The Adventurous Simplicissimus · Chapter
XXVII: How the Provost Fared in the Battle of Wittstock explained
Simplicissimus is interrogated by the Judge-Advocate-General, who finds his story unbelievable and discovers ducats hidden in his disguise, leading to accusations of treachery.
What happens
Simplicissimus is interrogated by the Judge-Advocate-General, who finds his story unbelievable and discovers ducats hidden in his disguise, leading to accusations of treachery. Before torture can be applied, the Battle of Wittstock erupts, and during the chaos, the provost is killed by young Herzbruder, who recognizes and frees Simplicissimus.
Themes in this chapter
War and Destruction
The chapter vividly describes the horrors of the Battle of Wittstock, including the chaos, death, and mutilation of soldiers and horses.
Deception and Appearance
Simplicissimus's fool's disguise and hidden ducats lead to accusations of treachery, highlighting how appearances can be misinterpreted.
Fortune and Fate
Simplicissimus's fortune turns from imminent torture to rescue by Herzbruder amid the battle's chaos.
Characters to notice
- Simplicissimus
Interrogated and accused of treachery after his ducats are found; freed by Herzbruder during the battle.
- Ulrich Herzbruder
Young Herzbruder kills the provost with the help of a musketeer and rescues Simplicissimus.
- The Provost Marshal
The provost is killed by Herzbruder's order during the Battle of Wittstock.
Key passages
“The Judge-Advocate-General, who was perhaps vexed because my examination had prolonged itself far into the night, answered me thus: “What!” says he, “write down ‘Thy mother the whore.’ ””
The Judge-Advocate-General, annoyed by the lengthy interrogation, told Simplicissimus to write the insulting phrase 'Thy mother the whore.'
Shows the judge's frustration and the hostile treatment of Simplicissimus.
“The earth, whose custom it is to cover the dead was there itself covered with them, and those variously distinguished: for here lay heads that had lost their natural owners, and there bodies that lacked their heads...”
The ground, normally used to bury the dead, was instead covered with corpses, with heads separated from bodies and other gruesome sights.
A vivid description of the battlefield carnage at Wittstock.
“But the shot harmed the provost as little as if it had struck an anvil. So “Beest thou of that kidney,” said Herzbruder, “yet I will not have come to do thee a courtesy in vain: die thou must even if thy soul were grown into thy body.””
The pistol shot had no effect on the provost, so Herzbruder declared he would not leave without killing him, even if his soul were fused to his body.
Herzbruder's determination to kill the provost despite the failed shot.