Line #3 Literature/TheRedLion


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_red_lion.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:A modern cover of the Kindle edition.]]
3	''The Red Lion'' is the first novel by Mária Szepes and was first published in 1946 in UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} (original title: ''A Vörös Oroszlán''). During the [[PoliceState communist regime ''Rákosi'']] ''The Red Lion'' was considered to be [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill nonconformist]] and therefore was [[BannedInChina prohibited]]. All copies of the book were [[BookBurning ordered to be destroyed]]. However, the librarian and novelist Béla Hamvas managed to save four copies. Then, several supporters of the author typed up the novel, made templates for printing, and released the self-made copies through the underground. [[VindicatedByHistory Almost 40 years later]], the novel arrived at the desk of the Heyne publishing company via the agency Utoprop. The book was translated into German by Gottfried Feidel and was published as a paperback in 1984. More details regarding the history of origin are reported by Hans Joachim Alpers in his preface of the 2002 re-issue.
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5	The story centres around the unhappy [[AntiHero Hans Burgner]], a miller's son born in the 16th century. After the death of his weak father and of a likewise miserable but beloved teacher, he becomes afraid of the unavoidable death of all living things. Driven by a monomania fed by persistent rumors of an Elixir of Immortality, he becomes an apprentice of a mysterious physician and [[UsefulNotes/{{Alchemy}} alchemist]]. However, instead of listening to the Alchemist's compassionate counsel and warnings, Burgner is driven by feverish greed to murder him; in this way, he acquires Elixir while he is still spiritually unprepared, and is cursed thereby. This is the starting-point of a journey through the centuries: while Burgner can physically die, the Elixir enables him to retain the full memory of his previous lives as he repeatedly reincarnates into a variety of different circumstances. It also bestows upon him a profound spiritual sensitivity. Several times he attempts the Great Transmutation in order to deliver himself from his self-imposed curse. Hans Burgner is refined through his various incarnations. Against the backdrop of [[HistoricalFictionLiterature the last five centuries of European history]], he undergoes dramatic personal development: beginning as a spiritually unawakened (and even infamous) character, he matures spiritually through the various challenges he is led to confront. He is first an initiate and Aspirant, eventually attaining the perfection of human personality which characterizes the Magus, or spiritual Adept.
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7	!!''The Red Lion'' contains examples of the following tropes:
8	%%* AlchemyIsMagic
9	%%* AmbitionIsEvil: Hans.
10	%%* AndIMustScream: Hans suffers this as a result of the Red Lion.
11	%%* AntiHero: Hans Burgner.
12	%%* ArtifactOfAttraction: The elixir.
13	%%* ArtifactTitle: Arguably, if the Red Lion is an artifact.
14	%%* AttendingYourOwnFuneral: [[spoiler:Saint-Germain does this, and as the coffin is brought out, he lies down in it and "dies".]]
15	%%* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Saint-Germain.]]
16	%%* BlackMagic: Francesco Borri uses this to conjure a demon to help him, as does the insane Sophie Petion unintentionally.
17	* BlessedWithSuck: The protagonist can remember his past lifetimes as a result of drinking the Red Lion - and cannot shake off the painful memories.
18	%%* BookEnds: [[spoiler:The interaction between Ernst and Cornelius at the end of the story strongly parallels that between Hans and Rochard. Cornelius is a later incarnation of Hans, but he takes the role and the fate of Rochard in the later interaction.]]
19	%%* BornAgainImmortality: Everyone has this. When a soul dies it takes on a new body.
20	%%* BuriedAlive: Hans is lowered into a deep hole to die.
21	* ChastityCouple: Lepitre and Rosalie. It does not end well, as it is based on self-denial. [[spoiler:He is tempted by the vamp Corinna, and Rosalie offers herself to him as a "lesser sin". He rejects her, and she murders him and commits suicide.]]
22	%%* CourtMage: Francesco essentially becomes this to a series of rulers.
23	%%* {{Curse}}: The titular elixir does this to whomever steals it without being spiritually prepared.
24	%%* DepravedBisexual: [[spoiler:Corinna.]]
25	%%* EarnYourHappyEnding: The protagonist has to go through a long journey spanning several lifetimes before achieving his.
26	* FateWorseThanDeath: Hans Burgner gets plunged into a living demon-filled hell and wishes vainly for death.
27	%%* ForegoneConclusion: The Count of Saint-Germain attempts to warn UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette of what is to come in the lead-up to UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution.
28	* GoldDigger: Louis de la Tourzel senior only marries Sophie Petion for her money, having been prepared to abandon her until her sudden inheritance.
29	%%* GoodIsNotSoft: Rochard.
30	%%* GoodParents: Marietta and her husband.
31	%%* HappilyMarried: The parents of the protagonist's third incarnation, Francisco, are this, in stark contrast to his first two sets of parents.
32	%%* HealingPotion: The Red Lion when used correctly.
33	%%* HenpeckedHusband: Hans' father.
34	%%* HidingBehindReligion: Heinz Knotek's father, and to a lesser extent Hans Burgner's mother.
35	%%* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Hans' attempt to take advantage of several nobles backfires when he falls into their trap.
36	%%* ImmortalitySeeker: Hans. He doesn't know what he is in for.
37	%%* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: Sebastian, Rochard, and [[spoiler:Cornelius]]. Justified in that enlightenment is shown to be a very inward-focussed journey.
38	* JusticeWillPrevail: "I did not realize then that earthly law merely executes spiritual justice, even when it seems to punish the innocent. No innocent man is ever punished; he is always caught by his own actions."
39	* KarmicNod: [[spoiler:Cornelius feels only peace when he knows that his crime is coming back to him through the hands of Ernst.]]
40	%%* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Cornelius receives this for the crime he committed as Hans Burgner, and is ready and waiting for it. Corinna also arguably receives this at the hands of Martin Alais.]]
41	%%* LivingShadow: The moon priestess confronts hers. [[spoiler:She welcomes it back home.]]
42	%%* MamaBear: Marietta.
43	%%* [[spoiler:NoAntagonist: From a broader perspective, every supporting character has an important role in the protagonist's development.]]
44	%%* OlderThanTheyLook: [[spoiler:How Ernst figures out Cornelius has the elixir.]]
45	%%* PastLifeMemories: The protagonist acquires this as a result of taking the Red Lion. [[spoiler:It also means that he carries all the painful memories from one life to the next, as the beneficial veil of forgetfulness is no longer there.]]
46	%%* PhilosophersStone: The Red Lion, or the elixir of eternal life, is this.
47	%%* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: [[spoiler:Ernst is this to Cornelius.]]
48	%%* RedemptionQuest: One that spans several lifetimes.
49	%%* {{Reincarnation}}: A central theme.
50	* RuleOfSeven: The determined moon priestess in the tale told by Cornelius' father makes an appeal to the moon for seven years before finally getting a response.
51	%%* SealedEvilInACan: The titular elixir, depending on how, and by whom, it is used.
52	%%* SelfInflictedHell
53	%%* SinisterMinister: The one who orchestrates Hans' fate after his conjuring. Also Heinz Knotek's father.
54	* SweetAndSourGrapes: [[spoiler:Hans' greedy desire for eternal life fades as he becomes more enlightened through his subsequent lifetimes, and then he essentially achieves what he originally wanted anyway.]]
55	* ToHellAndBack: The protagonist's time spent in his self-imposed hell, and his quest to climb out of it, is what makes [[spoiler:his enlightenment possible.]]
56	%%* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: The child Heinz Knotek is a deconstruction, considering who he really is.
57	%%* TheVamp: [[spoiler:Corinna.]]
58	%%* WhiteAndGreyMorality: From a broad perspective, characters who may seem black are actually lost, deluded, and/or undeveloped souls.
59	%%* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Luckily, Hans does eventually get released into death.
60	* WholeEpisodeFlashback: The FramingDevice of Adam Cadmon's manuscript turns the main story into a flashback.
61	%%* WiseBeyondHisYears: Heinz Knotek and Francesco Borri, thanks to the Red Lion.

Context Literature / TheRedLion