Adventure of the German Student by Washington Irving

First published: 1824

Type of plot: Gothic

Time of work: The late eighteenth century, during the French Revolution

Locale: Paris, France

Principal Characters:

• Gottfried Wolfgang, the German student studying in Paris
• The mysterious woman, found seated on the guillotine steps
• The narrator, the "old gentleman with the haunted head"

The Story

This story, one of a number of tales and sketches collected in Tales of a Traveller (1824), is narrated by an old man to a group of listeners. The story concerns a young student from the German university town of Gottingen. The student, Gottfried Wolfgang, is described as a man of good family but also as one given to intense speculation on the dark, mystical side of existence. Indeed, he is shown to have dedicated himself to these studies to such an extent that both his physical health and his imagination have become "diseased." As the narrator tells his audience, "He took up a notion, I do not know from what cause, that there was an evil influence hanging over him; an evil genius or spirit seeking to ensnare him and ensure his perdition."

To combat Wolfgang's melancholy and morbid obsessions, his friends and family send him off to France to continue his studies at the Sorbonne. They hope that, removed from the gloomy German environment, he will be more happily influenced by the new surroundings of the school and by the "splendors and gayeties of Paris." Unfortunately, Wolfgang arrives in Paris at the beginning of the Reign of Terror, and the scenes of butchery and cruelty that follow cause him to withdraw even more into his own private, dark world of the imagination. Again, in the words of the narrator, "Sometimes he spent hours together in the great libraries of Paris, those catacombs of departed authors, rummaging among their hoards of dusty and obsolete works in quest of food for his unhealthy appetite. He was, in a manner, a literary ghoul . . ."

In addition to his constant musings on the metaphysical and demonic, the student is also sexually obsessed. Although he is too shy actually to approach a woman, he gives himself over to romantic and erotic dreams when safely ensconced in his room. One female face in particular becomes the focus of his desires; he dreams about her night after night until he nears the point of madness. Finally it happens that on one stormy night Wolfgang, making his way from the library to his room, finds himself at the Place de Greve, the site of the daily executions performed on the guillotine. As he reluctantly crosses the square, he sees a dark figure collapsed on the steps leading up to the horrible instrument of death. Motivated by an uncommon feeling of sympathy, he approaches the figure to offer help or condolence, but when he speaks he sees, to his amazement, that the person is the haunting and enticing young woman whose face has filled his dreams. He asks her if she has a home, a place to stay on such a stormy night. "Yes—in the grave!" she answers, and Wolfgang, touched by her despair, impulsively offers his own room as temporary shelter. The beautiful woman accepts.

Once Wolfgang and his guest reach his boardinghouse, he is better able to appraise her appearance, which is both alluring and disturbing. She has long, raven-black hair, eyes "large and brilliant," and a striking figure. Most remarkable, however, is the "broad black band . . . clasped by diamonds" that she wears around her neck. Although somewhat perplexed, Wolfgang is immediately captivated by the strange woman. As they talk, he gives over all of his doubts and fears; soon he expresses his love and passion for her, and she in return avows her desire for him. "I pledge myself to you forever," he tells her. "Forever?" she asks seriously. "Forever!" he answers, whereupon she gives herself to him as his bride for the remainder of the night.

The next morning Wolfgang goes out before his bride awakes, but when he returns he finds her sprawled across the bed, her head hanging over one side, her face "pallid and ghastly." Horrified, he calls for help and waits in shock for the authorities. When a police officer arrives, he, too, is stunned at what he sees, for he recognizes the corpse as that of a recent victim of the guillotine. As the police officer unclasps the black band around her neck, the strange woman's head drops onto the floor, and Wolfgang shrieks in despair, remembering his old nightmare of damnation. Driven now into total madness, he is finally placed in an asylum, where he remains until his death.

Is the story true? "I had it from the best authority," the narrator replies. "The student told it me himself. I saw him in a mad-house in Paris."

Bibliography

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