The Mysterious Stranger

“He had new and good clothes on, and was handsome and had a winning face and a pleasant voice, and as easy and graceful and unembarrassed, not slouchy and awkward and diffident, like other boys.”

This is Satan’s first appearance in the text. It provides detailed characterization that makes him stand out from the others in the narrative. He is visibly different from what Theodor expects, and this fascinates Theodor and draws him to Satan. Theodor’s attitude also shows that he is open minded.

“‘We others are still ignorant of sin; we are not able to commit it; we are without blemish. [...]’ Two of the little workmen were quarreling, and in buzzing little bumblebee voices they were cursing and swearing at each other; now came blows and blood; then they locked themselves together in a life-and-death struggle. Satan reached out his hand and crushed the life out of them with his fingers, threw them away, wiped the red from his fingers on his handkerchief, and went on talking where he had left off: ‘We cannot do wrong; neither have we any disposition to do it, for we do not know what it is.’”

This quote demonstrates the irony behind Satan’s actions. Despite claiming to do no wrong, he kills a living creature. Satan’s interaction with the clay men demonstrates his disdain for humanity (and human-adjacent beings), but also forces the reader to question whether or not his moral code is truly superior.

“Once, he even said in so many words, that our people down here were quite interesting to him, notwithstanding they were so dull and ignorant and trivial and conceited, and so diseased and rickety, and such a shabby, poor, worthless lot all around. He said it in quite matter-of-course way and without bitterness, just as a person might talk about bricks or manure or any other thing that was of no consequence and hadn’t feelings.”

This quote establishes Satan’s distinct point of view. Even though he is unable to sympathize with humans, he is not intentionally malicious towards them. This philosophy explains why he is never upset about any trouble he causes the villagers.

“I am of the aristocracy of the Imperishables. And man has the Moral Sense. You understand? He has the Moral Sense. That would seem to be difference enough between us, all by itself.”

This is the first mention of the Moral Sense. Though Theodor is not entirely sure what Satan means, his disparaging tone signals that he has a low opinion of it. The concept is central to the novella; its novel capitalization and Twain’s constant references to it highlight it as the object of his satire, making it another character in the book.

“Valuable? Heavens! Lad, it is the one thing that lifts man above the beasts that perish and makes him heir to immortality!”

This is Father Peter’s interpretation of the Moral Sense. He makes this statement is shortly after Satan describes the Moral Sense as a negative quality. At this point, the reader is now exposed to two conflicting opinions about the Moral Sense and is equipped to experience the debate as it unfolds.

“Give it to the rich – the idea! The rich don’t care for anybody but themselves; it’s only the poor that have feeling for the poor, and help them. The poor and God. God will provide for this kitten.”

This passage is an example of the tensions that are beginning to brew in Eseldorf. Ursula expresses her lack of trust in the wealthy ruling class feeling that she can only rely on the poor. Her statement foreshadows events that occur later in the novella.

“Satan talked right along, and was entertaining, and made the time pass pleasantly and cheerfully; and although he told a good many lies, it was no harm in him, for he was only an angel and did not know any better.”

Here, Theodor is attempting to understand and process Satan’s amorality. He is upset that he is lying to Marget and Ursula but knows that he does not think about his actions in the same way humans do. This passage shows Theodor’s devotion to Satan and his initial willingness to justify his actions.

“No brute ever does a cruel thing – that is the monopoly of those with the Moral Sense. When a brute inflicts pain he does it innocently; it is not wrong; for him there is no such thing as wrong. And he does not inflict pain for the pleasure of inflicting it – only man does that.”

Satan argues that the true insidious nature behind the Moral Sense comes from the implications of behaving immorally. Since humans can distinguish right from wrong, they know when they are committing evil acts. They are aware when they are in the wrong but continue their actions anyway. Conversely, animals cannot act immorally because they have no moral code.

“A sense whose function it is to distinguish between right and wrong, with liberty to choose which of them he will do. Now what advantage can he get out of that? He is always choosing, and in nine cases out of ten he prefers the wrong. There shouldn’t be any wrong; and without the Moral Sense there couldn’t be any. And yet he is such an unreasoning creature that he is not able to perceive that the Moral Sense degrades him to the bottom layer of animated beings and is a shameful possession.”

Satan is arguing that humans do not possess the logic to wield something like the Moral Sense. Instead of using it to pursue justice, they use it to justify their own selfish actions. They may attempt to claim superiority for their intellect and logic but consistently show that they cannot use it appropriately.

“It is some more Moral Sense. The proprietors are rich, and very holy; but the wage they pay to these poor brothers and sisters of theirs is only enough to keep them from dropping dead with hunger. The work-hours are fourteen per day, winter and summer – from six in the morning till eight at night – little children and all. And they walk to and from the pigsties which they inhabit – four miles each way, through mud and slush, rain, snow, sleet, and storm, daily, year in and year out. They get four hours of sleep. They kennel together, three families in a room, in unimaginable filth and stench; and disease comes, and they die off like flies.”

This is the first time the reader is introduced to the idea that the Moral Sense justifies immorality. Though the managers have the money to pay their workers a comfortable wage, they refuse to do so at the cost of their wealth. The vivid imagery of this quote shows the consequences of this choice; despite working most of their lives, the workers have no chance to live a joyful life and die in pain.

“Have they committed a crime, these mangy things? No. What have they done, that they are punished so? Nothing at all, except getting themselves born into your foolish race. You have seen how they treat a misdoer there in the jail; now you see how they treat the innocent and the worthy. Is your race logical? Are these ill-smelling innocents better off than that heretic? Indeed, no; his punishment is trivial compared with theirs. They broke him on the wheel and smashed him to rags and pulp after we left, and he is dead now, and free of your precious race; but these poor slaves here – why, they have been dying for years, and some of them will not escape from life for years to come. It is the Moral Sense which teaches the factory proprietors the difference between right and wrong – you perceive the result.”

This statement is another fallacy associated with the Moral Sense. Even though the factory workers did nothing to necessitate a painful life toiling day and night, it is their reality. This shows that following the Moral Sense does not necessarily ensure its devotee will live a happy life. Similarly, people can use it to justify any evil they selfishly perpetuate. By equating the workers’ lives to a hellish punishment, Satan is suggesting these employers are no better than the devil.

“That is what she said – not in narrative form, for she was not able to remember any of the details without having them called to her mind one after the other; but the commission did that, for they knew just what questions to ask, they being all written down for the use of witch-commissioners two centuries before. They asked, ‘Did you do so and so?’ and she always said yes, and looked weary and tired, and took no interest in it.”

This passage shows the effects of mob mentality in Eseldorf. The villagers are so desperate to placate their fears about God that they pressure young girls into confessing to witchcraft. Similarly, their widespread anxieties prevent any fearful townspeople from speaking out.

“Man is to me as the red spider is to the elephant. The elephant has nothing against the spider – he cannot get down to that remote level; I have nothing against man. The elephant is indifferent, I am indifferent.”

Satan uses this analogy to explain how his divine nature informs his choices. Since he can see the past, present, and future, he can understand how changing a person’s path can benefit them in the long-term. In this sense, what Theodor perceives as harm, Satan perceives as kindness.

“What I am doing for the villagers will bear good fruit some day; in some cases to themselves; in others, to unborn generations of men.”

Satan justifies his actions by saying he can see the extent of their goodness while humans are too shortsighted to do so. His perspective as an immortal, omnipotent being motivates his interactions with the villagers. This difference is why Theodor is unable to conceptualize the weight of his choices; most disagreements between the two come from fundamental misunderstandings due to different points of view.

“We always prized him, but never so much as now, when we are going to lose him.”

Seppi says this as he and Theodor are reckoning with their previous treatment of Nikolaus. When Theodor realizes his poor treatment of Nikolaus does not reflect his true feelings for him, he realizes the hypocrisy in his past actions. This realization finally puts some of Satan’s teachings into perspective for Theodor. It also proves that human beings’ perspectives can change instantly depending on their circumstances.

“If I had that power would any of you holy hypocrites be alive five minutes? No; I would strike you all dead. Pronounce your sentence and let me go; I am tired of your society.”

Frau Brandt is the only character who has an intuitive understanding of Satan’s worldview. She understands that her death will be the result of hypocrisy and a lack of sympathy. It is likely that most of her detractors would want compassion in her unimaginable situation, but they refuse to show it to her. They would rather be seen as moral by the rest of the village, which requires them to participate in her death, even if they may not agree with it.

“[...] we saw Christianity and Civilization march hand in hand through those ages, ‘leaving famine and death and desolation in their wake, and other signs of the progress of the human race,’ as Satan observed.”

Here, Christianity and civilization are personified to highlight the death and suffering that has been justified in their name. This is one of The Mysterious Stranger’s strongest critiques of Christianity, with Satan suggesting that establishing it has allowed people to justify atrocities while maintaining a clear conscience.

“They all did their best – to kill being the chiefest ambition of the human race and the earliest incident in its history – but only the Christian civilization has scored a triumph to be proud of. Two or three centuries from now it will be recognized that all the competent killers are Christians; then the pagan world will go to school to the Christian – not to acquire his religion, but his guns.”

This critique of Christianity connects to Satan’s disparaging of the Moral Sense. The Moral Sense is at the core of Christianity, and it is what allows them to justify violence in the name of their religion.

“The first man was a hypocrite and a coward, qualities which have not yet failed in his line; it is the foundation upon which all civilizations have been built.”

Hypocrisy and cowardice are qualities that Satan feels underscore usage of the Moral Sense. Its believers are hypocrites when they put their personal wellbeing over the suffering of others. They are cowards when they see members of their community in pain and refuse to act. Since these qualities underscore the Moral Sense, which underscores Christianity, which underscores towns like Eseldorf, this moral rot is allowed to seep throughout all civilization.

“I know your race. It is made up of sheep. [...] It suppresses its feelings and its beliefs and follows the handful that makes the most noise. Sometimes the noisy handful is right, sometimes wrong; but no matter, the crowd follows it.”

Satan articulates the dangers of adopting a mob mentality, using sheep to describe conformity is a common metaphor for these kinds of tendencies. This passage is also connected to the failings of the Moral Sense because fear of retaliation will prevent people from confronting wrongdoing.

“Before long you will see this curious thing: the speakers stoned from the platform, and free speech strangled by hordes of furious men who in their secret hearts are still at one with those stoned speakers – as earlier – but do not dare to say so. [...] And now the whole nation – pulpit and all – will take up the war-cry, and shout itself hoarse, and mob any honest man who ventures to open his mouth; and presently such mouths will cease to open. Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.”

This series of actions is the natural end to the phenomenon Satan discusses in the previous quote. If these tendencies are not checked, they can drag entire communities into war. People will be unwilling to speak out due to fears of ostracization and punishment. This state will finally end with members of the mob convincing themselves that they are in the right and ignoring the suffering they helped cause.

“Only the mad can be happy, and not many of those. The few that imagine themselves as kings or gods are happy, the rest are no happier than the sane.”

Here, Satan argues that insanity is the only defense against perceiving the few horrors of the world. This is why he justifies Father Peter’s new reality. By saying everyday humans are “no happier than the sane,” he is saying they are living without having the capacity to experience true joy and wonder. It is yet another quality that he thinks makes the human condition pitiful.

“Satan was accustomed to say that our race lived a life of continuous and uninterrupted self-deception. It duped itself from cradle to grave with shams and delusions which it mistook for realities, and this made its entire life a sham.”

This passage addresses the failings of the Moral Sense. Humans deceive themselves by convincing themselves they are acting morally, which they take as an indication of their superiority. Their existing and standing on Earth is a product of their own delusions.