Quicksands Literary Elements

Novel (Romantic tradition)

19th-century Silesia (near Breslau, which is now part of modern-day Poland)

The novel is written in the third person limited omniscient, with some extended passages in the first person singular when a letter writer describes an event or when a character, such as Herr Storting, describes an extended sequence of events from the past.

The tone of the first half of the novel is tense, because of the main character's struggle to conceal his true identity without breaking the law or telling a lie. The tension gradually builds as Egon begins to see the effect his behavior has had on others, and as he starts to understand just how badly he has conducted himself.

Egon von Ernau, a misguided young nobleman, is the main protagonist. The main antagonist is Albrecht von Osternau, a jaded and self-absorbed man who has money trouble due to his gambling habit.

The first major conflict in the novel revolves around the fact that Egon, while disguised as someone else, is gradually learning how his behavior has affected others and what he must do to be a good person. The young woman he is beginning to love despises deception.

The climax of the novel occurs when Elise, who has taken refuge with the von Wangen family, decides to leave to accept employment as a governess to support herself and her mother. She is aware that Egon is not really Pigglewitch and that he is the owner of a nearby estate, yet she does not wish to be the recipient of charity. She is unaware of Egon's feelings for her, and Bertha has been deliberately doing her best to keep the two apart.

Egon's decision to use Lieschen as a moral compass foreshadows his deepening feelings and love for her later.

A fall from the Dombrowker pass is described as "no joke", when the accident killed the driver.

There are several Biblical allusions throughout the novel, particularly from Pigglewitch, however Egon's discussion of his return from the dead is an allusion to the Lazarus story from the Bible.

Blonde hair and blue eyes are features Egon associates with moral rectitude, simply because they belong to Lieschen.

Elise despises Egon based on his reputation, and through her instruction Egon learns how to be a better person. He has received this insight only because he was pretending to be someone he was not; paradoxically he cannot act on this insight because there's nothing Elise despises quite so much as deception.

Pigglewitch's descent into financial ruin parallels Albrecht's, and both are caused by compulsive gambling.

The 'Change, or stock exchange, is used to represent the gossip of all Berlin.

Herr Storting personifies loyalty. He acts selflessly to rescue the von Osternaus from the fire, and he works as hard as he can to bring Albrecht to justice, even at the cost of his own livelihood.