The Severed Hand by Wilhelm Hauff
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"The Severed Hand" by Wilhelm Hauff is a dark and poignant tale written in the mid-19th century. This grim story combines elements of a short story with fantastical and moral themes prevalent during that time. The narrative follows Zaleukos, a young Greek man whose life takes a tragic turn as he navigates themes of destiny, betrayal, and the grave consequences of his decisions. The story begins with Zaleukos, who after a promising
education in medicine, returns to Constantinople only to find his father's death and inheritance mishandled. Seeking fortune, he travels to Florence, becomes embroiled in an ominous encounter under a midnight bridge, and is drawn into a sinister plot involving a masked stranger. This stranger ultimately tasks Zaleukos with a horrific request: to sever the head of his sister, who he believes might not truly be dead. In a tragic twist of fate, Zaleukos unintentionally kills her, leading to his wrongful conviction for murder. The narrative explores the themes of guilt, the search for redemption, and the moral dilemmas surrounding life and death, culminating in Zaleukos's loss of a hand as a punishment and the haunting reminder of his actions that he must bear for the rest of his life. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Hauff, Wilhelm, 1802-1827 |
|---|---|
| Title |
The Severed Hand From "German Tales" Published by the American Publishers' Corporation |
| Credits | Produced by David Widger |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 76.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures |
| Subject | Fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 22664 |
| Release Date | Sep 18, 2007 |
| Last Update | Feb 5, 2013 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 408 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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