Washington Irving's short story The Adventure of the German Student is a warning against lack of balance, lack of reason, and enthusiasm through this, Irving also criticizes the French Revolution, tying it to the first theme to make it one he does this through the use of the literary elements of setting, plot, and characterization.
The first aspect of the theme is demonstrated through Irving's use of plot and symbolism, while the second aspect is demonstrated more through the use of setting and characterization. Ultimately, all the elements are combined towards the end of demonstrating the theme.
The protagonist of the story, Gottfried Wolfgang, has the traits which Irving warns against: enthusiasm, lack of reason, and lack of balance. One writer has noted that, Gottfried Wolfgang is an "enthusiast," one given to extremes rather than carefully expressed actions (Arnold). This enthusiasm proves to be dangerous to the mind, and leads to Gottfried's near-derangement. This dangerous enthusiasm, which itself, as can be noted in the previous passage, also results in his loss of both balance or reason, indicated by the fact that he is prone to extremes (which according to Aristotle, is the antithesis of balance), which in turn leads him to not take actions which are carefully expressed an indicator of loss of reason as well.
All this leads Gottfried to do certain things:
He has devoted himself to unhealthy studies, and they have made him into a kind of monster, a "literary ghoul," as Irving bluntly puts it, feeding on dead and putrid thoughts just as an actual ghoul would feed on dead bodies. Thus, the student is shown from the beginning to be of unsound mind, bordering precariously on the edge of madness (Arnold).
This is further reinforced by a passage from the story itself, where the narrator describes Gottfried as being of a visionary and enthusiastic character (Irving). This description of Gottfried, and the necessity to stop this before such enthusiasm destroyed him, sets the stage for what comes later in the story. Other writers have agreed with this. For example, another writer wrote, The "Adventure of the German Student" results from the derangement and the delusions that give us a horribly false view of the world (Clendenning 257). However, there is more to this than there at first seems.
The traits of enthusiasm, lack of reason, and lack of balance also were the traits of the French Revolution, which had occurred a couple of decades before the story was written, and whose effects were still being felt at the time across Europe, and even all the way in America. The French revolutionary governments can be clearly seen to have possessed the aforementioned negative traits. As one historian noted as to the state of the French revolutionaries, It was all carried by acclamations, amid scenes, in Barre's words, of delirium (Doyle 251). The thought process of the revolutionaries can be further shown by Doyle to paraphrase him: Terror was the order of the day and the revolutionaries were killing all even suspected of not supporting the revolution enthusiastically, out of an inflamed passion and irrationality (Doyle 251).
It now needs not be mentioned that the revolutionaries in France were radicals. The radical mind is one which has the traits which Gottfried has, and which Irving warns against. In describing the radical mind, a noted conservative philosopher stated that, in a comparison to conservatives, he does not have the inflamed zeal of his counterpart, the radical revolutionist, who thinks that he must cut off the heads of his opponents because he cannot be objective about his own frustrations (Weaver 77). In referring to the modus operandi of radicals, their use of force rather than reason, he notes that it is what makes the radical dangerous, and perhaps in a sense demented (Weaver 73). It can be seen that the radical is enthusiastic through these passages he also lacks reason and is in a sense demented. This and his extreme nature also denote his lack of balance. Inasmuch as Gottfried displays these traits, he is meant to characterize the French Revolution. The revolution epitomizes the disaster that can result from these traits, which is in part why Irving warns against them.
By characterizing Gottfried as an example of the French Revolution, Irving is able not only to warn others about having the traits previously mentioned, but also is able to criticize the French Revolution, as to warn about something is essentially to criticize it. Thus, this example of characterization on the author's part plays an important role in the story. While Gottfried is perhaps not a radical he nonetheless displays many of the same traits as the radicals which led the French Revolution. Still, he initially does see the revolution in a good light: The popular delirium at first caught his enthusiastic mind, and he was captivated by the political and philosophical theories of the day (Irving). However, his attitude towards it does change, which can be somewhat tied to the feelings of the author, thus briefly making Gottfried characterize Irving himself when he continues, but the scenes of blood which followed shocked his sensitive nature, disgusted him with society and the world (Irving). Finally, with the following passage, we are set up for the grisly occurrences which are central to the story:
