The Papillons were written during the period 1829-31, partly in Heidelberg, and partly in Leipzig. The work is not programme music, and makes no attempt to depict insect life. It is a supremely Romantic theme through which the composer expresses the duality in man, his inability to know himself and his fear of the Doppelganger, or his own ghost.
Papillons was inspired by the penultimate chapter of the novel by Jean Paul (Richter), Flegeljahre (The awkward age), of which Schumann did not seek to illustrate the text, but rather to recreate the spirit. He wrote: "The thread running through my Papillons will not be easy to follow unless the performer realizes that the pieces were born from reading the book."
In the masked bail scene, three characters emerge: Walt and Vult exchange masks in order to seduce the fiancée Wina. The first two characters thus foreshadow Florestan and Eusebius who are present in all of Schumann's work (see, for instance, the Davidsbündlertanze opus 6, Carnaval opus 9, Phantasiestücke opus 12).
Waltzes and Polonaises follow one after another: Dance of the larvae, Walt, Vult, Masks, Wina, Vult's dance, The masks exchanged, Confessions, Anger, Revelations, Leaving in a hurry, Final scene and the brother's departure, The noise of Carnival night dies down, The steeple clock strikes six.