Peter Schlemihl is the title character of an 1814

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

, ' (''Peter Schlemihl's Miraculous Story''), written in German by exiled French aristocrat

Adelbert von Chamisso Adelbert von Chamisso (; 30 January 1781 – 21 August 1838) was a German poet, writer and botanist. He was commonly known in French as Adelbert de Chamisso (or Chamissot) de Boncourt, a name referring to the family estate at Boncourt. Life ...

Plot

In the story, Schlemihl sells his

shadow A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...

to the

Devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

for a bottomless wallet (the gold sack of Fortunatus), only to find that a man without a shadow is shunned by human societies. The woman he loves rejects him, and he himself becomes consumed with guilt. Yet when the devil wants to return his shadow to him in exchange for his soul, Schlemihl, as the friend of God, rejects the proposal and throws away the bottomless wallet besides. He seeks refuge in nature and travels around the world in scientific exploration, with the aid of

seven-league boots Seven-league boots are an element in European folklore. The boots allow the person wearing them to take strides of seven leagues per step, resulting in great speed. The boots are often presented by a magical character to the protagonist to aid ...

. When overtaken with sickness, he is reconciled with his fellow men, who take care of him, and in regard for his sickness do not look for his shadow. Finally, however, he returns to his studies of nature and finds his deepest satisfaction in communion with nature and his own better self.

Reception and cultural influence

The story, intended for children, was widely read and the character became a common cultural reference in many countries. People generally remembered the element of the shadow better than how the story ended, simplifying Chamisso's lesson to the

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...

"don't sell your shadow to the Devil." The story popularized the

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

word '' schlemiel'' for a hopelessly incompetent person, a bungler.

Later retellings

The story was performed on American television, in a 1953 episode of '' Your Favorite Story'', starring

DeForest Kelley Jackson DeForest Kelley (January 20, 1920 – June 11, 1999) was an American actor, screenwriter, poet, and singer. He was known for his roles in film and television Western (genre), Westerns and achieved international fame as Dr. Leonard McCoy ...

as the title character.

Georges Schwizgebel Georges Schwizgebel (born 28 September 1944) is a Swiss animation film director whose paint-on-glass-animated 2004 film '' The Man with No Shadow (L'Homme sans ombre)'' won various awards. Biography Schwizgebel was born on 28 September 1944 in ...

's 2004 paint-on-glass animation film ''

The Man with No Shadow ''The Man with No Shadow'' () is a Canadian-Swiss animated short film, directed by Georges Schwizgebel and released in 2004. Adapted from Adelbert von Chamisso's 1814 novella ''Peter Schlemihl'', the film centres on a man who sells his shadow in e ...

(L'Homme sans ombre)'' portrays a slight variation on the original story: after being rejected by his lover and society, the main character returns to the devil. Rather than getting back his shadow, he trades his riches for a pair of

and travels the world in search of a place where he will be accepted without a shadow. In the end, he becomes a

Wayang ( , ) is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. The term refers both to the show as a whole and the puppet in particular. Performances of wayang puppet theatre are accompanied by a ''gamel ...

shadow puppeteer in Indonesia because he can manipulate the puppets directly without affecting their silhouettes. Peter Schlemihl appears in a German-language story by Chamisso's friend (and fellow member of the Serapion Brethren)

E.T.A. Hoffmann Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (born Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann; 24 January 1776 – 25 June 1822) was a German Romantic author of fantasy and Gothic horror, a jurist, composer, music critic and artist.Penrith Goff, "E.T.A. Hoffmann" in ...

, "," published in 1815. A portion of this story, "The Story of the Lost Reflection," was adapted by French writers

Jules Barbier Paul Jules Barbier (; 8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré.

and Michel Carré into the fourth act of their 1851 play ''Les contes fantastiques d'Hoffmann'', then adapted by Barbier into the libretto of the

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

opera ''

Les contes d'Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'', in which Peter Schlemil icis a romantic rival to the protagonist Hoffmann.

Editions

References

External links