The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar

“Of course I shall not pretend to consider it any matter for wonder, that the extraordinary case of M. Valdemar has excited discussion.”

This is the opening line of the story, in which the Narrator introduces the other main character, M. Valdemar, and makes clear that the incident he will relate is “extraordinary.” This sets the reader up with a particular expectation—namely, that something surprising, fantastic, or supernatural will occur in the pages to follow. The Narrator also notes that this incident “excited discussion,” framing his version of events as a response to the enthusiastic spread of rumors about it.

“It is now rendered necessary that I give the facts—as far as I comprehend them myself. They are, succinctly, these….”

This quotation is visually and grammatically emphasized because it constitutes its own paragraph and leads directly from the more general commentary of the Narrator into his account of the case of M. Valdemar. Building on the first sentence, this aims to establish him as an authority, communicating “facts” to the reading public. On the other hand, the qualification (“as far as I comprehend them myself”) primes the reader to expect a mysterious or hard to understand story, and also tries to account in advance for the Narrator’s recounting events that defy normal logic.

“[N]o person had as yet been mesmerized in articulo mortis. It remained to be seen, first, whether, in such condition, there existed in the patient any susceptibility to the magnetic influence; secondly, whether, if any existed, it was impaired or increased by the condition; thirdly, to what extent, or for how long a period, the encroachments of Death might be arrested by the process.”

Here, the Narrator lays out the basic premise of his experiment in mesmerism—to see if he is able to prevent Valdemar from dying through hypnosis (“in articulo mortis” is Latin for “at the point of death”).