Hoffmann's golden pot characters. Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann The Golden Pot: A Tale from Modern Times

golden pot

On the Feast of the Ascension, at three o'clock in the afternoon, at the Black Gate in Dresden, student Anselm, due to his eternal bad luck, overturns a huge basket of apples - and hears terrible curses and threats from an old woman merchant: “You will fall under glass, under glass!” Having paid for his mistake with a thin wallet, Anselm, instead of drinking beer and coffee with liqueur, like other good townspeople, goes to the banks of the Elbe to mourn his evil fate - all his youth, all his dashed hopes, all the sandwiches that fell butter side down... From the branches From the elderberry tree under which he sits, wonderful sounds are heard, like the ringing of crystal bells. Raising his head, Anselm sees three lovely golden-green snakes entwined in the branches, and the cutest of the three looks at him tenderly with large blue eyes. And these eyes, and the rustling of the leaves, and the setting sun - everything tells Anselm about eternal love. The vision dissipates as suddenly as it appeared. Anselm, in anguish, hugs the trunk of an elder tree, frightening both his appearance and his wild speeches of the townspeople walking in the park. Fortunately, his good friends are nearby: registrar Geerbrand and rector Paulman and their daughters, inviting Anselm to take a boat ride with them on the river and end the festive evening with dinner at Paulman’s house.

The young man, according to the general opinion, is clearly not himself, and his poverty and bad luck are to blame. Geerbrand offers him a job as a scribe for the archivist Lindhorst for decent money: Anselm has the talent of a calligrapher and draftsman - just the kind of person the archivist is looking for to copy manuscripts from his library.

Alas: the unusual situation in the archivist’s house, and his strange garden, where flowers look like birds and insects - like flowers, and finally, the archivist himself, who appears to Anselm either in the form of a thin old man in a gray cloak, or in the guise of a majestic gray-bearded king - all this plunges Anselm even deeper into the world of his dreams. The door knocker pretends to be the old woman whose apples he scattered at the Black Gate, again uttering the ominous words: “You will be in glass, in crystal!..”; the bell cord turns into a snake, wrapping itself around the poor fellow until his bones crunch. Every evening he goes to the elderberry bush, hugs it and cries: “Ah! I love you, snake, and I will die of sadness if you don’t come back!”

Day after day passes, and Anselm still does not start work. The archivist to whom he reveals his secret is not at all surprised. These snakes, the archivist tells Anselm, are my daughters, and I myself am not a mortal man, but the spirit of the Salamanders, cast down for disobedience by my master Phosphorus, the prince of the country of Atlantis. Anyone who marries one of the daughters of Salamander-Lindhorst will receive a Golden Pot as a dowry. At the moment of betrothal, a fiery lily sprouts from the pot, the young man will understand its language, comprehend everything that is open to disembodied spirits, and begin to live with his beloved in Atlantis. The Salamanders, who have finally received forgiveness, will return there.

Get to work! The payment for it will be not only chervonets, but also the opportunity to see the blue-eyed snake Serpentina every day!

Veronica, the daughter of director Paulman, who has not seen Anselm for a long time, with whom they previously played music almost every night, is tormented by doubts: has he forgotten her? Have you lost interest in her at all? But she was already dreaming of a happy marriage! Anselm, you see, will get rich, become a court councilor, and she will become a court councilor!

Having heard from her friends that an old fortune teller, Frau Rauerin, lives in Dresden, Veronica turns to her for advice. “Leave Anselm,” the girl hears from the witch. “He is a nasty person. He trampled on my children, my plump apples. He contacted my enemy, the evil old man. He is in love with his daughter, the green snake. He will never be a court councilor.” Veronica listens to the fortune teller in tears - and suddenly recognizes her as her nanny Lisa. The kind nanny consoles the pupil: “I will try to help you, heal Anselm from the enemy’s spell, and for you to become a court advisor.”

On a cold, stormy night, the fortune teller leads Veronica into the field, where she lights a fire under a cauldron, into which flowers, metals, herbs and little animals fly from the old woman’s bag, followed by a lock of hair from Veronica’s head and her ring. The girl continuously looks into the boiling brew - and from there Anselm’s face appears to her. At that same moment, a thunderous voice is heard above her head: “Hey, you bastards! Get away, quickly!” The old woman falls to the ground screaming and Veronica faints. Coming to her senses at home, on her couch, she discovers in the pocket of her soaked raincoat a silver mirror - the one that was cast by the fortune teller last night. From the mirror, like earlier from a boiling cauldron, her lover looks at the girl. “Oh,” he laments, “why do you sometimes want to wriggle like a snake!..”

Meanwhile, Anselm’s work in the archivist’s house, which did not go well at first, is becoming increasingly difficult. He easily manages not only to copy the most intricate manuscripts, but also to comprehend their meaning. As a reward, the archivist arranges a date for the student with Serpentina. “You have, as they now say, a “naive poetic soul,” Anselm hears from the sorcerer’s daughter. “You are worthy of both my love and eternal bliss in Atlantis!” The kiss burns Anselm's lips. But it’s strange: in all the following days he thinks about Veronica. Serpentina is his dream, a fairy tale, and Veronica is the most living, real thing that has ever appeared before his eyes! Instead of going to the archivist, he goes to visit Paulman, where he spends the whole day. Veronica is gaiety itself, her whole appearance expresses love for him. An innocent kiss completely sobers up Anselm. As luck would have it, Geerbrand appears with everything needed to prepare the punch. With the first breath, the strangeness and wonder of the last weeks rise again before Anselm. He dreams aloud about the Serpentine. Following him, unexpectedly, both the owner and Heerbrand began to exclaim: “Long live Salamander! May the old woman perish!” Veronica convinces them that old Lisa will certainly defeat the sorcerer, and her sister runs out of the room in tears. A madhouse - and that's all!..

The next morning, Paulman and Geerbrand are surprised for a long time by their violence. As for Anselm, when he came to the archivist, he was severely punished for his cowardly renunciation of love. The sorcerer imprisoned the student in one of those glass jars that are on the table in his office. Next door, in other banks, there were three more schoolchildren and two scribes, who also worked for the archivist. They revile Anselm (“A madman imagines that he is sitting in a bottle, while he himself stands on a bridge and looks at his reflection in the river!”) and at the same time a crazy old man who showers them with gold because they draw doodles for him.

Anselm is distracted from their ridicule by a vision of a mortal battle between a sorcerer and an old woman, from which Salamander emerges victorious. In a moment of triumph, Serpentina appears before Anselm, announcing to him the forgiveness granted. The glass breaks - he falls into the arms of the blue-eyed snake...

On Veronica's name day, the newly appointed court councilor Geerbrand comes to Paulman's house, offering his hand and heart to the girl. Without thinking twice, she agrees: at least in part, the old fortune teller’s prediction came true! Anselm - judging by the fact that he disappeared from Dresden without a trace - found eternal bliss in Atlantis. This suspicion is confirmed by the letter the author received from archivist Lindhorst with permission to make public the secret of his miraculous existence in the world of spirits and with an invitation to complete the story of the Golden Pot in the very blue palm room of his house where the illustrious student Anselm worked.

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VIGILIA FIRST

The misadventures of the student Anselm... - Healthy Tobacco Conrector

Paulman and golden-green snakes.

On the day of the Ascension, around three in the afternoon, a young man was rapidly walking through the Black Gate in Dresden and just fell into a basket of apples and pies that was being sold by an old, ugly woman - and he fell so successfully that part of the contents of the basket was crushed, and everything that successfully escaped this fate scattered in all directions, and the street boys joyfully rushed to the prey that the clever young man delivered to them! At the cries of the old woman, her companions left their tables, at which they were selling pies and vodka, surrounded the young man and began to scold him so rudely and furiously that he, speechless with annoyance and shame, could only take out his small and not particularly full wallet, which the old woman She greedily grabbed it and quickly hid it. Then the tight circle of merchant women parted; but when the young man jumped out of it, the old woman shouted after him: “Run away, damn son, so that you will be blown away; You’ll fall under glass, under glass!..” There was something terrible in this woman’s sharp, shrill voice, so the walkers stopped in surprise, and the laughter that was heard at first suddenly fell silent. Student Anselm (he was the young man), although he did not understand the old woman’s strange words at all, felt an involuntary shudder and quickened his steps even more in order to avoid the gaze of the curious crowd directed at him. Now, making his way through the stream of smartly dressed townspeople, he heard everywhere saying: “Ah, poor young man! Oh, she’s a damned woman!” In a strange way, the old woman’s mysterious words gave the funny adventure a certain tragic turn, so that everyone looked with sympathy at the man whom they had not noticed at all before. Female persons, in view of the young man's tall stature and his handsome face, the expressiveness of which was enhanced by hidden anger, willingly excused his awkwardness, as well as his costume, which was very far from any fashion, namely: his pike-gray tailcoat was cut in such a way as if the tailor who worked for him knew only from hearsay about modern styles, and the black satin, well-preserved trousers gave the whole figure a kind of magisterial style, which was completely inconsistent with his gait and posture.

When the student reached the end of the alley leading to the Link Baths, he was almost out of breath. He had to slow down; he hardly dared to raise his eyes, because he was still imagining apples and pies dancing around him, and every friendly glance of a passing girl was for him only a reflection of the malicious laughter at the Black Gate. So he reached the entrance to the Linkov baths; a number of festively dressed people continuously entered there. Brass music rushed from within, and the noise of the cheerful guests became louder and louder. Poor student Anselm almost cried, because on Ascension Day, which was always a special holiday for him, he wanted to take part in the bliss of Link's paradise: yes, he even wanted to bring the matter to half a portion of coffee with rum and a bottle double beer and, in order to feast in a real manner, took even more money than he should have. And then a fatal collision with a basket of apples deprived him of everything he had with him. There was nothing to think about coffee, about double beer, about music, about contemplating elegant girls - in a word, about all the pleasures he dreamed of; he walked slowly past and entered a completely secluded road along the Elbe. He found a pleasant place on the grass under an elder tree that grew out of a ruined wall, and, sitting there, filled his pipe with useful tobacco, given to him by his friend, Conrector Paulman. The golden waves of the beautiful Elbe splashed and rustled around him; behind her, the glorious Dresden boldly and proudly raised its white towers to a transparent vault, which descended onto flowering meadows and fresh green groves; and beyond them, in the deep darkness, the jagged mountains gave a hint of distant Bohemia. But, looking gloomily before him, the student Anselm blew smoky clouds into the air, and his annoyance was finally expressed loudly in the following words: “But it is true that I was born into the world for all kinds of trials and disasters! I'm not even talking about the fact that I never ended up in the bean kings, that I never guessed correctly at even or odd, that my sandwiches always fall on the ground with the greasy side on the ground - I won’t even talk about all these misfortunes; But isn’t it a terrible fate that I, having finally become a student in spite of all the devils, should still be and remain a scarecrow? Have I ever put on a new coat without immediately making a nasty greasy stain on it or tearing it on some damned, misplaced nail? Have I ever bowed to any lady or any gentleman councilor without my hat flying to God knows where or myself stumbling on the smooth floor and splashing shamefully? Didn’t I already have to pay at the market every market day in Halle a certain tax of three to four groschen for broken pots, because the devil carries me right on them, as if I were a field mouse? Have I ever been on time to university or any other place? It’s in vain that I leave half an hour early; As soon as I stand near the door and am about to take the bell, some devil will pour a wash basin on my head, or I will push with all my might some gentleman coming out and as a result, I will not only be late, but will also get involved in a lot of trouble. My God! My God! Where are you, blissful dreams of future happiness, when I proudly dreamed of achieving the rank of collegiate secretary. Ah, my unfortunate star has aroused my best patrons against me. I know that the Privy Councilor to whom I was recommended cannot stand cropped hair; With great difficulty, the hairdresser attaches the braid to the back of my head, but at the first bow, the unfortunate string bursts, and the cheerful pug, who was sniffing me, triumphantly presents my braid to the Privy Councilor. In horror, I rush after her and fall on the table where he had breakfast at work; cups, plates, an inkwell, a sandbox fly with a clang, and a stream of chocolate and ink pours out onto the just completed report. “You, sir, are furious!” - the angry Privy Councilor growls and pushes me out the door. What good is it that Conrector Paulman promised me a position as a scribe? My unfortunate star, which haunts me everywhere, will not allow this to happen. Well, at least today. I wanted to celebrate the bright day of the Ascension properly, with joy in my heart. Could I, like every other guest at the Link Baths, exclaim with pride: “Man, a bottle of double beer, yes the best, please!” I could sit until late in the evening, and, moreover, near some company of magnificently dressed, beautiful girls. I already know how brave I would be; I would become a completely different person, I would even go so far that when one of them asked: “What time could it be now?” or: “What are they playing?” - I would jump up easily and decently, without knocking over my glass or tripping over the bench, in an inclined position I would move a step and a half forward and say: “With your permission, mademoiselle, they are playing the overture from “The Virgin of the Danube,” or: “ Now, now it will strike six o’clock.” And could even one person in the world interpret this in a bad way? No, I say, the girls would look at each other with a sly smile, as usually happens every time I decide to show that I, too, understand something in a light, secular tone and know how to treat the ladies. And so the devil carried me to this damned basket of apples, and now I must smoke my good drink in solitude...” Here the monologue of the student Anselm was interrupted by a strange rustling and rustling that rose very near him in the grass, but soon crawled onto the branches and elderberry leaves spread over his head. It seemed as if the evening wind was moving the leaves; that it is birds fluttering here and there in the branches, touching them with their wings. Suddenly there was some whispering and babbling, and the flowers seemed to ring like crystal bells. Anselm listened and listened. And so - he himself did not know how this rustle, and whisper, and ringing turned into quiet, barely audible words:

“Here and there, between the branches, among the flowers, we wind, weave, spin, sway. Sister, sister! Rock in the glow! Hurry, hurry, both up and down - the evening sun shoots rays, the breeze rustles, the leaves move, the dew falls, the flowers sing, we move our tongues, we sing with the flowers, with the branches, the stars will soon sparkle, it’s time for us to go down here and there, we we twist, weave, spin, sway; sisters, hurry!”

And then the intoxicating speech flowed. Student Anselm thought: “Of course, this is nothing more than the evening wind, but only today it is expressing something in very understandable terms.” But at that moment a ringing of clear crystal bells sounded overhead; he looked up and saw three snakes shining with green gold, which entwined themselves around the branches and extended their heads towards the setting sun. And again whispers and babbles were heard, and the same words, and snakes glided and curled up and down through the leaves and branches; and, when they moved so quickly, it seemed that the bush was pouring thousands of emerald sparks through its dark leaves. “This setting sun plays like that in the bush,” thought the student Anselm; but then the bells rang again, and Anselm saw that one snake stretched out its head straight towards him. As if an electric shock had passed through all his members, he trembled in the depths of his soul, motionlessly fixed his gaze upward, and two wonderful dark blue eyes looked at him with inexpressible attraction, and a hitherto unknown feeling of the highest bliss and deepest sorrow seemed to be trying to tear his chest apart. . And when he, full of ardent desire, kept looking into those wonderful eyes, crystal bells began to sound stronger in graceful chords, and sparkling emeralds fell on him and entwined him with sparkling golden threads, fluttering and playing around him with thousands of lights. The bush moved and said: “You were lying in my shadow, my scent was all over you, but you did not understand me. Fragrance is my speech when love ignites me.” The evening breeze flew past and whispered: “I blew around your head, but you did not understand me; the wind is my speech when love inflames me.” The sun's rays broke through the clouds, and their radiance seemed to burn in the words: “I pour burning gold over you, but you did not understand me; heat is my speech when love ignites me.”

And, more and more drowning in the gaze of wondrous eyes, the attraction became hotter, the desire more ardent. And then everything began to stir and move, as if waking up to a joyful life. Flowers were fragrant all around, and their aroma was like the wonderful singing of a thousand flutes, and the golden evening clouds, passing, carried with them the echoes of this singing to distant lands. But when the last ray of the sun quickly disappeared behind the mountains and twilight cast its blanket over the earth, a rough, thick voice was heard from afar: “Hey, hey, what’s that talk, what’s that whisper? Hey, hey, who's looking for the ray behind the mountains? We've warmed up enough, we've sung quite a bit! Hey, hey, through the bushes and grass, over the grass, down through the water! Hey, hey, do-mo-oh-oh, do-mo-oh-oh!”

And the voice disappeared as if in the echoes of distant thunder; but the crystal bells were cut short by a sharp dissonance. Everything fell silent, and Anselm saw how three snakes, sparkling and reflecting, slid across the grass towards the stream; rustling and rustling, they rushed into the Elbe, and above the waves, where they disappeared, a green light rose with a crash, made an arc towards the city and scattered.

The fairy tale “The Golden Pot” most fully reflects the multidirectionality and broad outlook of its author. Hoffmann was not only a gifted and successful writer, but also a talented artist and composer, and had a legal education. That is why it so vividly conveys the chimes of crystal bells and the colors of the magical world. In addition, this work is valuable because all the main trends and themes of romanticism are reflected here: the role of the arts, dual worlds, love and happiness, routine and dreams, knowledge of the world, lies and truth. The “Golden Pot” is truly unique in its extraordinary versatility.

Romanticism is not only about dreams of magic or the search for adventure. It is important to keep in mind the historical events against which this direction developed. “The Golden Pot” is part of the collection “Fantasies in the Manner of Callot.” It was created in 1813-15, and this is the period of the Napoleonic wars. Dreams of freedom, equality and brotherhood have collapsed; the ordinary world can only be contrasted with a fictitious, illusory one. The publisher of the collection is K.-F. Kunz, wine merchant and close friend of Hoffmann. The connecting link of the works of the collection “Fantasies in the Manner of Callot” was the subtitle “Leaves from the Diary of a Wandering Enthusiast”, which, due to its compositional unity, gives even greater mystery to the fairy tales.

The "Golden Pot" was created by Hoffmann in Dresden in 1814. During this period, the writer experiences a mental shock: his beloved was married to a wealthy businessman. Historical events and personal drama prompted the writer to create his own fairy-tale fantasy.

Genre and direction

From the first pages of The Golden Pot, a mystery awaits the reader. It’s worth thinking about the author’s definition of the genre – “a fairy tale from modern times”, a more literary definition – a fairy tale. Such a symbiosis could only be born in the context of romanticism, when the study of folklore was gaining popularity among many writers. Thus, a story (a medium-sized prosaic literary work with one plot line) and a fairy tale (a type of oral folk art) were combined in one creation.

In the work under consideration, Hoffman sets out not only folklore motifs, but also acute social problems: philistinism, envy, the desire not to be, but to appear. Through a fairy tale, a writer can express his criticism of society with impunity and good-naturedly, because a fantastic story can only cause a smile, and laughing at oneself is the greatest punishment for the reader of that time. This technique was also used by writers of the period of classicism, such as La Bruyère and J. Swift.

The presence of a fantastic element in the work is also a very controversial fact. If we assume that the hero really visited the magical Atlantis, then this is certainly a fairy tale. But here, as in any other book by Hoffman, everything illusory can be explained rationally. All wonderful visions are nothing more than a dream, a consequence of using tobacco and alcohol. Therefore, only the reader can decide what it is: a fairy tale or a story, reality or fiction?

About what?

On the Feast of the Ascension, student Anselm encountered an old woman selling apples. All the goods crumbled, for which the young man received many curses and threats addressed to him. Then he did not know that this was not just a merchant, but an evil witch, and the apples were not ordinary either: these were her children.

After the incident, Anselm settled down under an elderberry bush and lit a pipe filled with useful tobacco. Saddened by another trouble, the poor hero hears either the rustling of leaves or someone’s whisper. They were three shiny golden snakes, one of which took a special interest in the young man. He falls in love with her. Next, the character searches everywhere for dates with enchanting creatures, for which they begin to consider him crazy. At one of the evenings with the director Paulman, Anselm talks about his visions. They are of great interest to the registrar Geerbrand, and he refers the student to the archivist Lindgorst. The old archivist hires the young man as a copyist and explains to him that the three snakes are his daughters, and the object of his adoration is the youngest, Serpentina.

The daughter of rector Paulman, Veronica, is not indifferent to Anselm, but she is tormented by the question: is her feeling mutual? To find out this, the girl is ready to turn to a fortune teller. And she comes to Rauerin, who is that very witch-trader. This is how the confrontation between two blocs begins: Anselm with Lindhorst and Veronica with Rauerin.

The climax of this struggle is the scene in the archivist's house, when Anselm finds himself imprisoned in a glass jar for dropping ink on the original manuscript. Rauerin appears and offers the student release, but for this he demands that he give up Serpentina. The passionately in love young man does not agree, insults the witch, and this drives her into a frenzy. The archivist, who came to the aid of his copyist in time, defeats the old sorceress and frees the prisoner. Having passed such a test, the young man is rewarded with the happiness of marrying Serpentina, and Veronica easily gives up her hopes for Anselm, breaks the magic mirror given by the fortune teller, and marries Heerbrand.

The main characters and their characteristics

From the first to the last page of the fairy tale, we follow the fate and transformation of the character of the student Anselm. At the beginning of the story, he appears to us as a complete loser: there is no work, he spent his last pennies due to his carelessness. Only fantasies and relaxation over punch or tobacco can dispel his pressing problems. But as the action develops, the hero proves to us that he is strong in spirit. He is not just a dreamer - he is ready to fight for his love to the end. However, Goffman does not impose such a point of view on the reader. We can assume that all ephemeral worlds are the influence of punch and a smoking pipe, and those around him are right to laugh at him and fear his madness. But there is another option: only a person endowed with a poetic soul, sincere and pure, can open up the higher world where harmony reigns. Ordinary people, such as rector Paulman, his daughter Veronica and registrar Geerbrand, can only occasionally dream and drown in routine.
The Paulman family also has its own desires, but they do not go beyond the limits of a rather narrow consciousness: the father wants to marry his daughter to a wealthy groom, and Veronica dreams of becoming “Madame Court Counselor.” The girl doesn’t even know what is more valuable to her: feelings or social status. In the young friend, the girl saw only a potential court adviser, but Anselm was ahead of Geerbrand, and Veronica gave her hand and heart to him.
For several hundred years now, the archivist Lindgorst has been exiled in the world of earthly souls - in the world of everyday life and philistinism. He is not imprisoned, not burdened with hard work: he is punished by misunderstanding. Everyone considers him an eccentric and only laughs at his stories about his past life. An insert story about the young man Phosphorus tells the reader about the magical Atlantis and the origin of the archivist. But the exile’s audience does not want to believe him; only Anselm was able to comprehend the secret of Lindhorst, heed Serpentina’s pleas and stand against the witch. It is curious that the author himself admits to the public that he is communicating with a foreign guest, because he, too, is involved in higher ideas, which serves to add some credibility to the fairy tale.

Subjects

Theme of love. Anselm sees in feeling only a sublime poetic meaning that inspires a person to life and creativity. An ordinary and bourgeois marriage, based on mutually beneficial use, would not suit him. In his understanding, love inspires people, and does not pin them to the ground with conventions and everyday aspects. The author completely agrees with him.
Conflict between personality and society. Those around him only mock Anselm and do not accept his fantasies. People tend to be afraid of non-typical ideas and extraordinary aspirations; they rudely suppress them. The writer calls on you to fight for your beliefs, even if they are not shared by the crowd.
Loneliness. The main character, like the archivist, feels misunderstood and alienated from the world. At first this upsets him, makes him doubt himself, but over time he realizes that he is different from others and acquires the courage to defend it, and not follow the lead of society.
Mysticism. The writer models an ideal world where vulgarity, ignorance and everyday problems do not follow a person on his heels. This fiction, although devoid of plausibility, is fraught with deep meaning. We simply need to strive for the ideal; one desire already ennobles the soul and elevates it above routine existence.

Main idea

Hoffmann gives the reader complete freedom in his interpretation of “The Golden Pot”: for some it is a fairy tale, for others it is a story interspersed with dreams, and others can see here notes from the writer’s diary, full of allegories. Such an extraordinary perception of the author's intention makes the work relevant to this day. Doesn’t a person today choose between everyday chores and self-development, career and love? Student Anselm had the good fortune to decide in favor of the poetic world, so he is freed from illusions and routine.

In a special way, Hoffman depicts the dual world characteristic of romanticism. To be or to seem? - the main conflict of the work. The writer depicts a time of hardening and blindness, where even people captured in flasks do not notice their constraint. It is not the person himself that is important, but his function. It is no coincidence that all the heroes are often mentioned with their positions: archivist, registrar, editor. This is how the author emphasizes the difference between the poetic and everyday worlds.

But these two areas are not only opposed. The fairy tale has cross-cutting motifs that unite them. For example, blue eyes. They first attract Anselm in the Serpentine, but Veronica also has them, as the young man later notes. So, maybe the girl and the golden snake are one? Miracles and reality are connected by the earrings that Veronica saw in her dream. Her newly appointed court advisor, Geerbrand, gives her exactly these on her engagement day.

“Only from struggle will your happiness arise in the higher life,” and its symbol is a golden pot. Having overcome evil, Anselm received it as a kind of trophy, a reward giving the right to possess Serpentina and stay with her in the magical Atlantis.

“Believe, love and hope!” - this is the most important idea of this fairy tale, this is the motto that Hoffmann wants to make the meaning of everyone’s life.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

On the Feast of the Ascension, student Anselm accidentally knocks over a merchant’s basket of apples, for which he receives a curse from her: “You will fall under glass!” A student goes to the banks of the Elbe to complain about his failures. There he notices three snakes entwined in the branches of an elderberry tree. One of them looks at him with big blue eyes. He immediately falls in love. But the vision immediately disappears.

Anselm's acquaintance, registrar Geerbrand, invites him to hire as a scribe to the archivist Lindgoret. But the door knocker of the archivist’s house turns into an old merchant woman and the curse sounds again. And the bell cord turns into a snake. Shocked, Anselm cannot begin to work. He tells everything to the archivist. Lindgoret explains to him that the snakes are his daughters, and he himself is the spirit of the Salamanders. And whoever marries one of his daughters will receive a magical golden pot as a dowry. At the moment of betrothal, a fiery lily will sprout from the pot, and the young man will live with his beloved in Atlantis.

Then Salamander will return there too.

Conductor Paulman's daughter, Veronica, is in love with Anselm. She goes to the fortune teller Frau Rauerin. At first she dissuades her, but then decides to help. At night they go to prepare the potion. But Salamander interferes with them. The fortune teller still manages to cast a silver mirror for Veronica.

Meanwhile, Anselm works in that house and Serpentina, the archivist’s daughter, helps him with everything. But Veronica, with the help of a mirror, manages to bewitch Anselm. And the student spends the whole day with her and does not come to work with Lindgoret. For this he punishes Anselm by imprisoning him in a glass vessel on the table in his office. An old sorceress comes to the rescue, but Salamander defeats her in battle. Anselm is forgiven.

Serpentina appears to him and the glass breaks. The young man finds his happiness in Atlantis, and Veronica marries Heerbrand, who became a court advisor.

I have prepared a retelling for you Strange.

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Updated: 2011-10-09

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The story tells us about the life of a young man, a student who considers himself very unlucky. His name is Anselm. He constantly finds himself in unpleasant situations. Walking through the market, he accidentally pushes a basket of apples, gives his wallet to the grandmother selling them, and in return she showers him with abuse and curses. He runs away from her and suddenly sees three snakes, looking at them he feels very good, but they jump into the river and the guy seems to return to real life.

One day his friend offered him a well-paid job as “scribe to archivist Linghorst,” who had long been looking for a good calligrapher with talent. Anselm immediately agreed, because it was his hobby to copy difficult calligraphic works. He came to Linghorst, wanted to knock on the door, but suddenly the old woman’s voice was heard in his head, and her face appeared before his eyes. The student runs away in fear, his friends think that he has gone crazy and only work with the archivist can help him. Having waited for the right moment, they introduce Anselm and Linghorst. He told Anselm the story that he was cursed, and the three snakes were his daughters. That they can be freed from the curse if a young man falls in love with their daughters.

Afterwards it turned out that the archivist was Salamander, and Anselm fell in love with his youngest daughter, Serpentina. He also learned that the grandmother is an evil witch who wants to get the golden pot and prevent Salamander from lifting the curse. The witch plotted many intrigues, tried to make another girl fall in love with Anselm, and for a short time she even succeeded, but Anselm came to his senses and remembered his beloved Serpentine. In the end, the curse was lifted, they got married, and the student became a poet. And they lived happily ever after in Atlantis. The story tells that you need to listen to your heart, that there may be many obstacles on the way to what you want, but if it is really what you want, then it will be easier to overcome them.