The novel is set in late-eighteenth century Strasbourg, France, with Evchen Humbrecht, a tradesman’s young daughter, as the hero. Evchen is seduced by a military officer and becomes pregnant. The officer agrees to marry her, but an intrigue, instigated by his “friend,” leads Evchen to believe the lieutenant has betrayed her. Evchen, whose extremely strict father threatens her, runs away, gives birth to a child, and in despair kills the child knowing she will be executed, the punishment for infanticide. The novel is an adaptation of an eighteenth century play by the German writer Heinrich Leopold Wagner entitled “The Child Murderess” (1776).
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