Allusions In The Alchemist

The Alchemist is one of the works by H.P Lovecraft, published during his late teenage. The story is told by the main protagonist, Antoine. It’s a tale of how one of his noble ancestor killed a renown dark wizard named Michel Mauvaus and how the son of the wizard, Charles le Sorcier decided to revenge not only against the perpetrator of the heinous act but also against all his descendants. He cast a spell upon them and all had to die at the age of 32 years. The narrator explains how all his ancestors had been dying at the age of 32 years some under mysterious circumstances to the point that he is the only one left. As he approaches 32 years, he ponders over his imminent death and this takes him to research in books concerning magic. However, he is unable to

The author makes a reference to the age of feudalism in the first paragraph: “ancient turrets, stained by the storms of generations and crumbling under the slow yet mighty pressure of time, formed in the ages of feudalism one of the most dreaded and formidable fortresses in all France” (Lovecraft 1). The age of feudalism is known for being the era of Lords, vassals and fiefs. The Lords were the most honored people in the society. From this description we can understand that by alluding to the feudalism era, the author intended that the reader conceptualizes the status of his ancestors. The family must have been a powerful one in the society and for it to have ascended to such a noble position the ancestors must have been fierce people. The fact that a mere witch’s son could cast a spell on such a family in the society is something people could not conceptualize. Perhaps, this is the same reason why the protagonist found it really difficulty to understand the things happening in his family. Allusion in the story is used to emphasize the status of the protagonist’s family before the curse