like a soliloquy in drama or stream-of-consciousness, an attempt to duplicate raw sensory data in the same disordered state that the mind receives it.
Description of characters also helps us to understand the author’s intent. In real life we are told from an early age not to judge people by external
appeareance, but in fiction the opposite is more often the case: physical description is invariably a sign of what lurks beneath the surface. Given the
brevity of most short stories, these physical details may be minimal but revailing in their lack of particulars.
3.3.1. The oval portrait
The madness of this story is shown by the painter of the portrait. He is an ambitious man that loves art very much. But he is too ambitious and
obsessive to arts that cause a rivalry between the love to art and the love to his wife. When he draws his wife, his obsession is over limit that more
likely being possessed. If he is a normal person, he must feel tired, hungry, thirsty and other normal condition that people will feel. It is impossible for a
person to not having a meal or even goes to the rest room for a day. The other character, such as the painter’s wife, is a typical of a Gothic
story woman who always suffers from the madness of the male character. But in my opinion, the female character in this story in not really mad, but
she is stupid. She does not complain even a bit to his husband about her condition. Just because she loves him then she could do everything
including bargaining away her life to him. As a normal person, one will not do such a stupid thing like that. For her attitude of an abnormal person, I
also conclude it as a form of madness of character of this story. We can see the description from the quotation below:
“...He, passionate, studious, austere, and having already a bride in his Art; she a maiden of rarest beauty, and not
more lovely than full of glee; all light and smiles, and frolicsome as the young fawn; loving and cherishing all
things; hating only the Art which was her rival; dreading only the pallet and brushes and other untoward instruments
which deprived her of the countenance of her lover. It was
Universitas Sumatera Utara
thus a terrible thing for this lady to hear the painter speak of his desire to portray even his young bride. But she was
humble and obedient, and sat meekly for many weeks in the dark, high turret-chamber where the light dripped upon
the pale canvas only from overhead. But he, the painter, took glory in his work, which went on from hour to hour,
and from day to day. And be was a passionate, and wild, and moody man, who became lost in reveries; so that he
would not see that the light which fell so ghastly in that lone turret withered the health and the spirits of his bride,
who pined visibly to all but him. Yet she smiled on and still on, uncomplainingly, because she saw that the painter who
had high renown took a fervid and burning pleasure in his task, and wrought day and night to depict her who so loved
him, yet who grew daily more dispirited and weak. ...” Patrick. F. Quinn, 1984 : 483
3.3.2. The Black Cat
