Publisher's Synopsis
TABLE OF CONTENTS UNDINE: It is a German Fairy Tale story written, in 1811, by Baron Friedrich Heinrich Karl de la Motte Fouque (12 February 1777 - 23 January 1843), and published in English in 1909, translated by William Leonard Courtney (1850 - 1 November 1928. The English publication of 1909 was illustrated by Arthur Rackman (19 September 1867 - 6 September 1939). It tell the story in which a water spirit, called Undine, marries a knight, called Huldebrand, to be able to gain a soul. "Undines (or ondines) are a category of elemental beings associated with water, first named in the alchemical writings of Paracelsus. Similar creatures are found in classical literature, particularly Ovid's Metamorphoses. Later writers developed the undine into a water nymph in its own right, and it continues to live in modern literature and art through such adaptations as Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid." Undines are almost invariably depicted as being female, and are usually found in forest pools and waterfalls. The group contains many species, including nereides, limnads, naiades and mermaids. Although resembling humans in form they lack a human soul, so to achieve immortality they must acquire one by marrying a human. Such a union is not without risk for the man, because if he is unfaithful he is fated to die." SOURCE: WIKILIKS
