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Notes on Melmoth
© Andrè M. Pietroschek, all rights reserved

Greetings,

this is not the real moment of Muse. I start this file and it's German version
lacking sleep, after a rather disgusting temper tantrum (political situation and the
way it impacts mortal life in Germany, 2006).

My notes are (surprisingly to myself) based on two classics and one fictional work.
I wrote notes for the first glimpse thought that made me write this file is
comparably short and easy to understand.

Sources I read/accessed before this text:

● CHARLES ROBERT MATURIN (1782-1824) - Melmoth the Wanderer

● Honore de Balzac – Melmoth Reconciled
● The Melmoth as a villainous, freaky clan (one of 13 bloodlines) Nosferatu
Vampire I remember from the fictional PC game “Vampire Redemption”.

Dedicated to:

Those who share my ways of handling insomnia as muse? Maybe, to those who
find they came to similar conclusions by their own thoughts, as those “great
minds”...

This is neither a scientic work, nor my attempt to

display greatness. It is, as labeled, just my notes. If
you dislike it or “find it lacking”, do your own file?
 Muse and Madness

The flexibility among readers, this unique and yet cultivated ambivalence! I
wanted it to be clearly mentioned. Straight at start, for those with a short
attention span. ☺

I read a cute little academic work about “great authors” of philosophy recently.
Sometimes I feel compelled to try getting back to university. As if it would
improve my life.

The first reading of Melmoth the Wanderer, was peculiar and to me a dedicated
work. Yet unfinished. After a genius clarity on the eternal seeming experience
that so called preternatural, occult or diabolical truths in life often are
accompanied by or maybe symptoms of madness. The asylum ending wretch type
of madness, not the usually funny or even beneficial one.

I was greatly reminded of the late Benjamin Rowe (that is Magick, not classical
literature). Both authors had clear insights only to fall back or degenerate back
into the hollow dogmatism of their normalcy. The first types meaningless
“detailism” as I want to label it and the second gives us the dumb cliché stuff he
himself recognized and declared to be signs of weakness on the oh so well-paid
and highly respected path of occult prowess.

Melmoth here has a cute description of damnation and impeding doom which one
(as the target) seemingly cannot evade. The Irish and English setting as the visit to
Spain and the description of Christian zeal (church-wise), may be not my taste,
yet clearly good authorship. A bit low on cute porn scenes, a vulgar joke, I know
signs of the puritan times and such.

Then comes an abrupt end. Of course, sometimes authors or their muses fade
away before they finished their works. Yet, it seemed that if there is destiny, then
one sign of greatness was starting or spreading what began with “Melmoth – The
wanderer”.
Mr. Balzac, having the benefit of a work to contemplate and edit, skillfully spins
forth the tale. It may be found in modern gothics (dear satanists you had to see
them so often, make use of it), nearly the same justified or crazed habit of just
declaring the infernal to be “good”.

Of course different personalities handle situations differently. Further, the power

of the infernal or diabolical is rarely doubted in the context of those works.
Sometimes it is the complete lack of common sense in the protagonist or the
author (oops, can be me too then) which makes me sense a certain friction.

On first thought being rich, getting all we want and living eternally does not
sound the worst offer? Really not. Seeing the “greater picture” looking through
the temporal illusion of all-else-excluding importance which mortal ego as whim
have a habit of bathing us in... that's a more difficult topic.

Balzac decides to put the role first on an aging French rogue. A disgusting and
criminal asshole, selfish and too arrogant for the own good. My words may have a
slight reflection of my opinion here. Of course, it's on purpose.

Trapped in consequence of his failing embezzlement scheme, the easy way out is
the offer of the perceived as mysterious stranger. That one closely reminded me of
my notes on the well-clad Tremere in “Poison what you can't conquer.pdf”.

Balzac seems to credit the more modern people with more adaptability and sense
when it comes to get rid of the devils gift. Where the original Melmoth
protagonist was desperate and had no escape, ended in an asylum and had to see a
truth we have when we remember that scene in the cell by Stephen King in his
movie of Good against Satan (forgot the title)? The devil paying a visit pointing
out facts where all the “hero” has is a rebellious stubbornness we quickly call faith
and a yummy or such rat for a meal.

Balzac decided to do his own solution, yet thereby going far away from the
originals intent, as it seems to me. He makes quite a sharp-minded description of
the insight that being emotionless, inwardly dead, spoils much of what the new
gained power offers.
Balzac knows that one day planet earth may end and being caught here instead of
a chance to travel on (soul-wise) or getting access to paradise; which is simply not
a place to reach but a cosmical transformation denied without the grace of god in
this context. The words I read had a serious good approach.

So in Melmoth reconciled a simple trick gets the job done. One gets the power
and the money and quickly offers the “deal” (or curse) to someone willingly
taking it, before the unpleasant consequences can even impact once life. That is in
theory, quite prudent. Personally I doubt a devil being that easily transformed
from near eternal villain into harmless fellow giving you loads of money and
super-powers though. How could such a cute little devil ever provoke god, not to
speak of surviving wars against the almighty lord as (at least in context) we would
have to expect it?

Even a god as the self-regulating powers of the universes, even such quite
complex principles would be needed to be understood and properly handled. How
should a devil outwitted by people who just failed in the life they know be power-
player enough in it?

Balzac, to me, would be hint that surrender just because of despair might be an
over-reaction. He offers no solution though and I remember that Goethe at least
tried to go into detail with his “Faust”. That is, if reading more than the often
perceived as the entire work, yet being just part one.

Satanists will, I guess, at least as fast as me notice the complete absence of any
knowledge or imagination about divine powers? This is not the file for details on
ceremonial, glamour, ritual or instant-curse. If in context the devil exists and
magic works (though for a chosen few), why does the author not mention the
faithful opposition? I mean they are called the masters of the written word, not
newbies.

Charles Robert Maturin handles damnation as serious business. Balzac considers it

seemingly to be what one makes of it. There are limits to this second approach.
People in India have a certain definition of death as an illusion, which is true and
perhaps genius in context, yet doesn't make them or us de facto immortal!

Maturin didn't pick the best symptoms of damnation, that is one of the reason I
take that fictional undead wretch in the equation.

Melmoth, the Nosferatu. In the game a black-mailing, anti-social and always evil,
craven asshole. No reason for nice words for ugliness is privilege to all Nosferatu
and by their power, ugliness in all it's possible meanings. The impossible
meanings, for their neighborhood of madness belong or are accredited to, the
Malkavians (insane Vampires). Not morals, too blind for the own good!

This Melmoth is the vampire, many players want to be. He is undead, has several
super-powers and so on (all this glorified parasite vampire scene stuff). A little
problem along: Melmoth was caught before and thanks to clan Toreador lost most
eyesight after committing crimes against them. His chance to live eternally,
bitterly influenced by being a crippled, nearly blind villain.

Of course free from redemption, driven by the same impulse which already made
him get caught and punished! This is a blend of damnation with madness (in this
case it seems to go into “compulsive_criminal” forms), which spices up my little
Melmoth contemplation. Truth is, he was the only skinhead in the old version
besides the white trash and I played him in Multiplayer once. ☺I am afraid of
letter-bombs due it though.

Crippled beggar hiding from persecutors or super-power gaining lord or lady of

the night, do you think there is a difference? I did when writing this here.

The relativity of Melmoth's truth to individual us

Logically all readers may find some resemblance to their own situation or
personality in the classics. If it helps...
 Melmoth reloaded

Now the protagonist would defeat the infernal agent, get a sexy woman and win.
Just to be the only superhero in a world of normalcy. That could result in
damnation, yet better than slavery?

In dreams it would make sense. First, in a dream the woman is what we can't
accept or don't dare to realize about our selves. So feminine rounding gets tainted
by sexism in that context. Yet enjoy the tour? People and scenery fading or
shifting are certainly not new to all who research or do lucid dreaming, as my
generation labeled it. Maybe it has another name in this modern time.

A truth which remains in a dream is that when we wake up, we (usually and
hopefully) are one individual. Maybe with new insight or a better attitude how to
live our life.

Melmoth the Necromancer by me

Being afraid of death or deluded could make it flawed. The experience that a soul
which can so to say reincarnate may find that the real meaning is no longer where
the old incarnation lived.

To a necromancer, being afraid of death, would mean a flawed understanding of

the own master or power-source? A newbie henceforth?

Symbolizing as people what in truth is universal principle has a habit of

enhancing misunderstandings. As an author, even with my few readers, it already
happens manifold. Now guess how many people may have completely different
reasons, agendas and opinions about a bestseller?

When I noted that spirits may be more in the way people like Shakespeare and
Goethe used the term, than about ghosts, I may have written truth.
 Melmoth the Trickster

In the kingdoms of poverty I made a little experience. Those mysterious beggar-

prophets are often just rogues. Their trick is to attempt their move on anybody,
until someone falls prey to it. That may result in money making, exerting sexual
favours or the psychic vampirism, as we know it from Satanism.

Of course accredited importance suits our self-image better than realizing that we
stumbled into a social trap or failed in mind. It can really be an unpleasant
struggle. Yet the passing of time or other functions of this world of cause and
effect just don't seem to care, if we want to be smart.

Further, on Balzac, does this mean that aging criminals are seen as noteworthy by
the majority of readers? By the same majority of readers who would be target (or
even victims) to precisely those aging criminals they mind-tweak into charming
villains? Should one really be that naive, just because it is labeled a “great piece of
literature”??? I could call it misplaced meaning or context.

Melmoth for President ?

You are just another woman from elite university caught in a custom-crazed
sexist society. Yet than comes Melmoth W. Bush from Texas and makes you a
secretary of State. Isn't it, in a way not even meant disrespecting, quite a
possibility of the classics constellation? I didn't write exclusive or suiting on real
world persons!

If something is missing...did I fade into sleep? Semi-slumber! Those pages would be the
ones to check for updates
of my files, too. Best
Finding more of me (as given 2006) regards from Germany.
I found the two classical Melmoth texts legally gratis on the web (no pirate page).
You may, too? More of me may still be at www.e-stories.org/ or www.esnips.com