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The Mysterious Stranger
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Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
The next day, all of Eseldorf is shocked to hear that Father Peter paid off his remaining debt to Solomon Isaacs. He explains the circumstances and asserts that his luck was divine providence. The town is happy for his newfound fortune, but some secretly worry that this was the work of the devil.
Bound by Satan’s enchantment, the boys are unable to share the truth behind Father Peter’s blessing. Thoughts of Satan, and they simultaneous miss his company and fear that his intervention will eventually hinder Father Peter. They constantly watch Father Peter’s house, concerned that his gifts disappear or that some unknown cost will reveal itself. However, all remains peaceful.
Theodor finds himself thinking about Satan’s words on the Moral Sense and goes to ask Father Peter what it is. Father Peter describes it as an intrinsically human quality that allows people to differentiate good and evil. When Theodor questions its value, Father Peter emphatically defends its importance. He responds, “Valuable? Heavens! Lad, it is the one thing that lifts man above the beasts that perish and makes him heir to immortality!” (26). Since, in Father Peter’s eyes, the Moral Sense guarantees access to heaven in the afterlife, it is of the utmost importance and must be guarded. As Theodor considers this and takes his leave, he is pleased to notice Marget teaching a young girl to spin, thinking that she will no longer be shunned by the town. One of her more frequent visitors is a young lawyer named Wilhelm.
Chapter 5 Summary
Four days after the news of Father Peter’s luck, his noted enemy, the astrologer, leaves his tower. He immediately seeks out the boys, who talk to him out of fear. As they tell him that Father Peter found eleven hundred and seven ducats, he interrupts, noting that they initially said eleven hundred and six. Seppi explains this discrepancy occurred while he was meddling with the money, but the astrologer stops him, saying that he possesses proof that the money was stolen. An hour later, Father Peter is arrested on charges of stealing from the astrologer.
The town is divided. Some believe that theft is out of character, while others point out that hardship drives people to corruption. As rumors spread, the boys find their reputations in decline for their public support of Father Peter. In the days following his arrest, Marget and Ursula, their housekeeper, grow weak as they refuse to accept charity money or food.
Satan returns just in time and listens to the boys describe the hardships befalling Father Peter, Marget, and Ursula. When the group encounters Ursula feeding a stray cat in the woods, Satan encourages her to keep it, claiming it is a “money cat” that brings fortune. Ursula suddenly finds money for her and Marget in her pocket and decides to keep the cat, naming her Agnes.
Satan teleports everyone to Father Peter’s house, where he introduces himself to Marget. The two chat about his upbringing, and Satan lies about his past. He claims to be a penniless orphan who survives on financial support from his wealthy uncle who has a business in the tropics. Satan tells Marget he is sympathetic to her uncle’s plight and promises to help her get into the jail. He invites himself to dinner and is able to influence everyone’s mood through his cheerful presence. He conjures food and spends most of the meal manipulating Marget and Ursula, mentioning that he would like to connect Ursula with his uncle. Theodor is embarrassed because he knows Satan’s feelings about humans and is worried that he is taking advantage of them.
Marget prepares to go to the jail and visit her uncle. Theodor thinks about the jail and Satan, overhearing his thoughts, and takes him there. Theodor sees a man being tortured and begs Satan to let him leave. Outside the jail, Theodor laments the brutality he witnessed. Satan says it shows the true nature of humans, pointing out that they are the only species to intentionally cause pain. When animals inflict pain, they do not know any better; however, humans possess the Moral Sense. They know they are committing wrongdoing but do it anyway.
Chapter 6 Summary
To prove his point, Satan takes Theodor to a factory in a French village. It is filled with weak workers of all ages who are toiling away in miserable conditions. Satan argues that this is a clear failing of the Moral Sense; the owners of the factory are incredibly wealthy but refuse to pay their employees a livable wage. Adults and children alike work fourteen-hour shifts and live in cramped, filthy houses. Satan explains that in his world, such an existence would be a punishment reserved for criminals, and yet here are everyday hardworking people being subjected to these conditions, dying of disease and working themselves to death with no end in sight. He tells Theodor that the only mistake these “mangy creatures” made was “getting themselves born into your foolish race” (41). Satan argues that this factory exemplifies the core hypocrisy at the center of the Moral Sense. He tells Theodor, “It is the Moral Sense which teaches the factory proprietors the difference between right and wrong – you perceive the result,” noting that the owners can justify their actions by invoking a skewed sense of morality (41).
Back in Eseldorf, Seppi informs Theodor and Satan of the recent disappearance of Hans Oppert, a local loafer. Oppert was known for beating his dog, which Seppi considers inhuman. Satan corrects him, saying that it is distinctly human behavior since humans use the Moral Sense to cover their own brutality. The dog eventually wanders up to Satan and tells him that the owner fell off a cliff in hopes of receiving help. Satan says that the dog is more sensible and moral than any human he knows. When the boys finally find Father Adolf so Oppert can be buried, the dog is the only one to grieve.
Satan and the boys visit Marget, who tells them that the cat is still bringing in money. Wilhelm is also actively helping Marget take care of Father Peter in prison. Marget is not yet in the clear; the town has a renewed fear of the Devil’s influence, and their new servant is gossiping about her family’s sudden influx of wealth. Father Adolf instructs the town to keep an eye on the house in case they see any proof of witchcraft. He receives samples from the house, collected by spies, to try and rule out the influence of magic.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
These chapters frame the central debate about the Moral Sense. Chapter 4 includes Father Peter’s defense of the Moral Sense, in which he says, “Valuable? Heavens! Lad, it is the one thing that lifts man above the beasts that perish and makes him heir to immortality!” (26). Father Peter contradicts Satan’s point of view; instead of claiming that the Moral Sense makes them distinct from the divine immortals, he says that it is what ensures humans will be among them in the afterlife. This is the only claim throughout the entire book made in favor of the Moral Sense. A key component of Father Peter’s claim—that adhering to the Moral Sense is what guarantees reward—is directly disproven just a few pages later, when he is arrested on false charges of stealing. In a world where the Moral Sense yields divine justice, a holy man who nearly refused to take money he sorely needed should be given a reprieve. On the contrary, Father Peter’s arrest is just one of the many problems that will befall him over the course of the novella. By forcing the brunt of the suffering on to the only character who directly praises the Moral Sense, Twain gives Satan the means to highlight its hypocrisy.
The attacks against the Moral Sense grow throughout these chapters. At the French factory, Satan says, “The proprietors are rich, and very holy; but the wage they pay to these poor brothers and sisters of theirs is only enough to keep them from dropping dead with hunger” (41). The employers have the means to pay their workers a livable wage, but they convince themselves that they are doing enough since the villagers are still able to eat. They ignore the workers’ suffering because they do not want to diminish their own profits. Twain emphasizes their cruelty by describing the workers’ suffering with incredibly vivid language:
The work-hours are fourteen per day, winter and summer – from six in the morning till eight at night – little children and all. And they walk to and from the pigsties which they inhabit – four miles each way, through mud and slush, rain, snow, sleet, and storm, daily, year in and year out. They get four hours of sleep. They kennel together, three families in a room, in unimaginable filth and stench; and disease comes, and they die off like flies (41).
This language is emblematic of both a character choice and a technical decision on Twain’s part. Satan describes the workers with little regard for their humanity. Terms such as “pigsties” and “kennel[ing] together” strip them of their personhood. It gives Twain the opportunity to further demonstrate Satan’s disregard for the human race and shows how he is fundamentally unable to imagine himself on equal footing with them. From a technical standpoint, the descriptive language highlights vivid imagery that allows the reader to fully picture the horrors Theodor is witnessing. Despite his apparent hatred for these bosses, Satan is not able to fully express sympathy for the suffering workers. Even while highlighting their plight, he still reverts to his usual ways of describing humans in a detached and disparaging way. While this could be interpreted in the light of the vivid language Twain employs throughout this passage, it also demonstrates that Satan is unable to break out of his divine worldview. Twain’s depiction of an angel that dismisses humanity is a pointed critique of the villagers’ devout Christianity.
Aside from developing the philosophical arguments that underscore the text, these chapters also take the book firmly out of the realm of exposition and highlight rising action. These chapters are the first time that Satan meets other villagers besides Theodor, Seppi, and Nikolaus. This is also when Father Peter is arrested at the behest of the astrologer. He is the first villager Satan attempts to help, and his trial swiftly becomes a pressing concern for the boys.
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By Mark Twain
