Ligeia

Again the character portraid as a vampire comes from an old family. She is described as being light, I think in weight seeing as she was described as emaciated, as was Roderick. It doesn't seem the vampires of Poe's stories feed often. Also the narrator trys to portray her beauty and cannot, which reminds me of the so perfect portrail of the girl in the oval portrait. Also "she came and departed as a shadow" shadows seemed to have a place in all three stories. Of course Poe's works are rather, depressing so I'm not sure if this is a common theme with all his works. She is unparralleled in beauty though not in the classic manner, with ivory skin, black hair, and ancient eyes. All of which speak of vampires, and the last of imortality or at least longevity. "...pale forehead --it was faultless --how cold indeed..." I know the word cold is directed at the term faultless but it's placed almost in such a manner that one reads it as possibly applyign to her forhead skin, as well. Maybe not intentional but that's what I gathered from it. "...speaking the free spirit." Free spirit as in spirit set free from the body? It might be that I'm looking to far into this fro signs of vampirism but much of the stories and sentances that seem unrelated could definatly hint towards this. Her teeth are startling brilliant, so they stand out as fangs would. Like in the oval portrait it seems that the vampire feeds off of something, this time the narrator's secound wife, and takes over it taking the victums life to gain a life of it's own. I think I understood the end correctly? Rowena dies then comes back to life a Ligeia. Also- Stringed intruments are brought up in this as well, in the Fall of the House of Usher they are one of the few noses that do not upset Roderick, in this it seems the narrator is reminded of Lady Ligeia by them. And it almsot sounds as though the vampire shortly possessed him until she could take Rowena's place. "I have been filled with it by certain sounds from stringed instruments, and not unfrequently by passages from books." It seems to be refering to Ligeia's beatuy which at times would pass into and fill his soul as the narrator earlier stated in this passage.

I did some background reading and the story was subject to debate, some believed that the story was a satire being based on an opium (latex based narotic) induced hallucination of the narrator's. Personally I don't think it was a satire as it seems to have many common themes with the other two short stories. Plus it's creepy.