El narrador, el marido de Ligeia, describe sus cualidades: una mujer hermosa, apasionada e intelectual de pelo negro y ojos oscuros, que conocio en "una vieja y ruinosa ciudad cercana al Rin." Se casan, pero despues de unos anos Ligeia muere; el marido, desconsolado, se muda a Inglaterra donde compra y reforma una abadia. Pronto, entra en un matrimonio sin amor con "Lady Rowena Trevanion de Tremaine, de rubios cabellos y ojos azules." En el segundo matrimonio, Rowena empieza a sufrir de fiebre y ansiedad. Una noche, cuando esta a punto de desmayar, el narrador le llena un vaso de vino. Drogado por opio, ve (o cree ver) gotas de un "liquido brillante color rubi" caer en el vaso. Su condicion empeora rapidamente, y unos dias despues muere y su cuerpo es envuelto para ser enterrado. Mientras el protagonista mantiene vigilia por la noche, escucha un susurro que proviene del lecho de muerte. Al detenerse a escuchar, no detecta ruido, pero mas tarde vuelve a escucharlo, mas fuerte. Se acerca al lecho y ve color en las mejillas, frente y parpados de Lady Rowena. Esta muestra repetidas senales de recuperacion, pero vuelve a caer en muerte aparente. Mientras el intenta la resurreccion, las reanimaciones de Rowena se hacen progresivamente mas fuertes, pero las recaidas, mas finales. Cuando amanece, el marido esta sentado y emocionalmente exhausto por la lucha de la noche; el cuerpo aparentemente muerto se mueve con tal energia que no se lo termina de creer y comienza a preguntarse si ese cuerpo es realmente de su esposa Lady Rowena Trevanion de Tremaine. Desesperado, se arroja a los pies de su esposa, estremeciendose esta ante el contacto, cayendo las vendas y revelando unos cabellos negros 'como ala de cuervo en la noche'. Ella abre los ojos, y el protagonista afirma: ' en esto, al menos, jamas podre equivocarme, pues esos son, los oscuros, los hermosos ojos de Lady... de Lady Ligeia '. The unnamed narrator describes the qualities of Ligeia, a beautiful, passionate and intellectual woman, raven-haired and dark-eyed, that he thinks he remembers meeting "in some large, old decaying city near the Rhine." He is unable to recall anything about the history of Ligeia, including her family's name, but remembers her beautiful appearance. Her beauty, however, is not conventional. He describes her as emaciated, with some "strangeness." He describes her face in detail, from her "faultless" forehead to the "divine orbs" of her eyes. They marry, and Ligeia impresses her husband with her immense knowledge of physical and mathematical science, and her proficiency in classical languages. She begins to show her husband her knowledge of metaphysical and "forbidden" wisdom. After an unspecified length of time Ligeia becomes ill, struggles internally with human mortality, and ultimately dies. The narrator, grief-stricken, buys and refurbishes an abbey in England. He soon enters into a loveless marriage with "the fair-haired and blue-eyed Lady Rowena Trevanion, of Tremaine." In the second month of the marriage, Rowena begins to suffer from worsening fever and anxiety. One night, when she is about to faint, the narrator pours her a goblet of wine. Drugged with opium, he sees (or thinks he sees) drops of "a brilliant and ruby colored fluid" fall into the goblet. Her condition rapidly worsens, and a few days later she dies and her body is wrapped for burial. As the narrator keeps vigil overnight, he notices a brief return of color to Rowena's cheeks. She repeatedly shows signs of reviving, before relapsing into apparent death. As he attempts resuscitation, the revivals become progressively stronger, but the relapses more final. As dawn breaks, and the narrator is sitting emotionally exhausted from the night's struggle, the shrouded body revives once more, stands and walks into the middle of the room. When he touches the figure, its head bandages fall away to reveal masses of raven hair and dark eyes: Rowena has transfor"