“Berenice” is set in an ancient, 19th-century mansion, passed down through the main character’s family line. Egaeus does not disclose the location of his estate, focusing instead on the storied history of his ancestral home:
Yet there are no towers in the land more time-honored than my gloomy, gray, hereditary halls.
With this single sentence, Poe establishes a powerful, dismal setting that calls to mind a dizzying mix of immense wealth and shadowy grandeur. Further details regarding the mansion’s “many striking particulars” fill in this rough sketch, painting a picture of the beautiful but cold environment Egaeus grew up in:
Our line has been called a race of visionaries… in the character of the family mansion—in the frescos of the chief saloon—in the tapestries of the dormitories—in the chiselling of some buttresses in the armory—but more especially in the gallery of antique paintings—in the fashion of the library chamber—and, lastly, in the very peculiar nature of the library’s contents—there is more than sufficient evidence to warrant the belief.
The library chamber deserves further consideration, as this is where Egaeus spends the majority of his time. In fact, he is born there (and his mother died there, too). Egaeus secludes himself within the library, especially as his mental illness worsens, retreating into the dark cloister of knowledge and learning at the expense of light and companionship. In this way, the story’s setting becomes a mirror for the narrator’s state of mind: grim, isolated, and alone.
