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Markheim
A classic short story. Ity opens late one Christmas Day in an antique store, presumably in London during the mid 1880s...
Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson ( 1850 - 1894), was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of Neo-romanticism in English literature. He was the man who "seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen, like a man playing spillikins", as G.K. Chesterton put it. He was also greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling, Vladimir Nabokov, and J.M. Barrie. Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their definition of modernism. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the canon.
Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson ( 1850 - 1894), was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of Neo-romanticism in English literature. He was the man who "seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen, like a man playing spillikins", as G.K. Chesterton put it. He was also greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling, Vladimir Nabokov, and J.M. Barrie. Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their definition of modernism. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the canon.
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1885
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About the author
Robert Louis Stevenson
6,816 books6,937 followersRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
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February 12, 2025
Markheim se manchó las manos con sangre. Fue en un acto apresurado y sin haber tomado ninguna precaución previa, por lo que nunca contó con un plan B. Por lo tanto, tendrá que idear la manera de escapar inadvertidamente de la casa en donde cometió tan escabroso crimen, junto con llevarse todo el dinero sin levantar sospecha ni mirada alguna.
Con lo que no contaba, es con cómo su cabeza le comenzará a jugar una mala pasada, estando a merced de su consciencia, la cual busca hacerlo sucumbir ante la culpabilidad; pero esto no es lo peor de todo, ya que lo acompañará un extraño y misterioso visitante en el lugar de los hechos.
Este es un cuento bastante psicológico. Gran parte de su transcurso se basa en los posibles escenarios que el protagonista crea en su cabeza. Esto de verdad es interesante, ya que es algo que lo hace caer en la paranoia; e incluso, llega a pensar que se puede quedar atrapado en el lugar por alguna catástrofe o derrumbe de la casa. Su raciocinio suena exagerado, pero este personaje ya estaba al límite, cosa que este título sabe expresar correctamente. Además, el relato tiene la intención de armar una atmósfera paranoica y quizás hasta melancólica, pero eso no es algo que se haya logrado satisfactoriamente.
Por otra parte, debo destacar cómo se muestra un comportamiento con tendencias sociópatas por parte del personaje principal, ya que Markheim no siente remordimiento alguno por el anticuario: lo hecho, hecho está.
Acerca del final, me gustó. Está bien hecho, sobre todo si se analiza lo que podría representar. Para esto debemos tener en cuenta al misterioso visitante y sus diálogos, donde claramente podemos evidenciar cómo es que este ser logra hacer un cambio en Markheim; quien siempre tiene presente a Dios y siente aversión hacia el mal, aunque él igual lo ejerza y que justamente ese sea el foco principal de toda la historia.
Desconozco si aquel personaje sea el Diablo, un demonio o alguna otra entidad del mal, pero me da la impresión de que no es de naturaleza maligna, a pesar de que esté ideado con la intención de parecerlo. Su influencia logra que Markheim , con tal de no condenarse al mal que tanto aborrece, para que así también se mantenga alejado de las moralinas baratas.
Concluyendo, puedo decir que me agradó bastante que esta obra pretenda ser ambiental y sugestiva, pero a la vez, es una lectura que se puede tornar somnífera; recién cerca del final se hace interesante como material literario, para que pueda valer la pena de algún modo.
No estamos ante una lectura que sea muy atrapante o motivante; pero, gracias a su terminación y a esta del protagonista, siento que precisamente con eso se puede rescatar a Markheim como obra, por ende, le otorgo una calificación de ★★★☆☆.
Tampoco sé si Robert Louis Stevenson sea lo mío, menos aún si es que se ganó mi voto de confianza, ya que no logró convencerme con el presente relato; pero le daría más oportunidades con La isla del tesoro y El extraño caso del Dr. Jekyll y mr. Hyde, junto a unos cuantos títulos más, que se ven bastante interesantes en cuanto a lo que plantean.
Para otras reseñas de la colección Clásicos del terror, de editorial Planeta:
• 1) Historia de un muerto contada por él mismo, de Alexandre Dumas: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 2) El mortal inmortal, de Mary Shelley: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 3) La novia del espectro, de Washington Irving: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 4) El vampiro, de John Polidori: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 5) El cuento de la vieja niñera, de Elizabeth Gaskell: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 6) La marca de la bestia, de Rudyard Kipling: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 7)Markheim, de Robert Louis Stevenson
• 8) El modelo de Pickman, de Howard Phillips Lovecraft: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 9) La casa del juez, de Bram Stoker: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 10) La mujer alta, de Pedro Antonio de Alarcón: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 11) El convidado de las últimas fiestas, de Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 12) El Horla, de Guy de Maupassant: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Con lo que no contaba, es con cómo su cabeza le comenzará a jugar una mala pasada, estando a merced de su consciencia, la cual busca hacerlo sucumbir ante la culpabilidad; pero esto no es lo peor de todo, ya que lo acompañará un extraño y misterioso visitante en el lugar de los hechos.
Este es un cuento bastante psicológico. Gran parte de su transcurso se basa en los posibles escenarios que el protagonista crea en su cabeza. Esto de verdad es interesante, ya que es algo que lo hace caer en la paranoia; e incluso, llega a pensar que se puede quedar atrapado en el lugar por alguna catástrofe o derrumbe de la casa. Su raciocinio suena exagerado, pero este personaje ya estaba al límite, cosa que este título sabe expresar correctamente. Además, el relato tiene la intención de armar una atmósfera paranoica y quizás hasta melancólica, pero eso no es algo que se haya logrado satisfactoriamente.
Por otra parte, debo destacar cómo se muestra un comportamiento con tendencias sociópatas por parte del personaje principal, ya que Markheim no siente remordimiento alguno por el anticuario: lo hecho, hecho está.
Acerca del final, me gustó. Está bien hecho, sobre todo si se analiza lo que podría representar. Para esto debemos tener en cuenta al misterioso visitante y sus diálogos, donde claramente podemos evidenciar cómo es que este ser logra hacer un cambio en Markheim; quien siempre tiene presente a Dios y siente aversión hacia el mal, aunque él igual lo ejerza y que justamente ese sea el foco principal de toda la historia.
Desconozco si aquel personaje sea el Diablo, un demonio o alguna otra entidad del mal, pero me da la impresión de que no es de naturaleza maligna, a pesar de que esté ideado con la intención de parecerlo. Su influencia logra que Markheim , con tal de no condenarse al mal que tanto aborrece, para que así también se mantenga alejado de las moralinas baratas.
Concluyendo, puedo decir que me agradó bastante que esta obra pretenda ser ambiental y sugestiva, pero a la vez, es una lectura que se puede tornar somnífera; recién cerca del final se hace interesante como material literario, para que pueda valer la pena de algún modo.
No estamos ante una lectura que sea muy atrapante o motivante; pero, gracias a su terminación y a esta del protagonista, siento que precisamente con eso se puede rescatar a Markheim como obra, por ende, le otorgo una calificación de ★★★☆☆.
Tampoco sé si Robert Louis Stevenson sea lo mío, menos aún si es que se ganó mi voto de confianza, ya que no logró convencerme con el presente relato; pero le daría más oportunidades con La isla del tesoro y El extraño caso del Dr. Jekyll y mr. Hyde, junto a unos cuantos títulos más, que se ven bastante interesantes en cuanto a lo que plantean.
Para otras reseñas de la colección Clásicos del terror, de editorial Planeta:
• 1) Historia de un muerto contada por él mismo, de Alexandre Dumas: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 2) El mortal inmortal, de Mary Shelley: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 3) La novia del espectro, de Washington Irving: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 4) El vampiro, de John Polidori: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 5) El cuento de la vieja niñera, de Elizabeth Gaskell: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 6) La marca de la bestia, de Rudyard Kipling: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 7)
• 8) El modelo de Pickman, de Howard Phillips Lovecraft: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 9) La casa del juez, de Bram Stoker: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 10) La mujer alta, de Pedro Antonio de Alarcón: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 11) El convidado de las últimas fiestas, de Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• 12) El Horla, de Guy de Maupassant: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
February 6, 2018
He judged it more prudent to confront than to flee from these considerations; looking the more hardily in the dead face, bending his mind to realise the nature and greatness of his crime. So little a while ago that face had moved with every change of sentiment, that pale mouth had spoken, that body had been all on fire with governable energies; and now, by his act, that piece of life had been arrested, as the horologist, with interjected finger, arrests the beating of the clock. So he reasoned in vain; he could rise to no more remorseful consciousness; the same heart which had shuddered before the painted effigies of crime looked on its reality unmoved. At best, he felt a gleam of pity for one who had been endowed in vain with all those faculties that can make the world a garden of enchantment, one who had never lived and who was now dead. But of penitence, no, not a tremor.
This was amazing. Robert Lewis Stevenson really delivered here in this short story.
Perhaps you tried to read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but couldn't get through it, it was such a slog. Perhaps you are looking for something shorter by RLS to enjoy. This is just the ticket.
Now. I've read books and articles which suggest this is about the same thing that The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is about. This is not true. I mean, sure, it deals with the fact that there is good and bad in every person (a concept Stevenson seemed to be obsessed with TBH) but this story is a far cry from Jekyll/Hyde.
Markheim comes to a pawnbroker on Christmas Day. The dealer assumes he's here to sell him more items from 'his uncle's cabinet' but he's implying that Markheim is stealing the items and selling them. Markheim is acting strangely. He claims he's not here to sell this time, but instead to buy. He makes up some cockamamie story about getting married and having done very well on the stock market. The dealer is dubious, but starts showing Markheim some items.
The first item he shows Markheim is a hand-mirror. This is the perfect time for Stevenson to go on one of his rants.
"A glass," he said hoarsely, and then paused, and repeated it more clearly. "A glass? For Christmas? Surely not?"
"And why not?" cried the dealer. "Why not a glass?"
Markheim was looking upon him with an undefinable expression. "You ask me why not?" he said. "Why, look here - look in it - look at yourself! Do you like to see it? No! nor I - nor any man."
The little man had jumped back when Markheim had so suddenly confronted him with the mirror; but now, perceiving there was nothing worse on hand, he chuckled. "Your future lady, sir, must be pretty hard-favoured," said he.
"I ask you," said Markheim, "for a Christmas present, and you give me this - this damned reminder of years, and sins and follies - this handconscience! Did you mean it? Had you a thought in your mind?"
Okay, so Stevenson is hammering home here the fact that Markheim finds it hard to look at himself in the mirror and sees mirrors as a reflection of a person's sins.
Then, when the dealer turns around to get another item for Markheim, Markheim stabs him to death.
Markheim moved a little nearer, with one hand in the pocket of his great-coat; he drew himself up and filled his lungs; at the same time many different emotions were depicted together on his face - terror, horror, resolve, fascination and a physical repulsion; and through a haggard lift of his upper lip, his teeth looked out.
So. Stevenson has written THE most realistic and accurate depiction of a murder I've ever read. Markheim isn't some hardened killer, this is his first time. So Stevenson devotes pages and pages of exquisite writing to his freak-out. He can hear the ticking of the clocks in the shop. He looks at the body.
From these fear-stricken rovings, Markheim's eyes returned to the body of his victim, where it lay both humped and sprawling, incredibly small and strangely meaner than in life. In these poor, miserly clothes, in that ungainly attitude, the dealer lay like so much sawdust. Markheim had feared to see it, and, lo! it was nothing. And yet, as he gazed, this bundle of old clothes and pool of blood began to find eloquent voices. There it must lie; there was none to work the cunning hinges or direct the miracle of locomotion - there it must lie until it was found. Found! ay, and then? Then would this dead flesh lift up a cry that would ring over England, and fill the world with shouts of pursuit. Ay, dead or not, this was still the enemy.
Amazing. Stevenson continues with the many, many aspects that come with murdering someone. Next, as Markheim moves through the room, he discusses Markheim's deep fear and doubts.
And still as he continued to fill his pockets, his mind accused him, with a sickening iteration, of the thousand faults in his design. He should have chosen a more quiet hour; he should have prepared an alibi; he should not have used a knife; he should have been more cautious, and only bound and gagged the dealer, and not killed him; he should have been more bold, and killed the servant also; he should have done all things otherwise; poignant regrets, weary, incessant toiling of the mind to change what was unchangeable, to plan what was now useless, to be the architect of the irrevocable past. Meanwhile, and behind all this activity, brute terrors, like the scurrying of rats in a deserted attic, filled the more remote chambers of his brain with riot; the hand of the constable would fall heavy on his shoulder, and his nerves would jerk like a hooked fish; or he beheld, in galloping defile, the dock, the prison, the gallows, and the black coffin.
Well, that's wonderful. No wonder RLS is hailed as a great author. He goes on describing Markheim's feelings and terror, and it is wonderful. He even starts hallucinating people at the window, a passerby witness... he's experiencing some severe paranoia. Stevenson once again describes and details the body, and how a dead body differs from a living one, and how it feels to be the person who has snuffed out all that life and all that possibility and all that future. It's very good. Markheim thinks back on a day when he went to a local festival and saw a display of many famous murders, and how sickened he was by the scene, how nauseous. Now he has joined them. He is a murderer himself, now.
He goes upstairs to find the money.
He's going crazy imagining he's not alone, people can see him, see what he's done. Anything might happen. He imagines wild and crazy scenarios.
But as he is in the upstairs room searching for where the dealer kept his money,
And as he sat thus, at once busy and absent, he was startled to his feet. A flash of ice, a flash of fire, a bursting gush of blood, went over him, and then he stood transfixed and thrilling. A step mounted the stair slowly and steadily, and presently a hand was laid upon the knob, and the lock clicked, and the door opened.
Fear held Markheim in a vice. What to expect he knew not, whether the dead man walking, or the official ministers of human justice, or some chance witness blindly stumbling in to consign him to the gallows.
Who is coming for Markheim? What will be his fate? Ah, I will not spoil the excellent and wonderful second half of the story for you, but let me just inform you that it is so great. Stevenson completely nails this story, and he doesn't make any missteps IMO. What happens in the last half of the story is also riveting and, like all of Stevenson's musings, full of messages to his readers.
This short story reminds me both of Dickens and Poe. We have shades of both here, it is wonderful, and of course it is uniquely Stevenson.
Wow. After reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I was feeling a little 'meh' about Stevenson. I mean, there were some WONDERFUL parts in Jekyll. But the execution was not what I had hoped, and the book wasn't exactly what I would call 'gripping.' But this short story grabs the back of your neck and doesn't release you until you read the last word. It's very arresting, powerful, and well-written.
As usual, Stevenson is obsessed with what makes a person 'good' or 'evil' and how aspects of both can live in the same human being. I guess this is why it is compared to Jekyll, but it is completely different and unique. I would not compare it to Jekyll, personally.
This is a nuanced, careful, compassionate depiction of a murderer and Stevenson not only realistically portrays what Markheim does and it's aftereffects, but then takes the story in a completely unexpected (and some would say bizarre) direction afterwards in order to illustrate the duality of human beings.
I'm saying this is a compassionate and nuanced portrayal of a murderer, but Stevenson is not sugarcoating it or letting Markheim off the hook here. Absolutely what he did was evil, and Stevenson is not trying to justify the murder here. He brushes aside Markheim's insistence that But on the other hand, he portrays Markheim as a person - with feelings, doubts, fears, and desperation. It's excellently done.
TL;DR - Stevenson knocks it out of the park with this short story. If you can't swallow his longer works or struggle with old-fashioned writing styles, give this a try. It's also deeply psychological and well-crafted. Stevenson is a great author, and I think this short, condensed format really gives him the means to shine. He does an amazing job of delivering his messages and ideas without being preachy or overly sentimental, no mean feat. You probably could analyze and re-analyze this a dozen different ways and it would be an interesting short story for a discussion group or class.
This was amazing. Robert Lewis Stevenson really delivered here in this short story.
Perhaps you tried to read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but couldn't get through it, it was such a slog. Perhaps you are looking for something shorter by RLS to enjoy. This is just the ticket.
Now. I've read books and articles which suggest this is about the same thing that The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is about. This is not true. I mean, sure, it deals with the fact that there is good and bad in every person (a concept Stevenson seemed to be obsessed with TBH) but this story is a far cry from Jekyll/Hyde.
Markheim comes to a pawnbroker on Christmas Day. The dealer assumes he's here to sell him more items from 'his uncle's cabinet' but he's implying that Markheim is stealing the items and selling them. Markheim is acting strangely. He claims he's not here to sell this time, but instead to buy. He makes up some cockamamie story about getting married and having done very well on the stock market. The dealer is dubious, but starts showing Markheim some items.
The first item he shows Markheim is a hand-mirror. This is the perfect time for Stevenson to go on one of his rants.
"A glass," he said hoarsely, and then paused, and repeated it more clearly. "A glass? For Christmas? Surely not?"
"And why not?" cried the dealer. "Why not a glass?"
Markheim was looking upon him with an undefinable expression. "You ask me why not?" he said. "Why, look here - look in it - look at yourself! Do you like to see it? No! nor I - nor any man."
The little man had jumped back when Markheim had so suddenly confronted him with the mirror; but now, perceiving there was nothing worse on hand, he chuckled. "Your future lady, sir, must be pretty hard-favoured," said he.
"I ask you," said Markheim, "for a Christmas present, and you give me this - this damned reminder of years, and sins and follies - this handconscience! Did you mean it? Had you a thought in your mind?"
Okay, so Stevenson is hammering home here the fact that Markheim finds it hard to look at himself in the mirror and sees mirrors as a reflection of a person's sins.
Then, when the dealer turns around to get another item for Markheim, Markheim stabs him to death.
Markheim moved a little nearer, with one hand in the pocket of his great-coat; he drew himself up and filled his lungs; at the same time many different emotions were depicted together on his face - terror, horror, resolve, fascination and a physical repulsion; and through a haggard lift of his upper lip, his teeth looked out.
So. Stevenson has written THE most realistic and accurate depiction of a murder I've ever read. Markheim isn't some hardened killer, this is his first time. So Stevenson devotes pages and pages of exquisite writing to his freak-out. He can hear the ticking of the clocks in the shop. He looks at the body.
From these fear-stricken rovings, Markheim's eyes returned to the body of his victim, where it lay both humped and sprawling, incredibly small and strangely meaner than in life. In these poor, miserly clothes, in that ungainly attitude, the dealer lay like so much sawdust. Markheim had feared to see it, and, lo! it was nothing. And yet, as he gazed, this bundle of old clothes and pool of blood began to find eloquent voices. There it must lie; there was none to work the cunning hinges or direct the miracle of locomotion - there it must lie until it was found. Found! ay, and then? Then would this dead flesh lift up a cry that would ring over England, and fill the world with shouts of pursuit. Ay, dead or not, this was still the enemy.
Amazing. Stevenson continues with the many, many aspects that come with murdering someone. Next, as Markheim moves through the room, he discusses Markheim's deep fear and doubts.
And still as he continued to fill his pockets, his mind accused him, with a sickening iteration, of the thousand faults in his design. He should have chosen a more quiet hour; he should have prepared an alibi; he should not have used a knife; he should have been more cautious, and only bound and gagged the dealer, and not killed him; he should have been more bold, and killed the servant also; he should have done all things otherwise; poignant regrets, weary, incessant toiling of the mind to change what was unchangeable, to plan what was now useless, to be the architect of the irrevocable past. Meanwhile, and behind all this activity, brute terrors, like the scurrying of rats in a deserted attic, filled the more remote chambers of his brain with riot; the hand of the constable would fall heavy on his shoulder, and his nerves would jerk like a hooked fish; or he beheld, in galloping defile, the dock, the prison, the gallows, and the black coffin.
Well, that's wonderful. No wonder RLS is hailed as a great author. He goes on describing Markheim's feelings and terror, and it is wonderful. He even starts hallucinating people at the window, a passerby witness... he's experiencing some severe paranoia. Stevenson once again describes and details the body, and how a dead body differs from a living one, and how it feels to be the person who has snuffed out all that life and all that possibility and all that future. It's very good. Markheim thinks back on a day when he went to a local festival and saw a display of many famous murders, and how sickened he was by the scene, how nauseous. Now he has joined them. He is a murderer himself, now.
He goes upstairs to find the money.
He's going crazy imagining he's not alone, people can see him, see what he's done. Anything might happen. He imagines wild and crazy scenarios.
But as he is in the upstairs room searching for where the dealer kept his money,
And as he sat thus, at once busy and absent, he was startled to his feet. A flash of ice, a flash of fire, a bursting gush of blood, went over him, and then he stood transfixed and thrilling. A step mounted the stair slowly and steadily, and presently a hand was laid upon the knob, and the lock clicked, and the door opened.
Fear held Markheim in a vice. What to expect he knew not, whether the dead man walking, or the official ministers of human justice, or some chance witness blindly stumbling in to consign him to the gallows.
Who is coming for Markheim? What will be his fate? Ah, I will not spoil the excellent and wonderful second half of the story for you, but let me just inform you that it is so great. Stevenson completely nails this story, and he doesn't make any missteps IMO. What happens in the last half of the story is also riveting and, like all of Stevenson's musings, full of messages to his readers.
This short story reminds me both of Dickens and Poe. We have shades of both here, it is wonderful, and of course it is uniquely Stevenson.
Wow. After reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I was feeling a little 'meh' about Stevenson. I mean, there were some WONDERFUL parts in Jekyll. But the execution was not what I had hoped, and the book wasn't exactly what I would call 'gripping.' But this short story grabs the back of your neck and doesn't release you until you read the last word. It's very arresting, powerful, and well-written.
As usual, Stevenson is obsessed with what makes a person 'good' or 'evil' and how aspects of both can live in the same human being. I guess this is why it is compared to Jekyll, but it is completely different and unique. I would not compare it to Jekyll, personally.
This is a nuanced, careful, compassionate depiction of a murderer and Stevenson not only realistically portrays what Markheim does and it's aftereffects, but then takes the story in a completely unexpected (and some would say bizarre) direction afterwards in order to illustrate the duality of human beings.
I'm saying this is a compassionate and nuanced portrayal of a murderer, but Stevenson is not sugarcoating it or letting Markheim off the hook here. Absolutely what he did was evil, and Stevenson is not trying to justify the murder here. He brushes aside Markheim's insistence that But on the other hand, he portrays Markheim as a person - with feelings, doubts, fears, and desperation. It's excellently done.
TL;DR - Stevenson knocks it out of the park with this short story. If you can't swallow his longer works or struggle with old-fashioned writing styles, give this a try. It's also deeply psychological and well-crafted. Stevenson is a great author, and I think this short, condensed format really gives him the means to shine. He does an amazing job of delivering his messages and ideas without being preachy or overly sentimental, no mean feat. You probably could analyze and re-analyze this a dozen different ways and it would be an interesting short story for a discussion group or class.
January 26, 2024
Fairly interesting quick read about the struggles of good and evil. Robert Louis Stevenson never fails to provide an action-packed plot.
April 24, 2014
This was inspired by Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, apparently. It seems that it was a Romantic tradition to write stories based on previous works like this. I guess those stories are a mixed bag. In this case, the Dostoevsky is better.
Like Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment, Markheim murders a pawnbroker. While Raskolnikov does it to put popular philosophies of the day into action, Markheim does it solely for money. Both of them hallucinate and go a little insane after the crime (though Raskolnikov was already crazy before that. Rodion gets crazier!). We also get to look into their brains. Dostoevsky is up-close and personal in his narrative, and we see things in Raskolnikov's point-of-view. RLS is more aloof and distant - he tells us that Markheim is hallucinating and what he's feeling. We live in Raskolnikov but only observe Markheim.
I didn't know Markheim long enough to like him much. A full-length novel would probably be too much like the Dostoevsky. I didn't hate "Markheim" but I didn't love it either.
Like Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment, Markheim murders a pawnbroker. While Raskolnikov does it to put popular philosophies of the day into action, Markheim does it solely for money. Both of them hallucinate and go a little insane after the crime (though Raskolnikov was already crazy before that. Rodion gets crazier!). We also get to look into their brains. Dostoevsky is up-close and personal in his narrative, and we see things in Raskolnikov's point-of-view. RLS is more aloof and distant - he tells us that Markheim is hallucinating and what he's feeling. We live in Raskolnikov but only observe Markheim.
I didn't know Markheim long enough to like him much. A full-length novel would probably be too much like the Dostoevsky. I didn't hate "Markheim" but I didn't love it either.
March 22, 2017
Good versus evil. Which will win?
December 8, 2018
"All sins are murder, even as all life is war."
A constant battle between good and evil, human and supernatural, conscience and reality; a paranoia filled short story by Robert Louise Stevenson gives us an insight into the mind of a murderer - possibly a serial killer - who is having second thoughts about the murder he just committed. His guilty conscience is nagging at him, playing tricks on his mind, wreaking havoc on his sinful being and questioning whether he wants to continue the path of evil of redeem himself. The ultimate question then emerges: is he even redeemable?
"Content yourself with what you are, for you will never change; and the words of your part on this stage are irrevocably written down."
An apparition materializes in front of Markheim's eyes who tells him he needs to embrace his evil nature for he can never change and will keep going downward in a spiral. To which Markheim makes up his mind to stray away from crime and hands himself over to the police.
Fate versus free-will - and free-will at the end, won.
"Downward, downward, lies your way; nor can anything but death avail to stop you."
A constant battle between good and evil, human and supernatural, conscience and reality; a paranoia filled short story by Robert Louise Stevenson gives us an insight into the mind of a murderer - possibly a serial killer - who is having second thoughts about the murder he just committed. His guilty conscience is nagging at him, playing tricks on his mind, wreaking havoc on his sinful being and questioning whether he wants to continue the path of evil of redeem himself. The ultimate question then emerges: is he even redeemable?
"Content yourself with what you are, for you will never change; and the words of your part on this stage are irrevocably written down."
An apparition materializes in front of Markheim's eyes who tells him he needs to embrace his evil nature for he can never change and will keep going downward in a spiral. To which Markheim makes up his mind to stray away from crime and hands himself over to the police.
Fate versus free-will - and free-will at the end, won.
"Downward, downward, lies your way; nor can anything but death avail to stop you."
February 12, 2021
Short story of a young man going into an antique shop, killing the owner, and then suffering guilt. A similar plot line to Crime and Punishment save it leads to him having a conversation with the devil. The story was OK but I found the late 19th century writing style unwieldy and felt I was witnessing the whole thing from the outside rather than experiencing the man’s real thoughts and feelings.
October 20, 2017
"La mia vita non è altro che un travestimento e una calunnia di me stesso. Ho vissuto per tradire la mia natura. Così fanno tutti gli uomini; tutti gli uomini sono migliori di questo travestimento che cresce loro intorno e li soffoca."
"Il mio amore per il bene è destinato a essere sterile; può essere, e così sia! Ma mi rimane ancora il mio odio per il male..."
"Il mio amore per il bene è destinato a essere sterile; può essere, e così sia! Ma mi rimane ancora il mio odio per il male..."
December 31, 2022
Last book of the year. Goodbye 2022. Happy new year everyone!!
Hope 2023 is filled with the best books for all of you💕
Hope 2023 is filled with the best books for all of you💕
November 18, 2022
Stevenson knappe Reaktion auf Schuld und Sühne und die Brüder Karamasoff. Dem Titelhelden begegnet nach dem Mord an einem Pfandleiher der Teufel im Alltagsgewand. Der bietet dem Raubmörder seine Hilfe beim Auffinden des Geldes und der Flucht an. Der Preis: ein weiterer Mord. Das Ende ist leider sehr viktorianisch.
January 3, 2020
Stevenson indaga ancora il tema del doppio. Cosa spinge un uomo normale, che entra in un negozio a comprare un regalo per la fidanzata ad uccidere il negoziante? E’ follia quella che lo prende in un istante? Che cosa vede nello specchio che il morente gli porge, che all’improvviso lo rende diverso? E’ davvero diverso o è l’assassino il vero Markheim? Abbiamo un buono e un cattivo in ognuno di noi, come scegliamo quale personalità nutrire? Fin dove siamo capaci di spingere la nostra follia?
Grande Stevenson, come sempre, sia nei brevi racconti che nei grandi romanzi.
Grande Stevenson, come sempre, sia nei brevi racconti che nei grandi romanzi.
October 14, 2024
2/5
Not that engaging for me unfortunately!
Not that engaging for me unfortunately!
August 23, 2015
Confronting One's Darkside
15 February 2014
As with Stevenson's other short stories, the writing tends to be incredibly dense so as to squeeze a lot into a much shorter space. However this particular story takes about a couple of hours and involves mostly a dialogue between the protagonist (if you wish to call him that) and an unnamed supernatural being whom we are lead to believe is the devil, but we are never specifically told this.
The story takes place in a shop in which the protagonist is looking at purchasing some goods, however something happens and causes him to act in a rather peculiar way. Basically he kills the shop owner and then begins looting the store of all of its valuables. As he is in the process of looting the store he hears movement upstairs, and when he investigates he encounters this mysterious fellow and they begin to converse.
The conversation has a lot to do with the nature of evil and while Markheim attempts to justify his actions, this person debates him at every point resulting in him admitting that he is actually not a good person. Well, that is obvious from the fact that Markheim stabbed the shopkeeper and was planning on robbing him, but at this point he has had an epiphany. Basically he has been confronted with his inner nature, the fact that he is an evil person, and instead of hiding from it he is forced to confront it.
This is something that many of us have to go through, but in another sense many of us will continue to ignore our dark side rather than face up to it and admit that it exists. This has some very Christian connotations, though I would not necessarily suggest that Stevenson was writing a gospel account, or attempting to convince anybody that they are a sinner. However, in the same way that Dr Jeckyl is overcome by Mr Hyde, and his evil nature over rides his good nature, so to we see here with Markheim and the inner struggle that his good side and his evil side are having.
While it is suggested that this is the devil, the problem is that this is not necessarily the way that the devil behaves. To people who are committing evil acts but are justifying them, it would be counter productive for the devil to confront them. In fact the devil will want them to continue to believe that what they were doing was good. Further, to those who were damned, it is beneficial for him for them to remain damned than to confront them with their sin and have them turn around and become saved. As such the whole episode with this character as he devil convincing Markheim that he is actually an evil person despite Markheim believing otherwise is quite uncharacteristic of him. It is more likely that this character is angelic as opposed to diabolical (and remember, the person never actually says who he is, and it is left up to us, along with Markheim, to assume).
15 February 2014
As with Stevenson's other short stories, the writing tends to be incredibly dense so as to squeeze a lot into a much shorter space. However this particular story takes about a couple of hours and involves mostly a dialogue between the protagonist (if you wish to call him that) and an unnamed supernatural being whom we are lead to believe is the devil, but we are never specifically told this.
The story takes place in a shop in which the protagonist is looking at purchasing some goods, however something happens and causes him to act in a rather peculiar way. Basically he kills the shop owner and then begins looting the store of all of its valuables. As he is in the process of looting the store he hears movement upstairs, and when he investigates he encounters this mysterious fellow and they begin to converse.
The conversation has a lot to do with the nature of evil and while Markheim attempts to justify his actions, this person debates him at every point resulting in him admitting that he is actually not a good person. Well, that is obvious from the fact that Markheim stabbed the shopkeeper and was planning on robbing him, but at this point he has had an epiphany. Basically he has been confronted with his inner nature, the fact that he is an evil person, and instead of hiding from it he is forced to confront it.
This is something that many of us have to go through, but in another sense many of us will continue to ignore our dark side rather than face up to it and admit that it exists. This has some very Christian connotations, though I would not necessarily suggest that Stevenson was writing a gospel account, or attempting to convince anybody that they are a sinner. However, in the same way that Dr Jeckyl is overcome by Mr Hyde, and his evil nature over rides his good nature, so to we see here with Markheim and the inner struggle that his good side and his evil side are having.
While it is suggested that this is the devil, the problem is that this is not necessarily the way that the devil behaves. To people who are committing evil acts but are justifying them, it would be counter productive for the devil to confront them. In fact the devil will want them to continue to believe that what they were doing was good. Further, to those who were damned, it is beneficial for him for them to remain damned than to confront them with their sin and have them turn around and become saved. As such the whole episode with this character as he devil convincing Markheim that he is actually an evil person despite Markheim believing otherwise is quite uncharacteristic of him. It is more likely that this character is angelic as opposed to diabolical (and remember, the person never actually says who he is, and it is left up to us, along with Markheim, to assume).
February 16, 2019
‘Where is the hurry?’ returned Markheim. ‘It is very pleasant to stand here talking; and life is so short and insecure that I would not hurry away from any pleasure — no, not even from so mild a one as this. We should rather cling, cling to what little we can get, like a man at a cliff’s edge. Every second is a cliff, if you think upon it — a cliff a mile high — high enough, if we fall, to dash us out of every feature of humanity. Hence it is best to talk pleasantly. Let us talk of each other: why should we wear this mask? Let us be confidential. Who knows, we might become friends?’
All right, but spare me the overwhelmingly verbose language.
I enjoy philosophical debates, but I felt like a decade went by after reading this short story. The prose became a chore that a sluggish lethargy prevented me from finishing. Dostoyevsky's influence was too great, also.
Feb 16, 19
February 21, 2019
A (very) short story about a man who goes to a closed antique store. The dealer implies that when he usually comes, he is there to sell likely stolen items, but this time he wants to buy a christmas present for a woman. The dealer suggests a mirror, but when Markheim sees his reflection, he becomes angry and doesn't want it. When the dealer turns his back to pick something else, Markheim stabs him, killing him. A short while later a man Markheim thinks is the devil shows up, and starts talking to him, telling him what will happen next and his past - and they start to talk about good and evil. Markheim knows he hasn't been good in his life, but he still decides to the right thing and turn himself in.
It was ok. The good vs evil thing reminds me a bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But it's very short, so there's not that much to it.
It was ok. The good vs evil thing reminds me a bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But it's very short, so there's not that much to it.
February 27, 2009
This story was really good. It was about a theif who goes through an experiance that changes him and makes him takre responsability for his actions. I hope that doesn't givre anything away. This is probably my favrite story out of the ones a read of Stevensons.
May 17, 2020
Una lucha entre el bien y el mal. ¿Quién ganará?, Es una historia entretenida, no es difícil de seguir, es decir una prosa cándida. Refleja la responsabilidad moral del individuo.
Este cuento me hizo recordar la novela: el monje de Lewis.
Este cuento me hizo recordar la novela: el monje de Lewis.
July 10, 2024
This is a fabulous short story, very much in the vein of The Portrait of Dorian Gray. The first-person POV is very confronting, in a good way. RLS is rapidly becoming one of my favourite prose stylists. I do enjoy knowing the fact that he was critiqued in his day for having sentences that were 'too short'. Anything I could say about this story would be a spoiler, so just go and read it.
October 20, 2024
You could seriously get away with anything in the 1800s. You'd have to be a real idiot to get caught for a crime.
April 14, 2015
Markheim es un pequeño relato, que cuesta un poco clasificar. El ambiente, la visión del personaje principal o la presencia de un toque sobrenatural parecen indicar que es una historia fantástica de terror, pero lo que se presenta es un drama psicológico de primera magnitud.
El relato en sí es muy corto, poco más de 20 paginas en la estupenda edición de Anaya "Tus Libros: El extraño caso del Dr. Jekyll y Mr. Hyde" (en conjunto con la novela del título y Olalla), y me ha recordado poderosamente a Edgar Allan Poe, concretamente a "El corazón delator". Ambas historias giran sobre las vicisitudes de un pobre hombre que ha cometido un crimen y debe lidiar con su mente y su conciencia.
El protagonista está desesperado y mata a un anticuario para tratar de robar su caja fuerte. Con un miedo atroz por lo que acaba de hacer se obsesiona con el más mínimo detalle y está casi seguro de que ocurrirá algo que lo descubrirá. Toda la parte final es un diálogo entre él, y una misteriosa figura que se le presenta, tentándole e incitándole a seguir con su carrera delictiva.
Y el señor Robert L. Stevenson vuelve a tocar uno de sus (mis) temas predilectos: la dualidad del ser humano, en este caso, la de un delincuente de poca monta debatiéndose entre la persona en que se está convirtiendo con sus actos, y el tipo de persona que le gustaría ser.
Me quedo con un par de citas del "extraño": """El mal, para el que vivo y dedico todos mis desvelos, no reside en la acción, sino en el carácter.""" y """El pecador me es querido; no así el pecado, cuyos frutos (...) puede que se revelaran más beneficiosos que los de las más excelsas virtudes""".
El relato en sí es muy corto, poco más de 20 paginas en la estupenda edición de Anaya "Tus Libros: El extraño caso del Dr. Jekyll y Mr. Hyde" (en conjunto con la novela del título y Olalla), y me ha recordado poderosamente a Edgar Allan Poe, concretamente a "El corazón delator". Ambas historias giran sobre las vicisitudes de un pobre hombre que ha cometido un crimen y debe lidiar con su mente y su conciencia.
El protagonista está desesperado y mata a un anticuario para tratar de robar su caja fuerte. Con un miedo atroz por lo que acaba de hacer se obsesiona con el más mínimo detalle y está casi seguro de que ocurrirá algo que lo descubrirá. Toda la parte final es un diálogo entre él, y una misteriosa figura que se le presenta, tentándole e incitándole a seguir con su carrera delictiva.
Y el señor Robert L. Stevenson vuelve a tocar uno de sus (mis) temas predilectos: la dualidad del ser humano, en este caso, la de un delincuente de poca monta debatiéndose entre la persona en que se está convirtiendo con sus actos, y el tipo de persona que le gustaría ser.
Me quedo con un par de citas del "extraño": """El mal, para el que vivo y dedico todos mis desvelos, no reside en la acción, sino en el carácter.""" y """El pecador me es querido; no así el pecado, cuyos frutos (...) puede que se revelaran más beneficiosos que los de las más excelsas virtudes""".
June 8, 2017
Verbose, even for a short story. It's a multi layered tale, with a bit of philosophy, fantasy and psychology. But I think I must be quite a plebeian. I just want an entertaining story with a likeable, moral character, rather than a fantasised debate about good and evil.
August 18, 2009
This story is incredibly similar to Crime and Punishment's central scene. The only difference being that in this one the main character has a dialogue with the devil that is quite interesting.
January 26, 2024
3.25⭐
June 4, 2025
Foi bom, mas não percebi nada👍
December 10, 2022
Die Adaption Stevensons von Dostojewskis “Schuld & Sühne” in Kurzformat ist etwas gar mager, uninspiriert und emotionslos gehalten.
Beim russischen Pendant fühlte ich mich hineinversetzt in die Rolle, die Person, den Menschen Raskolnikow. Im vorliegenden Büchlein kommt man Markheim nie so nahe. Zuviel wird nur beschrieben, statt den Leser erleben zu lassen.
Drei Sterne. Abzug weil wegen schmalzigem Ende. Keine Lust auf ‘Ende gut, alles gut’.
Beim russischen Pendant fühlte ich mich hineinversetzt in die Rolle, die Person, den Menschen Raskolnikow. Im vorliegenden Büchlein kommt man Markheim nie so nahe. Zuviel wird nur beschrieben, statt den Leser erleben zu lassen.
Drei Sterne. Abzug weil wegen schmalzigem Ende. Keine Lust auf ‘Ende gut, alles gut’.
February 1, 2025
In questa novella di Stevenson, dove il protagonista si ritrova a compiere un atto criminale, ho ritrovato un po’ di Delitto e castigo. Una versione molto ridotta, ma con riflessioni esistenziali profonde, che mi hanno portata a sottolineare molti passaggi. E c’è anche la tematica del doppio, con dicotomia tra bene e male, molto cara all’autore.
Una lettura breve ma intensa!
Una lettura breve ma intensa!
March 26, 2021
R.L. Stevenson elabora este relato bajo una marcada influencia de Dostoievski en dos de sus obras: Crimen y castigo y Los hermanos Karamázov.
En este relato se toca el tema de la crisis moral y espiritual que experimenta un individuo tras cometer un asesinato.
Interesante.
En este relato se toca el tema de la crisis moral y espiritual que experimenta un individuo tras cometer un asesinato.
Interesante.
July 13, 2023
I love love love me some RLS. Novels, novellas, and short stories alike, he may remain the greatest of all time. But this just doesn’t cut it.
May 24, 2022
Feels like a prototype for Jekyll and Hyde. There are really interesting discussions around the duality of man and the presence of good and evil in every person; it is just far better discussed in Jekyll and Hyde.
February 22, 2023
super similar to Dostoyevsky’s crime and punishment. chill read.
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