46 pages • 1 hour read
Mark TwainThe Mysterious Stranger
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1916A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 9-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary
The witch commission is too frightened to pursue the astrologer for his actions at Marget’s party, choosing instead to focus on the disadvantaged to placate Eseldorf’s more fervent believers (85). Their most recent target is a woman who treats the sick by bathing and feeding them as opposed to bloodletting. These treatment options are considered unholy, and she is hanged for witchcraft. Theodor is among the crowd gathered to witness her death. As she hangs dying, the crowd begins throwing stones at her body. This makes Theodor uncomfortable, but he feels internal pressure to join them, noting that “all were throwing stones and each was watching his neighbor, and if I had not done as the others did it would have been noticed and spoken of” (85).
Suddenly, Satan arrives, bursting into laughter. The crowd corners him, asking why he laughed and refused to throw a stone. Satan says it is impossible to prove that he did not. After some repartee with the blacksmith, the butcher’s assistant, and a journeyman, he tells them that they are cowards to stone a dying woman when they are all destined to die soon. One will die tomorrow, one will die next week, and one will die in five minutes. As if on cue, the blacksmith, who was at the forefront of these arguments, falls dead. This frightens the rest of the mob into redirecting their accusations towards each other, overcome with fear at being associated with witchcraft. In the tumultuous arguments that follow, the woman’s body is finally left alone. Satan and Theodor take this opportunity to escape the unruly crowd.
Theodor thinks that Satan’s laughter was also directed at him. He confirms this, explaining that many people in the crowd did not want to throw stones at the woman but succumbed to humanity’s tendency to blindly follow others. This practice results in several evil acts, from burning those accused of witchcraft to all out warfare.
Chapter 10 Summary
The astrologer returns from a trip to the moon and is ready to continue the proceedings against Father Peter. Wilhelm is doing his best to prepare Father Peter’s defense, but he is falling prey to his own anxieties and inexperience. He fastidiously collects interviews from people willing to defend Father Peter’s character, including Theodor and Seppi. Father Peter is absent at the time of the trial because he is too ill from the time spent in prison.
When the astrologer comes to the stand, he claims that Father Peter found money in the exact amount he lost two years prior. He also launches bitter attacks against Father Peter’s character, which deeply upsets Marget. Wilhelm tries his best to rebut the attacks but finds himself floundering. Theodor is worried until he sees Satan arrive, standing behind Wilhelm and looking confident. Nobody reacts to his presence, and Theodor quickly realizes Satan is invisible. He possesses Wilhelm as he is about to conclude his defense.
Satan, as Wilhelm, says that he can prove the money does not belong to the astrologer if he can examine the coin. Since coins are printed with the year they were manufactured, he can determine whether or not these coins were made two or more years ago. If not, it is impossible that the astrologer could have owned them. Surely enough, Satan demonstrates that the majority of the coins were minted in the current year, and Father Peter finally regains his innocence and reputation.
An overjoyed Marget and Theodor go to the jail to arrange Father Peter’s release but are horrified at what they find. Father Peter is rambling in his cell, spouting delusions about being an emperor. Theodor reveals that Satan visited Father Peter shortly before they arrived and told him he lost the trial and would be a social pariah, causing him to lose his sanity. Theodor angrily confronts Satan, reminding him of the hardships Father Peter and his family endured only for this to be his fate. Satan says that taking his reason was the only way he could fulfill his promise of giving Father Peter a happy life. In an attempt to justify his actions, he says, “Only the mad can be happy, and not many of those. The few that imagine themselves as kings or gods are happy, the rest are no happier than the sane” (97).
Chapter 11 Summary
As the year progresses, Satan’s visits become less frequent. One day, after an unusually long absence, Satan tells Theodor this will be their last time seeing each other. When Theodor shares his hope that they will meet again in another life, Satan responds that there is no other life besides the one he has now. Theodor finds himself confused yet hopeful upon hearing this. Satan continues, “Life itself is only a vision, a dream” (103).
Satan tells Theodor he is a product of his mind and that he will disappear as soon as he understands this reality. Satan says that he should have understood the true state of the world long ago. So much of what humans consider truth is nonsensical and contradictory. He asks Theodor how a supposedly omnipotent and loving God could knowingly create evil and decree that good people live terrible lives while still demanding their worship. In Satan’s eyes, these glaring inconsistencies prove that there is no God, humanity, universe, or divinity. Theodor is all that exists and is “a vagrant thought, a useless thought, a homeless thought, wandering forlorn among the empty eternities!” (105). Satan then vanishes, leaving an appalled Theodor in his wake. As Theodor considers his words, he knows that Satan was telling the truth.
Chapters 9-11 Analysis
The final three chapters are a culmination of the sense of foreboding that builds throughout the novella. During the opening chapters, the joy the boys feel at Satan’s initial appearance is literally and figuratively squashed when he kills the clay men. This sets a precedent for the reader in which we never quite know what Satan will do next. Any positivity he brings is swiftly followed by negative consequences. This pattern escalates to its highest level when Satan lies to Father Peter and tells him he lost the trial. This action differs from Satan’s previous interventions because Theodor can no longer justify his methods. This is in part because the actions negatively impact Marget and Ursula, who will have no closure regarding Father Peter’s sudden decline. It is also because Satan does this knowing that no human around him will be able to understand his perspective. Though he claims to have a superior stance, he pays no regard to how his actions will impact the people who will live with the outcome of his actions.
These chapters also offer further commentary on the nature of perception. Satan reframes Father Peter’s suffering as a blessing because he now has the unique opportunity to ignore the horrors of the world without being immoral. Those with a full grasp on the Moral Sense are theoretically forced to live in guilt if they hurt another; however, Father Peter will never remain innocent.
When Theodor and Satan meet for the last time in Chapter 11, Satan tells him that life is an illusion. Curiously, Theodor finds himself feeling “a vague, dim, but blessed and hopeful feeling that the incredible words might be true – even must be true” (103). There are several interpretations of this reaction. Taking it in light of Satan’s assessment of the insane, it is possible that Theodor’s newfound understanding of the extent of human suffering makes him willing to accept the idea that nothing is real. It is also possible that Theodor’s expanded perception makes it so that he no longer needs Satan to explain the world to him. This realization could also contribute to Theodor’s gratitude. Without Satan to take him around the world, Theodor can process his experiences or intentionally isolate himself within Eseldorf. Either way, it is likely that this is an emotional response to his experiences.
Despite this final conversation and Theodor’s acknowledgement that Satan’s words must be true, - questions about Satan’s trustworthiness remain. He has previously shown his willingness to manipulate humans for his own enjoyment, and Theodor is clearly reeling from their experiences together. A potential interpretation of this moment is that Satan is simply looking for an excuse to leave the restrictive town of Eseldorf without devastating Theodor. This is a question that is left unanswered; it is up to the reader to find a resolution that resonates.
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By Mark Twain
