History Literature / TheMysteriousStranger

* {{Satan}}: The angel's name is Satan, but he insists that he's that other {{Satan}}'s ''nephew'' and that it's a common name for angels. Of course, there's no way to confirm this, and Satan himself (the traditional one) is a notorious UnreliableNarrator. (Though it becomes an awesome moment of FridgeBrilliance when you consider that "Satan" ''originated'' as an epithet given to many unrelated entities, as it just means "adversary" in Hebrew.)[[note]]Only sort of true. While "satan" does indeed mean adversary, the one everyone will immediately think of is called ha-satan, which mean "''the'' adversary", which marks it as special compared to the others.[[//note]]

* {{Satan}}: The angel's name is Satan, but he insists that he's that other {{Satan}}'s ''nephew'' and that it's a common name for angels. Of course, there's no way to confirm this, and Satan himself (the traditional one) is a notorious UnreliableNarrator. (Though it becomes an awesome moment of FridgeBrilliance when you consider that "Satan" originated as an ''epiphet given to many unrelated entities'', as it just means "enemy" in Hebrew.)

* TheEndingChangesEverything: Possibly. Taking the ending at face value implies that [[spoiler:the whole story was just a nightmare, and that the godlike entity Theodor could make better worlds in the future]]. On the other hand, it is far more likely that [[spoiler:Theodor really is just a lowly human, all of the horrible events he experiences "really" did happen, and Satan made him think he had godlike power so that he no longer knows of those horrors]]. Considering [[CruelMercy what Satan did]] to [[spoiler:Father Peter]], this second interpretation is depressingly plausible.

* {{Solipsism}}: [[spoiler:On the surface, the ending can ''definitely'' appear to be this. But whether or not that's the actual case is open to interpretation.]]

Also known as ''No. 44'', ''The Mysterious Stranger'' is one of Creator/MarkTwain's last works that he was [[AuthorExistenceFailure unable to finish before his death]]. It was written [[CreatorBreakdown just after his wife and favorite daughter died and Twain entered financial trouble]], so it was much more vicious and depressing than any of his other works. There are three different versions of the work in varying degrees of completion, but all involve the titular mysterious stranger using his powers to show how much of a CrapsackWorld we live in[[note]]though in one of the versions he's not Satan[[/note]].

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Subverted. Girls like Marget and Lilly fall pretty hard for "Philip Traum", but they remain clueless about his dark nature.

* ButterflyOfDoom: Played with. No TimeTravel is involved, but {{Satan}} reveals that even the smallest detail like opening a window can be a MatterOfLifeAndDeath.

* LouCypher: Averted, but the protagonists [[SarcasticConfession aren't any]] [[GenreBlind better off]]. Their gullibility may be justified because they're children.

The full text can be found [[http://www.shsu.edu/~eng_wpf/authors/Twain/Mysterious-Stranger.htm here]]. Tropes from any version of the novella are welcome.

Also known as ''No. 44'', ''The Mysterious Stranger'' is one of MarkTwain's last works that he was [[AuthorExistenceFailure unable to finish before his death]]. It was written [[CreatorBreakdown just after his wife and favorite daughter died and Twain entered financial trouble]], so it was much more vicious and depressing than any of his other works. There are three different versions of the work in varying degrees of completion, but all involve the titular mysterious stranger using his powers to show how much of a CrapsackWorld we live in[[note]]though in one of the versions he's not Satan[[/note]].

* NoEnding: "No. 44" is as close as the the tale gets to seeing an actual ending. Both "Schoolhouse Hill" and "The Chronicle" end, rather abruptly, right in the middle of character dialogue.

* GratuitousForeignLanguage: French in "Schoolhouse Hill".

* TranslationConvention: Set in Renaissance-age Austria, the characters are obviously speaking ''German'' to one another.

* HumansAreBastards: One of the major themes of the book

* {{Mindscrew}}: This generally straightforward story suddenly takes a baffling turn in the last three pages, leaving the reader to wonder what, if anything, was real in the tale.

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:"Oh by the way, didn't you ever realize that the entire universe only exists in your imagination and that you barely even exist yourself? Well, so long."]]

Also known as ''No. 44'', ''The Mysterious Stranger'' is one of MarkTwain's last works that he was [[AuthorExistenceFailure unable to finish before his death]]. It was written [[CreatorBreakdown just after his wife and favorite daughter died and Twain entered financial trouble]], so it was much more vicious and depressing than any of his other works. There are three different versions of the work in varying degrees of completion, but all involve the titular Mysterious Stranger using his powers to show how much of a CrapsackWorld we live in (though in one of the versions he's not Satan).

The full text can be found [[http://www.shsu.edu/~eng_wpf/authors/Twain/Mysterious-Stranger.htm here]].

* AuthorExistenceFailure

* CreatorBreakdown

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The first version of the story, called 'The Chronicles of Young Satan', was set in Missouri in the 1840s, with [[Literature/TheAdventuresofTomSawyer Tom Sawyer]] and [[Literature/AdventuresofHuckleberryFinn Huck Finn]] playing supporting roles. The second version, called 'Schoolhouse Hill' involved [[SelfInsertFic Twain himself]] [[WriteWhoYouKnow and his friends and family]] encountering Young Satan, who had come to Hannibal, Missouri and later been [[EasyEvangelism converted to Methodism.]] A later version, called the 'Print Shop', or 'Number 44: The Mysterious Stranger', was based around Young Satan becoming a [[IncrediblyLamePun printer's devil]], and showing the [[NietzscheWannabe worthlessness and futility of human existence]] by having him create and then destroy [[CloningBlues copies of the townsfolk.]] The best-known version is an amalgam of the three, crafted by Twain's literary executor Albert Bigelow Paine in the sixties. Some modern editions, though, are based on either one of the three original manuscripts.

* AnimatedAdaptation: ''TheAdventuresOfMarkTwain'' movie. Found [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBGGAjMg9vw here]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The first version of the story, called 'The Chronicles of Young Satan', was set in Missouri in the 1840s, with [[Literature/TheAdventuresofTomSawyer Tom Sawyer]] and [[Literature/AdventuresofHuckleberryFinn Huck Finn]] playing supporting roles. The second version, called 'Schoolhouse Hill' involved [[SelfInsertFic Twain himself]] [[WriteWhoYouKnow and his friends and family]] encountering Young Satan, who had come to Hannibal, Missouri and later been [[EasyEvangelism converted to Methodism.]] A later version, called the 'Print Shop', or 'Number 44: The Mysterious Stranger', was based around Young Satan becoming a [[IncrediblyLamePun printer's devil]], and showing the [[NietzscheWannabe worthlessness and futility of human existence]] by having him create and then destroy [[CloningBlues copies of the townsfolk.]] The version that we know is an amalgam of the three, crafted by Twain's literary executor Albert Bigelow Paine.

Also known as ''No. 44'', ''The Mysterious Stranger'' is one of MarkTwain's last works that he was [[AuthorExistenceFailure unable to finish before his death]]. It was written [[CreatorBreakdown just after his wife and favorite daughter died and Twain entered financial trouble]], so it was much more vicious and depressing than any of his other works. There are three different versions of the work in varying degrees of completion, but all involve the angel Satan using his powers to show how much of a CrapsackWorld we live in.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The first version of the story, called 'The Chronicles of Young Satan', was set in Missouri in the 1840s, with [[TheAdventuresofTomSawyer Tom Sawyer]] and [[AdventuresofHuckleberryFinn Huck Finn]] playing supporting roles. The second version, called 'Schoolhouse Hill' involved [[SelfInsertFic Twain himself]] [[WriteWhoYouKnow and his friends and family]] encountering Young Satan, who had come to Hannibal, Missouri and later been [[EasyEvangelism converted to Methodism.]] A later version, called the 'Print Shop', or 'Number 44: The Mysterious Stranger', was based around Young Satan becoming a [[IncrediblyLamePun printer's devil]], and showing the [[NietzscheWannabe worthlessness and futility of human existence]] by having him create and then destroy [[CloningBlues copies of the townsfolk.]] The version that we know is an amalgam of the three, crafted by Twain's literary executor Albert Bigelow Paine.

* TheEndingChangesEverything: Possibly. Taking the ending at face value implies that [[spoiler:the whole story was just a nightmare, and that the godlike entity Theodor could make better worlds in the future]]. On the other hand, it is far more likely that [[spoiler:Theodore really is just a lowly human, all of the horrible events he experiences "really" did happen, and Satan made him think he had godlike power so that he no longer knows of those horrors]]. Considering [[CruelMercy what Satan did]] to [[spoiler:Father Peter]], this second interpretation is depressingly plausible.

* VillainsNeverLie

As an interesting side-note, it has long been suspected that this was one of the works that inspired ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', particularly the character of Kaworu. Sadamoto, writer of the NGE Manga, has practically admitted as such.

* HumansAreBastards:One of the major themes of the book
* {{Invisibility}}: Satan can hide his and the boys presence when he feels like it.

As an interesting side-note, it has long been suspected that this was one of the works that inspired ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', particularily the character of Kaworu. Sadamoto, writer of the NGE Manga, has practically admitted as such.

* {{Satan}}: The angel's name is Satan, but he insists that he's that other {{Satan}}'s ''nephew'' and that it's a common name for angels. Of course, there's no way to confirm this, and Satan himself (the traditional one) is a notorious UnreliableNarrator. (Though it becomes an awesome moment of FridgeBrilliance when you consider that "Satan" originated as an ''epiphet given to many unrelated entities'')

Also known as ''No. 44'', ''TheMysteriousStranger'' is one of MarkTwain's last works that he was [[AuthorExistenceFailure unable to finish before his death]]. It was written [[CreatorBreakdown just after his wife and favorite daughter died and Twain entered financial trouble]], so it was much more vicious and depressing than any of his other works. There are three different versions of the work in varying degrees of completion, but all involve the angel Satan using his powers to show how much of a CrapsackWorld we live in.