46 pages • 1 hour read
Mark TwainThe Mysterious Stranger
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1916A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Theodor Fischer
Theodor Fischer is the son of the village organist and the narrator of The Mysterious Stranger. He has had a standard Eseldorf upbringing and is trained to be a devout and unquestioning Christian in matters of religion. He enjoys playing and exploring the woods with his local friends Seppi Wohlmeyer and Nikolaus Bauman. At the onset of the story, Theodor is playful, a bit mischievous, and has a sense of childhood wonder. This includes an interest in the supernatural; he recalls exploring haunted sections of a castle and hearing tales from a guard about angels and demons. As such, his initial meeting with Satan leaves him unfazed. With the exception of learning about his hellish namesake, Theodor is excited about meeting the young angel and is open to any adventures on which he might lead him.
This changes as Theodor spends more time with Satan. Gradually, he finds himself drawn into Satan’s world. He and his friends abandon some of their previous playmates, believing that they pale in comparison to their angelic new friend. Theodor recalls, “They seemed so tame, after Satan; and their doings so trifling and commonplace after his adventures in antiquity and the constellations, and his miracles and meltings and explosions, and all that” (25). His brush with Satan’s expansive knowledge leads him to question his world view. More crucially, their time together exposes him to the full scope of human suffering. Satan challenges him to overcome his pious upbringing by noticing the connection between religion and societal ills. He grapples with his perception of morality, watching misfortune befall seemingly good people and seeing evil justified in the name of religion and selfishness.
After being exposed to horror upon horror, Theodor’s world finally shatters when his friend Nikolaus dies while trying to save a young girl in their village. In the days leading up to his death, Theodor is forced to grapple with an impossible choice: allow Satan to adjust Nikolaus’ career so that he dies instantly by drowning, or let him live sixty-two years in pain and misery. He chooses the former and spends an agonizing twelve days leading up to Nikolaus’s death. Theodor acknowledges that he has not always been the best friend to Nikolaus and feels ashamed that he is only attempting to repent with knowledge of his future. Satan’s actions require Theodor to reconcile his crisis of morality. Nikolaus lived morally; when he notices Theodor and Seppi were upset after learning of his death, he tries to comfort them. His mother mentions being proud of his virtues, and he dies as a result of his noble actions. Theodor recounts many instances when he was intentionally mean or deceitful to Nikolaus but receives grace and forgiveness. Despite this, he still dies gruesomely at a young age. Satan tries to tell Theodor that this was a kind outcome considering his alternative, but as a human, Theodor has trouble understanding this divine perspective. When Satan finally tells him that life is a dream, Theodor mentions feeling “a vague, dim, but blessed and hopeful feeling that the incredible words might be true […]” (103). The strong emotional influence Satan could potentially explain this has over the humans he meets. However, another interpretation is that Theodor needs to feel that the universe is a fabrication due to the trauma he endures over the course of the novella.
Theodor’s development is best encapsulated by Satan’s assessment of Father Peter: “Only the mad can be happy, and few of those. The few that imagine themselves as kings or gods are happy, the rest are no happier than the sane” (97). Theodor’s circumstances are markedly different but can be understood through these sentiments. Father Peter’s insanity prevents him from perceiving true horrors, and Theodor exists in a similar blindness due to the isolated nature of Eseldorf. At the onset of the story, Theodor possesses a childlike wonder and is excited at the prospect of exploring the world through magic and whimsy; however, as this wish is fulfilled, he begins to find unspeakable cruelty in both his village and across the globe. Theodor gains knowledge and an understanding of the truth but does so at a great cost.
Satan/Philip Traum
Satan is an angel visiting Earth. He is the devil’s nephew and has a slew of magical powers, including creating life, taking possession of others, and teleportation. As he is comparatively young for an angel, he takes the form of a handsome young man. While Theodor, Seppi, and Nikolaus are aware of his true identity, the other villagers know him as Philip Traum. Satan’s main role in the novella is expanding Theodor’s perception of the world by exposing him to the hypocrisy of human morality. Satan views human morality, which he calls the “Moral Sense,” as nothing but a tool that exists to condone violence and evil. He takes Theodor to an industrial French town, where he watches factory workers of all ages labor in unspeakable conditions.
Satan argues that these workers did nothing to deserve these conditions and are subjected to them because the factory owners use morality to justify their treatment of them. In this sense, he illuminates the flaws in a fundamental human belief system. An individual is able to interpret morality in their own way; depending on the person, this can yield catastrophic results. In this case, it gives factory owners the opportunity to give their employees the bare minimum. Even though their workers’ quality of life is obviously dismal, the bosses are able to turn a blind eye because the workers can eat, and the business is lucrative. This hypocrisy allows the reader to understand some of Satan’s more disparaging views on humanity.
Despite Satan’s apparent disdain for the hypocrisy of man, he occasionally exhibits similar tendencies. One of his first acts upon meeting the boys is killing clay men that he brought to life when they start to annoy him. He justifies his actions by explaining angels’ sinless nature: We others are still ignorant of sin; we are not able to commit it; we are without blemish. [...].’ ‘We cannot do wrong; neither have we any disposition to do it, for we do not know what it is.’ (12)
An interpretation of Satan’s behavior is that angels have their own moral code. However, even if this were confirmed, Satan is still exhibiting the very behavior he so detests. He is using his interpretation of the world and perspective as an immortal angel to justify his behavior, just as humans use their skewed sense of morality to justify their questionable actions.
Keeping this in mind, Satan could best be classified as amoral, or possessing no moral code. He views the world through a cold, utilitarian lens, basing his actions on an approximation of how much happiness his target will experience. When he adjusts Frau Brandt’s career, causing her to be burnt at the stake, he justifies his actions by saying he is giving her an extra twenty-nine years in heaven. It is unclear whether he has a precise method of determining good and evil, or if he simply relies on his unabashed disdain for the human race.
Satan has no regard for humans, telling Theodor, “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” (59). If an elephant steps on a spider, it is not necessarily doing so intentionally. Satan views humans in a similar light. Any harm he brings them does not stem from malice, rather, it is a result of his expansive worldview. He promises that any misfortune that befalls someone whose career he interferes with is temporary sadness that will be reversed. He says this could last days or generations. This exemplifies his blind spot; as an angel who has lived for thousands of years, generations pass for him in the blink of an eye. Conversely, a deceased villager will be unable to fathom any fortune that befalls their great-great grandchild. Satan’s morality or lack thereof anchors The Mysterious Stranger by making the reader question the meaning of concepts such as morality, divinity, cruelty, and kindness.
Related Titles
By Mark Twain
