The Adventurous Simplicissimus · Chapter
How Simplicissimus Further Fared in Moscow explained
Simplicissimus is secretly watched by Strelitz guards and isolated from his colonel.
What happens
Simplicissimus is secretly watched by Strelitz guards and isolated from his colonel. He befriends German traders in Moscow but they abandon him when they learn the Czar intends to keep him. After his horse and funds are exhausted, he sells his trinkets. A decree against idlers forces foreigners to leave, but Simplicissimus and a group are captured by Russian troopers. The Czar wants to retain him for his skills, but Simplicissimus refuses to convert religion. He is lodged with a merchant, watched, and courted with rich provisions. A crafty Russian noble persuades him to help produce saltpetre and gunpowder, which he agrees to do as long as his religion is respected. He begins work, and later is temporarily equipped in princely attire to fight Tartars, leading a successful charge. After the battle, the finery is returned to the Czar's wardrobe, revealing the transient nature of such honors.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Appearance
Simplicissimus is secretly watched, the colonel's finery is borrowed from the Czar's wardrobe to tempt him, and the Czar's 'gracious' offers mask his intent to keep Simplicissimus as a virtual prisoner.
Religion and Morality
Simplicissimus steadfastly refuses to convert to the Russian Orthodox faith despite pressure and promises of wealth, prioritizing his conscience over material gain.
Fortune and Fate
Simplicissimus's fortunes oscillate wildly: from being watched and destitute to leading a cavalry charge in princely garb, then back to his former state, illustrating the capriciousness of fate.
Greed and Money
Simplicissimus devours his horse and sells his trinkets to survive; the Czar uses promises of estates and finery to tempt him, and the borrowed finery is ultimately reclaimed, underscoring the transient nature of wealth.
Characters to notice
- Simplicissimus
Narrator and protagonist; secretly watched, isolated, and pressured to convert; agrees to produce saltpetre and gunpowder; leads a cavalry charge against Tartars while wearing borrowed princely attire.
- The Hermit
Not directly present, but Simplicissimus's refusal to change religion reflects the hermit's earlier moral and religious teachings.
- The Governor
Not present; mentioned only indirectly as part of Simplicissimus's past.
Key passages
“From this time I was watched, not openly indeed, but secretly, by certain soldiers of the Strelitz guard, and that without my knowledge; and my colonel and his family never once came in my sight, so that I knew not what was become of him: and all this, as may easily be thought, brought in my head strange conceits and many grey hairs also.”
After that, I was secretly watched by Strelitz soldiers without my knowledge, and my colonel and his family vanished from my sight, which filled my mind with strange thoughts and caused me much worry.
Simplicissimus describes the covert surveillance and isolation he experienced in Moscow.
“Then did I disparage mine own worth, and said the honourable colonel must surely have ascribed to me more arts, virtues, and knowledge than I possessed: ’twas true indeed I had come into the land to serve his Majesty the Czar and the worshipful Russian people, even at the risk of my life, against their enemies: but to change my religion, to that I could not resolve me.”
I downplayed my abilities, saying the colonel had exaggerated my skills, and while I was willing to serve the Czar against his enemies, I could not bring myself to change my religion.
Simplicissimus refuses to convert to Russian Orthodoxy despite the Czar's pressure.
“I had a steel mace hanging by me that shone like a mirror, and was so well made and heavy that I had easily beaten to death any that I dealt a blow with it, so that the Czar himself could not ride into battle better equipped: and there followed me a white standard with a double eagle to which the people flocked from all sides and corners, so that before two hours were over we were forty thousand strong and after four hours nigh sixty thousand, with whom we marched against the Tartars.”
I was given a gleaming steel mace so heavy it could kill any man with a single blow, and a white standard with a double eagle, which attracted thousands of followers, swelling our army to sixty thousand within hours as we marched against the Tartars.
Simplicissimus describes the magnificent equipment and the rapid mobilization of troops for the battle against the Tartars.
“But from this I could well judge how ’twas managed with the Russian robe of state of which my colonel made use; for ’tis all but lent finery which, like all else in Russia, pertaineth to the Czar alone.”
From this I understood that the colonel's fine Russian robe was merely borrowed from the Czar's wardrobe, since in Russia all finery ultimately belongs to the Czar alone.
Simplicissimus realizes that the colonel's impressive attire was only lent to him by the Czar, reflecting the absolute ownership of the Czar over all state property.
