This is the story of an artist who wants to make a painting of his young wife, but becomes so obsessed with it that he doesn't realize his wife is dying meanwhile. This is a short horror story about the relationship between art and life, through the narrator's encounter with the oval portrait of a young woman in a chateau in the Apennines.

The central theme of the story The Oval Portrait is the relationship between life and art. This story has shown the destructive power of art and love.The narrator shows deep interest in the bizarre paintings decorating the walls of the room. At around midnight, he adjusts a candlestick in the room and sees a portrait he didn’t notice before. The picture is in an oval-shaped frame. It reveals the head and shoulders of a young woman. The narrator is charmed by the portrait, which seems so lively. But he soon gets appalled by it. He turns to the book and reads the information about the portrait. He discovers that the woman depicted in it is the young bride of the artist. She is a perfect wife in every respect. But she is jealous of her husband’s art that diverts him from her. The artist paints a picture of his wife, and becomes more obsessed with capturing her likeness. The wife remains in a humble and obedient pose for many weeks. Her health becomes increasingly poor as the work continues. He stops paying attention to her and becomes more preoccupied with the painting. When the portrait is about to finish, the artist is delighted with the quality of his own work. He then looks at his wife, but finds that she is dead.