Edgar Allan Poe - Metzengerstein
Metzengerstein
Edgar Allan Poe
Descrição
The story, told from an unnamed third-person narrator, takes place in Hungary at an unspecified date. There is a rivalry between two wealthy families—the Metzengersteins and the Berlifitzings—which is so old that no one knows how far back it dates. The narrator states that its origin appears to rely on an "ancient" prophecy: "A lofty name shall have a fearful fall when, as the rider over his horse, the mortality of Metzengerstein shall triumph over the immortality of Berlifitzing."
Frederick, Baron of Metzengerstein, is orphaned at a young age, inheriting the family fortune at age 18 (though the age changes throughout its many re-publications). Equipped with enormous wealth and power, he begins to exhibit particularly cruel behavior. Four days after he receives his inheritance, the stables of the rival family Berlifitzing catch fire. The neighborhood attributed the act of arson to Frederick. Wikipedia