"Art is a jealous mistress." Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote easily summarizes "The Oval Portrait," written by Edgar Allen Poe. It is a chilling tale, describing the two different passions of a married couple. The husband, a painter, requests that the wife let him paint her portrait, and in obeying him, she meets her doom. As the painting matured, her health and spirits declined and yet she remained and, without objection, she continued to sit for …showed first 75 words of 902 total…

…showed last 75 words of 902 total…mysterious, dark, and creepy story. The life that the young painter takes from his wife illuminates the painting. But in the end, she bears the tragic consequences of her husband's love for his art and her own love for him. Through this story it becomes obvious that love triangles are dangerous to life, as are vampires and society itself. This story is a prime example of the hazards of loving someone that already loves another.