In the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, The Facts of the Case of M. Valdemar, death is an ever-present theme but more specifically, the theme that death cannot be escaped. The theme of death is broken down into several smaller ideas including the fact that it may be human nature to try to escape death, but that no matter what humans do to attempt to escape death, death is inevitable in the end.  Another important theme is the experimentation of science and health, and that it can produce horrifying results. A final important theme explored in this short story is the idea that the mind and body are separate entities. Through the dark combination of setting, language, and characters, these themes enhance the story and engage the reader.

Initially, the audience is led to believe that death may be able to be cheated by mesmerism because the narrator expresses that "no person had as yet been mesmerized en articulo mortis" (13). The author poses this statement as an idea and a curiosity he has, which leads the audience to believe that there is a possibility that in the end death could be cheated by mesmerism. The excitement and curiosity of not only the narrator, but also the patient, to explore and test out this theory that mesmerism could influence death is definitely penetrated into the reader. The author writes, "they admitted him to be in an unusually perfect state of mesmeric trance" (16).  The ease of putting M. Valdemar into a trance definitely leads the audience to believe that the experiment will be successful in the end.

The author also leads us to believe that the illness of the patient may be conquerable by introducing Theodore L into the experiment.  The audience is reassured of the credibility of this experiment because "it is from his memoranda that what I now have to relate is, for the most part, either condensed or copied verbatim." (14) By posing the story as a factual based story provides the audience with a sense of security and a sense of hope for the patient. The narrator says, "it is now rendered necessary that I use the facts" (13), which emphasizes the credibility of the experiment because it portrays the story as purely factual.  The medical language that Poe uses in the story, such as stertorious breathing, lateral stroke, and inward examination, also makes the audience believe that this experiment is legitimate.  

Another important theme is the theme that experimentation in science can lead to horrifying results (Cummings, Study Guide).

"As I rapidly made the mesmeric passes, amid ejaculations of "dead! dead!" absolutely bursting from the tongue and not from the lips of the sufferer, his whole frame at once-within the space of a single minute, or even less, shrunk-crumbled-absolutely rotted away beneath my hands. Upon the bed, before that whole company, there lay a nearly liquid mass of loathsome-of detestable putridity." (19)

This quote from the story is the ideal example that sometimes experiments in science can turn out horribly wrong. This happens in real life as well, especially when searching for cures to diseases. Sometimes a cure can kill. 

The story reaches a changing of themes when the narrator attempts to wake up the mesmerized patient. After seven months of being in the trance, the patient responds to a question asked by the narrator. In desperation and panic, the patient responds "For God's sake! -quick! -quick! -put me to sleep -or, quick! -waken me! -quick! -I say to you that I am dead!" (Poe 19). At this point of the story, it is clear that death is inevitable.  Despite all the efforts of the narrator to overcome the patient's illness with mesmerism, in the end the patient is desperate to die. The patient was begging to be killed. In the beginning of the story, the patient was so eager to be a part of the experiment. The patient, the narrator, and the audience were hopeful that the experiment of hypnosis and mesmerism would prove to have a successful impact on a person on the verge of death. Throughout the whole story, there is a sense of hope for the patient. At this point though, when the patient is desperate to be killed, it is proved that death is inevitable. 		

The separation of body and mind is a huge part of the story. Even after the narrator can no longer move the patient's limbs through mesmerism, and his body is physically stiff and cold, as if it was dead, his mind is alive and he is still trying to communicate. His tongue quivers in an attempt to answer the narrator's questions. More specifically, as the body is disintegrating, the tongue is last to disappear and it continues to shriek "dead!" (Poe 19).  This suggests that some form of his soul might still be alive in a further, unknown place, therefore proving the separation of mind and body. 

In conclusion, this story has an underlying theme of death. Death is evident in all aspects of the story. It emphasizes how humankind tries to escape death, but how in the end death can never really be escaped because it is inevitable for all humans. The story also places a strong emphasis on how science and experiments can turn out horribly wrong.  The author uses gory details and words to create a constant tone of darkness and an underlying theme of death throughout the short story. He uses an element of curiosity on the narrator's part to explore the possible effects of experimenting with mesmerism on a dying patient, and an element of hope for the reader and for the patient that the experiment of mesmerism might cheat death. In this way, he is able to keep the audience engaged in this dark story.
