The Oval Portrait (Poe)
An injured traveler and his valet sought shelter in an abandoned chateau in the Appennines. The traveler stayed in a small, richly decorated room filled with paintings and a book describing them. He spent the night reading the book and admiring the paintings.
As he adjusted the candelabrum to better see the book, he discovered an oval portrait of a young woman. He became entranced by the lifelike quality of the portrait and searched the book for information about it.
"I had found the spell of the picture in an absolute life-likeliness of expression, which, at first startling, finally confounded, subdued, and appalled me."
The book revealed the story of the painter and his wife.
The wife was a beautiful, lively woman who loved her husband deeply. However, she resented his devotion to his art, which she felt was her rival for his affection. The painter decided to create a portrait of his wife, and she obediently sat for him in a dark turret chamber.
As the painter worked on the portrait, he became increasingly obsessed with it, neglecting his wife's health and well-being. She grew weaker and more dispirited, but continued to smile for her husband's sake. When the portrait was nearly finished, the painter locked himself in the turret, refusing to see anyone or even look at his wife.
In the end, the painter completed the portrait, capturing the very essence of life in his wife's image. However, as he stepped back to admire his work, he realized that his wife had died.
"And when many weeks had passed, and but little remained to do, save one brush upon the mouth and one tint upon the eye... She was dead!"
The portrait had drained her life, leaving only a hauntingly beautiful image behind.