The Devil’s Elixirs (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffman
- First Published: 1815
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy
- Time of Work: Eighteenth century
- Setting: Germany and Italy
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Fantasy
- Subjects: Murder or homicide, Supernatural, Mental illness, Violence, Eighteenth century, Devils or demons, Italy or Italians, Germany or German people, Monasteries, monks, or monasticism, Dopplegangers
- Locales: Germany, Italy
Characters Discussed
Medardus (meh-DAHR-dews), a monk. He is put in charge of the relics of his order, which include among them an elixir reputed to cause any who drink it to belong to the devil; if two people should taste the potion, they would be as one in thought and desire while secretly wishing to destroy each other. Medardus drinks of the elixir and is then confronted with all the devices of the powers of darkness, which weave about him a web of falsehoods, murders, mistaken identities, and madness until he recovers and is purged of his guilt. He is then asked by Father...
[The entire page is 500 words long]
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