Oxymeronic combinations further emphasize the perplexities of human existence and by abrupt changes of mood and situations, all of them characteristics of the menippea, which does not supply direct and unequivocal answers. Sense and deeper meaning emerge, however, when all points of reference are combined to reveal firm coherence under the discordant surface. The menippea can only imply solutions. Its generic assignment is to pose questions, cast doubt on accepted attitudes, and to stimulate independent thinking, active responses, and new approaches to perennial problems. In the Nachtwachen these objectives are pursued with unusual erudition and an intensive intellectual curiosity that tests the limits of human understanding in all conceivable directions. By appropriating the achievements of literature, art, science, and philosophy, the work points to an author of unusual scholarship and vision.