The Devil’s Elixirs by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Short summary

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Monk Medard is supposed to guard Satan’s elixir, but he fails the temptation and drinks it. Now all his basest desires come out.

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The novel is a fictional autobiography. The protagonist, the monk Medard, who is related to almost all the characters in the novel, knows nothing of them at the beginning of the novel and is admitted to the monastery after a happy childhood. He grew up here, and because he followed his path with dignity, he was given an important role in the monastery: he managed a relic containing one of the devil’s elixirs, which, according to legend, was left by St. Anthony.

Medard fails in his mission and tastes the devil’s elixir, which reveals his basest passions. The monk falls in love with the beautiful Aurelia. The elixir of Satan has a deleterious effect on Medard, and he commits one crime after another, even murder. The monk even tries to kill Aurelia, who has become his bride. Still, he repents of the crimes he has committed and bears the penance of writing a chronicle of his life.