The hero of this tale, Peregrinus Thys, the son of a wealthy Frankfurt merchant, resolutely does not want to “become something” and take his rightful place in society. “Big money bags and account books” disgusted him from a young age. He lives in the power of his dreams and fantasies and is carried away only by what affects his inner world, his soul. But no matter how Peregrinus Tys flees from real life, she powerfully asserts herself when he is unexpectedly taken into custody, although he does not know any guilt behind him. But there is no need for guilt: for Privy Councilor Knarrpanti, who demanded the arrest of Peregrinus, it is important first of all to “find the villain, and the crime will be revealed by itself.” The episode with Knarrpanti - a caustic criticism of Prussian legal proceedings - led to the fact that "The Lord of the Fleas" was published with significant censorship removals, and only many years after Hoffmann's death, in 1908, the fairy tale was published in full. Like many other works of Hoffmann ( “The Golden Pot”, “Princess Brambilla”), “Lord of the Fleas” are imbued with mythopoetic symbolism. In a dream, the hero discovers that in some mythical times, in another existence, he was a powerful king and owned a wonderful carbuncle, fraught with the power of pure fiery love. Such love comes to Peregrinus in life - in “The Lord of the Fleas” the real, earthly beloved prevails over the ideal.S. Shlapoberskaya. Fairy tale and life in E.-T.-A. Hoffmann