Adelbert von Chamisso, Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte (Erläuterungen und Dokumente) by Chamisso Adelbert von

Author:Chamisso, Adelbert von [Chamisso, Adelbert von]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783150081587
Amazon: 3150081580
Goodreads: 44443917
Publisher: Winkler
Published: 1982-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

6

Alone on the dreary heath, I gave vent to my misery, which seemed to relieve me a little from the burden of my intolerable grief. But I could see no bounds, no end and no way out of my overwhelming anguish. I dwelt with a kind of wild fascination on the iniquitous suggestions with which the mysterious grey man had rubbed salt into my wounds. I remembered Mina, and her tender and lovely figure rose before me, pale and tearful as I had seen her last in the hour of my cruel humiliation; then the sinister shade of Rascal seemed to rise mockingly between us. I covered my face, I fled across the heath but the ghastly vision still pursued me. I sank at last breathless to the ground with tears of exhaustion and despair.

And all this for the sake of a shadow! A shadow which the stroke of a pen would have given back to me! I brooded again on the strange deal which had been proposed to me. I had neither argument nor reason left to support my refusal.

The day wore on. I stilled my hunger with wild berries and my thirst from the nearest stream. Night fell. I lay down under a tree. The dew woke me next morning from a restless sleep, broken by my own bitter moaning. Bendel must have lost track of me and I was glad of it. I had no desire to return to the haunts of man; I shunned them, feeling like a wild beast of the mountains. For three anxious days I lived like this.

On the morning of the fourth day I found myself on a sandy plain, where the sun was shining brightly. I sat down on an outcrop of rock in the sunshine, rejoicing for a while in its long forbidden warmth. My heart still fed on its own despair. Suddenly I was disturbed by a gentle rustling. I looked round in alarm, ready to escape – no one was in sight. But on the sunny sand beside me a human shadow passed, not unlike my own and apparently straying about without an owner.

A mighty urge rose within me. Shadow, I thought, are you seeking a master? I will be your master. And I sprang forwards to seize it. I imagined that if I could only step on the shadow so that its feet met mine it would attach itself to me and in time grow used to my company.

As I moved forwards the shadow fled and I was forced to give chase to the light-footed fugitive. The longing to be delivered from my predicament lent me unaccustomed speed. The shadow made for a distant wood, in the darkness of which I would have lost it at once. Spurred by this fear I redoubled my efforts and began to gain on the shadow. I came closer and closer – now it was within reach. Suddenly it stopped and turned to face me. Like a lion on his prey, I sprang upon it with a mighty effort to hold it fast.

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