A magic pocket
Among the guests of Mr. Thomas John there was a man in grey who did not stop amusing Peter; all the things that any of guests wished he took out of his pocket, and Peter starts feeling uneasy, “indeed, almost horrified; but how was this feeling increased when, at the next wish expressed, I saw him take from his pocket three horses! three large beautiful steeds, with saddles and bridles, out of the very pocket whence had already issued a letter-case, a telescope, a carpet twenty feet broad and ten in length, and a pavilion of the same extent, with all its appurtenances”. Surely it is more sarcastic than ironic, but the situation adds mood of fun to the narrative.
Disappeared like a shadow
Few days after the deal with the man in grey Peter regretted for having exchanged his shadow for the ill-fated purse, so he pursued to find the stranger and get his shadow back. When the information came along that the man in grey was to leave the city Peter ordered his servant to find the vessel, but he could not and “the grey man had disappeared like a shadow”. The irony is that Peter’s shadow was with that man, and both the stranger and his shadow disappeared like a shadow.
An approved bridegroom
When all the truth about Peter Schlemihl became known, Minna’s parents were against their marriage, especially her father. He preferred to have Raskal as a son-in-law, because he had a lot of property and proved to be very rich; Minna’s mother said to this: “He must have been a prodigious thief!” “How foolishly you talk! he wisely saved where others squandered their property.” “A mere livery-servant!” “Nonsense! he has at all events an unexceptionable shadow.” “True, but . . . ”. Raskal really was a “prodigious thief” and his shadow was just a mask, but for people like Minna’s parents it matters more what is outside than inside.
