E. T. A. Hoffmann was inspired to write 'The Devil's Elixirs' by the scandalous novel 'The Monk' published in 1796 by the English writer Matthew Gregory Lewis. Like in the English original, Hoffmann centers his story around a monk, Medardus, who becomes increasingly entangled in crime and immorality due to his illicit love for a mysterious woman. However, Hoffmann expands this plot by incorporating the dark romantic motif of the doppelgänger in the form of the mad Count Viktor, a devilish, inescapable pursuer who repeatedly puts Medardus in deadly danger. It is only when the monk recognizes the erotic curse that weighs on his family that he can finally regain his peace of mind.