narrator suggests, the artist does paint with incredible passion, but he does not realize that with every beautiful brush stroke his wife slowly wastes away. The artist seems to become more compelled with the image on canvas rather than his stunning wife in front of him. Such interest in objective beauty over real beauty suggests that the man is superficial and seeks to control things. With his final strokes the artist proclaims, “this is indeed Life itself”, all the time not realizing his wife passed away.
Poe provides a very unique take on gender roles in his short story. For instance, the artist, while having great intents of creating a beautiful picture of his wife, becomes more interested in making a double of her beauty; he tries to become a creator of beauty. The woman on the other hand is not completely innocent. It bothers me when I see people stereotype the man as being controlling and demanding, while all the time the woman could have said something. The woman, our passive figure in the story, is willing to waste away into the shadows rather than speak up. The woman must have had some sense about her to realize that she did not have to compete with the artist’s tools. If she was as beautiful as the man had portrayed her as, then she could found someone else worth more of her time.
Edgar Allen Poe’s stories always seem to stir up a nice debate over gender roles. I think that is what makes his stories so interesting because there is always something to analyze and discuss. Maybe both the woman and man were to blame in this story. I guess it just depends on what angle you are coming from and what kind of viewpoint you have.
Ian, this was a nice analysis of Poe's work. I completely agree with you. Why didn't the woman just speak up? That, too, bothered me throughout the story. She was, exactly as you stated, just a "passive figure". Gender plays a huge part in nearly every tale, and I do agree that this issue depends on each person's perspective. Nice work!
DeleteAfter I posted my comment, I read Erin's opinions. Maybe the lady decided not to say anything because she was afraid to; after all, women at that time were expected to be obedient to their husbands. I guess it truly is just the angle each one of us approached this story.
DeleteIan, you had an interesting perspective on this short story. When I was reading it, I was putting all the blame on the man for using the woman as model for his portrait. However, you brought up that the woman could be part to blame as well. I think this is true, I do believe that woman need to voice their opinion and speak up more in society.
DeleteIan, I really enjoyed reading this because no one else seemed to argue with what Poe was saying about men in women. Focusing on how weak the woman was is what made your perspective so interesting because it shows how both of them are kind of at fault. Also, since your a guy, I liked how you weren't afraid to express how unfair it is to portray men ad always being that way. Excellent job!
DeleteAt first, when I saw this was a short story by Poe, I was not looking forward to this blog. I do believe Poe is a genius writer, but I am usually not interested in his work. In other words, I appreciate it, but don't enjoy it. However, this was where I was wrong. "The Oval Portrait" was actually pretty interesting, and it fits perfectly into our gender unit.
ReplyDeleteA man in "desperately wounded condition" stumbled upon a painting of a young lady and read some words about the piece.
The artist was married to a beautiful young woman. However, this lady was his second love. His true love appeared when he had an empty canvas in front of him and a brush in his hand. The woman saw how much he loved his art, and she decided to be his model due to her humble and obedient qualities. She loved him so much, but with every stroke of the brush, she realized that she would never be his number one priority. It pained her, but she continued to smile on. As every hour went by, the man failed to see his bride's health deteriorate as her spirit slowly disappeared. He got so caught up in his art that he acted selfishly. The man was taking full advantage of the lady's beauty. When he finished the painting, he was extremely proud of himself. The man turned to his wife and realized she was dead. She died of a broken heart.
While considering the topic of gender, I noted a few points. First of all, men and women think differently and act differently. In this particular case, the man valued not only his artwork, but his superiority, too. He assumed the woman would do anything for him, and he seemed to take her for granted. He only saw her as a pretty face and utilized her like an object. The man probably did love the lady, but he truly loved himself more. He appreciated the painting more than the woman because he created it. The woman, on the other hand, wanted to do anything to please husband. She was very obedient and refused to stand up for herself. Her spirit slowly dimmed while the man's spirit continued to grow. The role of gender plays a different part in each story. In "The Oval Portrait" both characters were blinded by different forms of love, but they both failed to consider each other's feelings and thoughts.