Guide Mentor

Character Role Analysis

Ligeia

Ligeia's "presence," the narrator tells us, "her readings alone, rendered vividly luminous the many mysteries in which we were immersed" (8). It's clear right there: Ligeia is the driver this relationship: she's the teacher and he's the pupil. Without her, the narrator says, "I was but as a child groping benighted," and without her, we must assume, he wouldn't have been able to even begin to understand Ligeia's situation.