The Case of Charles Dexter Ward · Chapter
III: A Search and an Evocation explained
Dr.
What happens
Dr. Willett interviews Charles Ward at his father's request, learning of Ward's research into Joseph Curwen's papers and his quest for mystic symbols on Curwen's headstone. Ward refuses college to pursue his studies, and his father discovers that the Curwen portrait has crumbled to dust.
Themes in this chapter
Forbidden Knowledge
Charles Ward delves into Curwen's secret papers and arcane arts, seeking hidden knowledge.
Heredity and Ancestral Guilt
Charles's descent from Joseph Curwen drives his obsession and the eerie resemblance between them.
Identity and Possession
The crumbling portrait and Charles's changed behavior suggest a blurring of identity between him and Curwen.
Necromancy and Resurrection
Curwen's experiments and the cryptic verse about breeding something outside the spheres hint at necromantic practices.
Characters to notice
- Charles Dexter Ward
Interviewed by Dr. Willett; reveals his research into Curwen's papers and the need for mystic symbols on the headstone; refuses college; his portrait crumbles.
- Dr. Marinus Bicknell Willett
Interviews Charles at Mr. Ward's request; examines Curwen documents; notes the resemblance between Charles and the portrait.
- Theodore Ward
Requests Dr. Willett's interview with Charles; later confronts Charles about his activities; discovers the portrait has crumbled.
- Joseph Curwen
His portrait crumbles to dust; his papers and history are central to Charles's research.
- Mrs. Ward
Faints from fright due to Charles's activities; mentioned as not pleased with Curwen ancestry.
- Edward Hutchinson
Mentioned as Curwen's close friend in Salem; his library and disappearance are noted.
- Simon Orne
Mentioned as Curwen's close friend; his disappearance and later reappearance as Jedediah Orne are noted.
- Jedediah Orne
Mentioned as Simon Orne's self-styled son; his removal from Salem in 1771 is noted.
Key passages
“Ye Verse from Liber-Damnatus be'g spoke V Roodmasses and IV Hallows-Eves, I am Hopeful ye Thing is breed'g Outside ye Spheres. It will drawe One who is to Come if I can make sure he shal bee, and he shall think on Past thinges and looke back thro' all ye yeares, against ye which I must have ready ye Saltes or That to make 'em with.”
A verse from the Book of the Damned, spoken on certain holy days, suggests a creature is being bred outside normal reality. It will attract a future person who will remember past events, and for this I need the salts or the means to make them.
This cryptic passage from Curwen's diary hints at necromantic rituals and the creation of a being that can reach across time.
“He stated that the papers of his ancestor had contained some remarkable secrets of early scientific knowledge. To take their vivid place in the history of human thought they must first be correlated by one familiar with the background out of which they evolved, and to this task of correlation Ward was now devoting himself.”
Ward claimed his ancestor's papers held important early scientific secrets that needed to be understood in their historical context, a task he was now undertaking.
Ward offers a rational explanation for his research, masking the occult nature of his work.
“Peeling clear of the wood, curling tighter and tighter, and finally crumbling into small bits with what must have been malignly silent suddenness, the portrait of Joseph Curwen had resigned forever its staring surveillance of the youth it so strangely resembled, and now lay scattered on the floor as a thin coating of fine bluish-gray dust.”
The portrait of Joseph Curwen, which had long watched over Charles, suddenly peeled, curled, and crumbled into fine blue-gray dust on the floor.
The portrait's destruction symbolizes a shift in the connection between Charles and his ancestor.
