The Robbers

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

6782

Title

The Robbers

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Friedrich Schiller's 'The Robbers' presents a dramatic narrative exploring the inner workings of the soul through extreme characters. Blending tragedy with moral inquiry, it challenges readers to confront vice and virtue without idealization, offering a profound examination of human nature, passion, and redemption.

Summary up to 500 words

Set in Germany around two years prior to 1781, Friedrich Schiller's tragedy *The Robbers* chronicles the catastrophic descent of Maximilian Count von Moor and his sons into moral ruin. Following the murder of their father by his own sons, Charles and Francis, the family fortune is seized by Francis, while Charles flees to lead a band of outlaws. The play explores the destructive power of unbridled passion and misguided notions of power, as Charles's gang commits horrific acts including arson and murder. A central conflict emerges when Charles falls in love with Amelia, the niece of his deceased father and former betrothed of his brother. This romance forces him to confront a choice between his criminal life and redemption. Ultimately, Charles realizes the futility of using lawlessness to uphold justice. In a climactic act of atonement, he sacrifices Amelia to settle a debt of honor with his former gang before turning himself in to face execution. Through this tragic arc, Schiller illustrates how crime inevitably meets its punishment and how virtue triumphs even amidst darkness. The work serves as a moral narrative, exposing the deformity of vice while acknowledging that even the most depraved individuals retain fragments of humanity. By contrasting the 'good' shadowed by the 'bad,' Schiller aims to vindicate religion, morality, and social order against their enemies, warning youth against excess and demonstrating how Providence can unravel the most intricate perplexities of fate.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6782.epub.noimages

Local file path

data/epubs/pg6782.epub

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2026-08-19 19:35 UTC

Categories

• Classics
• Drama