The Trial of Father Peter in The Mysterious Stranger

Abstract

The setting of the mysterious stranger is eseldorf, a drowsy, sleepy town in the middle of Austria in 1590. It was still the Middle Ages there, still the Age of Belief. Eseldorf, or donkey village, was steeped in peace, and to most readers seems reminiscent of Hannibal. There were the river, drifting arks and stone-boats, two precipices, and forest-covered hills: “Eseldorf was a paradise for us boys.” Unlike Tom Sawyer, these boys were not pestered much with schooling, for the common people were expected to be content with their lot, and knowledge was thought to be a dangerous thing. The story is told by an old man who had been one of the boys a “lifetime” earlier.