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Hansjorg Schneider. Das Wasserzeichen. Zurich. Ammann. 1997. 279 pages. DM 39.80. ISBN 3-250-10379-9.
The basic idea of the novel Das Wassezeichen stems from a book titled Liber de Nymphis, Sylphis, Pygmaeis et Salamandris by the Swiss-born alchemist and physician Paracelsus (1493-1541). One category of the elemental beings alluded to in the title of Paracelsus' work are the water nymphs or "undines." These "undines" can obtain a soul by marrying a human being. The offspring of the marriage between a nymph and a human male are human beings with a soul, but they bear "watermarks" (hence the title of Hansjorg Schneider's work); they possess certain aquatic characteristics. Moses Binswanger, the protagonist of the novel, is such a water-person (Wassermensch). He has a cleft in...