Chamisso’s Peter Schlemihl’s Wundersame Geschichte (1915)
This annotated edition of Chamisso’s celebrated novella presents the original German text alongside a biographical and literary introduction, English-language notes, and a complete German English vocabulary, compiled by Emma S. Buchheim, a noted scholar of German literature. Designed for students and collectors, it offers a rich contextual framework for understanding the story’s Romantic themes and linguistic nuances.
Peter Schlemihl, a modest and hopeful man, arrives in a new town seeking opportunity. He meets a mysterious man in a grey coat who offers him a magical purse that never empties—in exchange for his shadow. Schlemihl accepts but soon discovers that living without a shadow makes him a social outcast. People fear or mock him, and he loses love and respect. The grey man later returns, offering to restore his shadow if Schlemihl will surrender his soul. Schlemihl refuses, throws away the cursed purse, and begins a life of wandering and reflection—eventually acquiring seven-league boots that allow him to travel the world.
Themes and Significance
- Identity and alienation: The loss of his shadow symbolizes social exclusion and internal crisis.
- Temptation and morality: The story critiques materialism and the cost of spiritual compromise.
- Romanticism and early psychology: Chamisso explores the self, perception, and the supernatural with poetic depth.
