LIGEIA. MORELLA. THE OVAL PORTRAIT

This is an essay about feminist theories and three of Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic stories: “Ligeia,” “Morella,” and “The Oval Portrait.”

Different than many essays that have similar topics and criticize Poe’s patriarchal thoughts, this essay examines the overlap between Poe’s gothic stories and feminist theories and analyzes Poe’s feminist ideas and thoughts. This essay argues that there is a feminist element in Poe’s stories, and describes the kind of feminist thought he holds.

This essay introduces some feminist theories that are relevant to victimization in Poe’s stories. this essay analyses some different aspects of the stories (the female characters’ appearances, sex, the position of females in their family

relationships, children, the dependence and independence females) and it tries to figure out the overlap between Poe’s stories and feminist theories to determine the kinds of feminist thought Poe holds.