In Edgar Allen Poe's The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, we find that there are certain things in life that one simply cannot change.  Curiosity leads the narrator, known by the initial "P.", into his quest of finding out whether mesmerism delays death or not.  Morally controversial in nature, his quest is carried out meticulously by a man with his field at the forefront of his conscience.  Poe titles his work with the word "facts" because he is trying to make his story into what appears to be a scientific account.  This account shows that though time some things are unavoidable.

"Through the desire of all parties concerned, to keep the affair from the public, at least for the present, or until we had farther opportunities for investigation - through our endeavors to effect this - a garbled or exaggerated account made its way into society, and became the source of many unpleasant misrepresentations; and, very naturally, of a great deal of disbelief."  Here, Poe begins to give validity to the case.  Due to public ignorance of science during the time period the story was published, many people were susceptible to accepting Poe's falsehood.  Poe played on this, and tried to make the account as believable as possible.  "It is now rendered necessary that I give the facts - as far as I comprehend them myself."  This statement leads the reader to his or her affirmance that these are actually facts.  Ordinarily in fiction works the reader dives into the narrative without a preface or anything to back up claims in the work.  Poe leaves it up in the air as to whether in fact his account is true or not.  At the time, most fictional literature was published in books or individually as short stories.  The author decided to publish The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar in a newspaper to further add validity to the work.  This was all done with Poe knowing exactly what he was doing.  He believed that the public would be gullible enough to believe such his brazen claims, and he was correct.  He even published the story without an author, using his own initial as the protagonist's name as a way to be more realistic; a cameo, rather than have a full-fledged appearance in the story.  All of these instances lead to the underlying target of Poe that is realism in the story, including the most profound instance, time.

Time is brought into the story preceding the statement of Poe that these are the "facts".  "My attention, for the last three years, had been repeatedly drawn to the subject of Mesmerism; and, about nine months ago, it occurred to me, quite suddenly, that in the series of experiments made hitherto, there had been a very remarkable and most unaccountable omission: - no person had as yet been mesmerized in articulo mortis."  In this first instance, P has relatively recently become interested in mesmerism, more specifically mesmerism of the dying.  He appears to have a bright, open mind on the dark mesmerism and wants to further explore it.

In his exploration, P comes upon M. Valdemar, a former mesmerism subject of his who is in a confirmed phthisis.  M. Valdemar is the perfect fit for his study and is told to "send for [P] about twenty-four hours before the period announced by his physicians as that of his decease.  He receives word seven months later to come because M. Valdemar is set to die no later than midnight of the next day.  "I received this note within half an hour after it was written, and in fifteen minutes more I was in the dying man's chamber. I had not seen him for ten days, and was appalled by the fearful alteration which the brief interval had wrought in him."  In this quote, P's mood alters slightly.  He is still interested in the mesmerism but cannot shake the image of M. Valdemar because of how much his condition has worsened.  The mesmerism subject looks to be ready to die, backed when P hears the poor condition of M. Valdemar's body.  P and M. Valdemar still both want to continue with the mesmerism, as time passes and M. Valdemar's condition continues to worsen.

Time makes another appearance when P states, "When I had accomplished this, it was fully midnight".  M. Valdemar is confirmed as fully mesmerized, and P is optimistic that his mesmerism has worked.  He has full reason to be optimistic as M. Valdemar is "in precisely the same condition" and has an appearance that "was certainly not that of death."  This appearance doesn't last however, as several intervals of time elapse, M. Valdemar's conditions worsen to the point that there "was no longer the faintest sign of vitality in M. Valdemar.  As time passes by, M. Valdemar is decaying inside.  Time has changed both P's thoughts about "articulo mortis" and M. Valdemar's health.

An interval of nearly seven months passed of M. Valdemar staying in his receding state.  The last instance of time in the work comes in after this interval when P states, "It was on Friday last that we finally resolved to make the experiment of awakening, or attempting to awaken him; and it is the (perhaps) unfortunate result of this latter experiment which has given rise to so much discussion in private circles - to so much of what I cannot help thinking unwarranted popular feeling."  Poe again adds realism to the account as P makes an attempt to awaken M. Valdemar.  In the process of the awakening, M. Valdemar disintegrates into a "liquid mass of loathsome-of detestable putrescence", with his tongue screaming "dead! dead!"  Time is unescapable, and P's attempt to obtain more through mesmerism lead to an even more final cessation for M. Valdemar.  The state of M. Valdemar's body and the way he finally deceased are consequences for the cheating time.

In The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, time is indispensable; it governs us and is impossible to defeat.  There are some things in this world that cannot change including death.  M. Valdemar learned this fact the hard way by suffering through P's mesmerism until his ultimate secession.
