The clock is not just a decorative element, but “it is the inexorably paralyzing reminder of 'Time flies…'” (Freedman 238). Poe's repeated mention of the clock and its chimes creates a level of anticipation and anxiety that must mirror what the partygoers feel as they are unable to ignore the fact that time is passing and death is approaching. No matter how much wealth or fortune these people have had, they are not exempt from death. While the partygoers may try to “avoid the black, blood-tinged chamber, the echoes of the clock ring throughout the abbey” and leave each of them with an uneasy feeling as they are brought back to reality (Freedman 238). While the prospect of people dying beyond the walls seemed not to weigh heavily on the party's guests, “the chimes of the clock” made even the most dizzy “turn pale” (Poe 439). The inclusion and repetition of details such as the partygoers' reactions to each of the hourly chimes of the clock show that they are finally, if reluctantly, beginning to recognize the finality of the death that awaits them. However, whenever the “clock sound fades, [the partygoers]