Washington Irving's story is set during the French Revolution and narrated by an unnamed "old gentleman" with a "haunted head." The story is told from a limited third-person point of view. The elderly gentleman maintains that the story of the German student is true, but he also quotes the student himself as his source. The latter is said to have died in a "madhouse." As a result, we are led to question the veracity of the story and the reliability of the narrator.

The woman dressed in black, who later manifests as a grim corpse, is a symbol of both the French Revolution and the principles it supposedly espoused. On its face, the Revolution centered on the lofty themes of "liberte, egalite, fraternite." However, in practice, the proletarian-led revolt was bloody, violent, and devoid of actual justice. Wholesale slaughter held sway, with the guillotine claiming hundreds of victims daily. It was said that a dozen of the condemned could be guillotined in thirteen minutes. The instrument of terror and death was first said to have been located in front of the Place de l'hôtel de Ville. The Hotel de Ville is mentioned in Irving's story. The guillotine was later moved to another part of Paris.

The principle of "reason" was also central to the Revolution. The French proletariat and their leaders had already rejected the Church and all its dogma. In their place, the leaders of the Revolution propped up the "Goddess of Reason." This is alluded to in the story.

It was the time for wild theory and wild actions. Old prejudices and superstitions were done away; every thing was under the sway of the “Goddess of Reason.” Among other rubbish of the old times, the forms and ceremonies of marriage began to be considered superfluous bonds for honourable minds. Social compacts were the vogue. Wolfgang was too much of a theorist not to be tainted by the liberal doctrines of the day.

History tells us that the French people rejected not only the corruption in the Church but also the Judeo-Christian principles that formed the basis of French culture prior to the Revolution. In the ravishing beauty of the "pale and disconsolate" woman, we see the appeal of "liberte, egalite, and fraternite." We also see the cherishing appeal of Reason. However, the reality proved far more disquieting: the decapitated head rolling across the floor symbolizes the paranoia and horror of a revolution marred by sadistic acts of violence.

Irving uses this disturbing imagery to highlight the discrepancy between principle and reality. He also utilizes imagery of a sexual nature that cautions against letting lust, or perhaps blind fascination, overtake logical action. Wolfgang ultimately fell victim to his inability to contain himself, acting based on emotion rather than rationality. He dreamt of female forms and would “deck out images of loveliness far surpassing the reality.” In other words, Wolfgang became unable to see beyond his own scholarly ideals and sexual desire. The German student found himself caught up in the swell of lust but might have altered his behavior had he known the outcome would be madness.