In Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "Ligeia," first published in 1838, the narrator, a self-professed opium addict, details his passion for his first wife, Ligeia, both intelligent and beautiful. When Ligeia passes away and the grief-stricken narrator marries again, his love for Ligeia lives on. Ultimately, the story reveals the destructive power of obsession and the haunting aspect of a love that never dies.