Epigraph In Ligeia

A Powerful Tool: The Human Will The topic of death has always been a subject of taboo. Many people and religions offer differing opinions on what occurs after death. Some say that an individual goes to an afterlife, and some even say that an individual goes into reincarnation. A famous American author had a completely different approach to death. Personal experiences shaped his stance, and he believed that the human will can overcome illness and possibly death. In his story “Ligeia,” he truly shows his stance on the topic of death with references in the story that support his claims. From the story “Ligeia,” the human will can overcome illness and death because the epigraph in the story supports this claim, the narrator has memories of Ligeia
It states that, “And the will therein lieth, which dieth not. Who knoweth the mysteries of the will, with its vigor? For God is but a great will pervading all things by nature of its intentness, Man doth not yield himself to the angels, nor unto death utterly, save only through the weakness of his feeble will.” This quote stated that the will is immortal and unknowable. Also, “Only through the weakness of his feeble will,” he says, does man “yield himself to the angels” and “death utterly.” He was saying that if an individual was determined enough, then they can avoid death through will alone. This epigraph directly related to Poe’s stance. In addition, this relates to the theme of the story, as the story itself also deals with
The narrator stays next to the dead Rowena and sees that a tinge of color has returned to her face showing that she is still alive. This happens a second time, and her body shows more color. This occurrence of “life” is brief, and Rowena’s body becomes pale and cold as it was before. Again, the narrator has memories of Ligeia and encounters the corpse of Rowena. The corpse moves into the middle of the apartment and the narrator is confused as to what the corpse looks like. He thinks that it is the lady Rowena, but he notices the body has grown taller. Glancing from her feet to her head, the narrator sees Ligeia’s raven colored hair. In fact, it is Ligeia standing in the bridal chamber. Ligeia’s will made her overcome death. She never wanted to part with the narrator, and soon she comes back to life supernaturally in the body of the dead