The Oval Portrait Character Analysis

The Artist

The unnamed artist only appears as a character in the inner story of the narrative. The guide book that the narrator reads contains an account of his interactions with his young wife, the model… read analysis of The Artist

The Artist’s Wife

The artist’s wife appears in the flesh only in the inner story, but her image—an “immortalized” painted portrait of her mortal self, remarkable in its lifelikeness—startles and appalls the narrator in the narrative’s outer… read analysis of The Artist’s Wife

The Narrator

The narrator is a man whose background remains a mystery for the reader: Poe reveals nothing about him other than the fact that he’s seriously injured and takes refuge in a chateau in the company… read analysis of The Narrator

Minor Characters

Pedro

Pedro is the narrator’s servant, and is only mentioned briefly at the beginning of the story. His role in the narrative seems to be purely functional: it’s with his help that the injured narrator gains access to the chateau, but his involvement essentially ends there.