In this horror story written by Edgar Allen Poe, a man named M. Earnest Valdemar is suffering a death of phthisis, tuberculosis of the lungs. The goal of the narrator, later identified as “P”, is to place the subject into a mesmerized state in order to prolong the time before his death. The narrator is successful, and the death of Valdemar is delayed for seven months past his expected death date given to him by his doctor. However, by doing this, Valdemar’s body continued along the course of death while his mind was kept alive by the mesmeric state he was placed in. I analyzed the elements of imagery and the use of similes through the close reading of The Facts in the Case of M Valdemar. The gruesome changes to Valdemar’s body that eventually lead to such an abominable death would not have occurred if “P” had not interfered with his death. “P” is trying to change the course of death, something that is unavoidable, and Poe shows us through these elements how this takes a toll on Valdemar. Therefore, instead of Valdemar dying a natural death, he died in a very gruesome way. His body continued to rot away while he was in the mesmerism, causing it to crumble in a horrific manner when he was brought out of the trance. The elements of imagery allow the reader to picture the changes of Valdemar before, during, and throughout his mesmerized state. The literary device of a simile in the text is used to compare what the author is describing to something we can relate to so that we can see these ramifications. Poe’s use of these elements allows the reader to understand the theme of the story, which is that by interfering with the natural course of death, the outcome can be gruesome and horrific.

Edgar Allen Poe uses imagery throughout The Facts in the Case of M Valdemar to illustrate the theme of his story to his readers. The imagery of Valdemar’s appearance is repeated several times throughout the story to give us a better understanding of how he looked when “P” first saw him, his appearance throughout the memorization, and lastly at his death. Poe first shows us what M Valdemar looked like, prior his diagnosis in 1839, by comparing him to John Randolph. The narrator says, “…since the year 1839, is (or was) particularly noticeable for the extreme sparseness of his person- his lower limbs resembling those of John Randolph; and, also, for the whiteness of his whiskers, in violent contrast to the blackness of his hair- the ladder, in consequence, being very generally mistaken for a wig.” The author chose to use this analogy between Valdemar and John Randolph’s appearances for the purpose of the reader to imagine what M Valdemar may have looked like in relation to a familiar figure of the time. John Randolph served the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives just years before this story was written and therefore is a character that readers of this time could recognize. He first describes Valdemar’s legs as being “sparse” like Randolph’s. Valdemar and Randolph’s white beards are also characterized as being similar. The reader is not aware at the time, but the natural state of M. Valdemar’s appearance is described so the reader can later see the immense impact of the mesmerization on his body. The author then uses words that allow the reader to image what Valdemar looks like after his diagnosis of tuberculosis, and leading up until his death. Approximately twenty-four hours prior to the doctors estimated death time, Valdemar calls “P” so that he can come to mesmerize him, as planned. When “P” arrives, he describes very vividly how Valdemar now looked. He talks to the doctors when he first arrives, who tell him the patients current state, “The left lung had been for eighteen months in a semi-osseous or cartilaginous state, and was, of course, entirely useless for all purposes of vitality. The right, in its upper portion, was also partially, if not thoroughly, ossified, while the lower region was merely a mass of purulent tubercles, running one into another. Several extensive perforations existed; and, at one point, permanent adhesion to the ribs had taken place. These appearances in the right lobe were of comparatively recent date.” Poe presents these details of Valdemar’s current condition to show us that due to the course of his disease, his body was ready to die. This will later allow us to see that being mesmerized by “P”, it prolongs the affects that tuberculosis has already had to his body. 

After Valdemar was finally in a mesmeric state for about three hours, the author uses imagery to show the effects it has already had on him. “P” compares him to someone who is sleepwalking, saying “The glassy roll of the eye was changed for that expression of uneasy inward examination which is never seen except in cases of sleep-waking, and which it is quite impossible to mistake.” Due to the mesmerization, Valdemar’s soul is still alive, but his body is still rotting away from his disease. The author uses this comparison because although sleep walking is the opposite of this, it is an easy example for the reader to relate to. When someone is sleepwalking their mind is asleep but their body is still walking around. This imagery contributes to the theme because if he wasn’t in this mesmeric state, his body would not have to suffer this slow death. These features, ones he did not possess before being mesmerized, are very vivid and show us how the interference of his death by the mesmerism has had a bad effect on his body after only a short time. On the last time that “P” asks Valdemar to “…explain to us what your feelings or wishes are now?”, he describes Valdemar’s character as having “...an instant return of the hectic circles on the cheeks; the tongue quivered, or rather rolled violently in the mouth…”. His quivering tongue allows us to imagine that Valdemar is trying to talk but struggles with the simple human characteristic of speech. When he does speak, the author refers to it as a “hideous” voice, further confirming our image of a struggling dying man. This feeling of horror and disgust was also used after Valdemar was first brought out of the trance. The author says Valdemar’s eyes “…profuse out-flowing of a yellowish ichor (from beneath the lids) of a pungent and highly offensive odor.” This creates a vivid image and allows our sense of smell to relate to that of foul smelling pus coming from his eyelids. 

When Valdemar was finally relieved of the mesmeric trance, imagery was used to show what this tall skinny legged and bearded man, that was first described in the beginning of the story, now looks like at his death. Possibly the most useful example of the effects that the mesmerism had on Valdemar’s course of death is one that Poe used is the last couple lines in the story, “…[Valdemar’s] 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 putrescence.” This imagery is very descriptive and creates a sense of disgust, showing the reader the gruesome consequences of prolonging Valdemar’s death. The details of the body turning into a liquid allows us to picture death in such a prude way. Without this use of imagery, the reader would have a much more difficult time comprehending the horror of Valdemar’s death.

The average reader is not accustomed to the gruesome details of Valdemar’s death. Poe uses similes to describe these horrific facts of death so that we can accurately picture the problems that resulted from the mesmerism. Poe uses a simile to describe the state of Valdemar’s limbs only about seven hours after he was placed into a mesmeric state Poe states, “… and the limbs were as rigid and as cold as marble.” This comparison of his limbs to an inanimate and cold object like marble is used because it is something we can relate to. Coldness of the human body tells us that someone is dead. Therefore, Poe uses this simile so that we can identify his theme that interfering with the course of death lead to Valdemar’s mind being kept alive by the mesmerisation even though his body dead. Poe uses another simile to portray the appearance of Valdemar’s skin when he says, “… the skin generally a cadaverous hue, resembling not so much parchment as white paper.” The author uses a simile in this sentence to compare Valdemar’s skin to parchment paper. This simile helps Poe describe the dying man’s skin because of the reader’s prior knowledge of the color of parchment paper. Just as cold skin relates to death, white skin contributes to Poe’s point of telling us that his body is dead as well. 

Poe’s progression of images before, during, and after Valdemar’s mesmerism, and his use of similes, allow the reader to see the consequences and problems with the interference of the natural death process. The author uses specific examples of both imagery and a literary device to show the gruesome effects of prolonging Valdemar’s death by mesmerism. Through imagery, we can imagine the impact that the mesmerism had on Valdemar’s body from when “P” first came to see him up until his death. Poe showed us that his soul was still there even though his body was dead by giving descriptive details of Valdemar’s appearance. We can conclude that Valdemar would have died a usual death if “P” wouldn’t have interfered in the way that he did, causing the gruesome and horrific effects that it had on his body. 
