E. Hoffmann is one of the most prominent representatives of the era of German romanticism. His work is very multifaceted: in addition to literary activity, he composed music, painted. At the same time, his works are distinguished by originality, which makes his tales completely different from the traditional works of the romantics of the studied era. Therefore, this writer occupies a special place in the history of world literature.
Briefly about the author
He was born in the family of a simple lawyer and after graduation he chose the same profession. However, his studies and the subsequent public service greatly weighed him, and he tried to earn a living by art, but to no avail. The situation improved somewhat after the writer received a small inheritance. Despite the difficulties, he did not stop writing, but his works found no response from German critics and readers. At the same time, his works were popular in other Western European countries, in Russia, as well as in the USA.
Creation
Hoffmann's romance is very specific and differs from what the representatives of this direction wrote. Most authors approached the depicted objects and characters very seriously, glorifying the idea of ​​absolute freedom. But Ernst Amadeus abandoned these attitudes, introducing elements of sharp satire into his narrative. In addition, the author abandoned the utopian ideals of freedom, concentrating exclusively on the characters of his heroes. Hoffmann's tales are fantastic and mixed with horror, but, nevertheless, they are not so much scary as they are taught. The humor of the author is also very specific. The writer, in a caustic and very ironic form, ridicules the vices of modern society, for which, perhaps, his works were not very popular in his homeland. But in our country, he received recognition. Belinsky called him the greatest poet, and Dostoevsky was seriously carried away by his creations, moreover, the tales of Hoffmann were reflected in the works of the novelist.
Features
A characteristic feature of the writer's works was the close interweaving of reality and science fiction. But the latter is not perceived by the author as something out of the ordinary: on the contrary, he depicts it as something taken for granted, as the flip side of everyday human existence. His characters seem to live a double life: in the ordinary world and in a fabulous entourage. An example of such a fairy tale is the novel by Hoffmann "The Sandman". This is one of his most popular works, which has become a visiting card of the author. The composition is based on folk traditions, but at the same time, it reflects the realities of the contemporary author of the era. The fairy tale novel turned out to be so popular that its motifs are used in popular culture. One of the main storylines even became an integral part of the libretto of the famous French opera.
Composition
Of particular interest is the question of how Hoffmann constructed his narrative in this work. The summary (“Sandman” in this respect differs from other tales), unfortunately, will not convey the entire originality of the structure of the text. And she is very unusual. The author, as if not knowing how to tell his reader this unusual story, chooses a very interesting form of narration. The tale begins with the correspondence of the main character with his friend Lotar and bride Clara. After retelling the contents of the letters, the writer went directly to the culmination of the action and its denouement. This composition allows you to better understand the character of the hero, who fell into insanity and ended his life tragically. In letters, the reader gets acquainted with the complex and extremely controversial inner world of Nathaniel, who is in terrible turmoil due to childhood trauma: nightmares haunt him, and even all the bride’s attempts to distract him from heavy thoughts are ineffectual. In the second part of the story, the reader sees the hero as if from the outside, already knowing about his mental suffering. But now we see their external terrible manifestation, which leads to tragedy.
Tie
In the analyzed work, one of the best masters of human psychology in world literature proved himself to be Hoffmann. Summary (“Sandman” is distinguished by the dramatic and complex plot, despite the apparent simplicity of the structure), the tales should begin with a mention of the correspondence of friends, from which we learn its background. Nathaniel tells his friend a terrible story that happened to him in childhood. The nanny scared him with a tale of a sandman who allegedly punishes those children who do not want to go to bed. The memory of it was so deeply embedded in his memory that the child’s imagination turned out to be crippled in some way. The final blow to the psyche of the child was dealt after one terrible incident, which he witnessed.
In this work, the master of scary fiction showed himself to be Hoffmann. Summary (“Sandman” is a rather gloomy novel) of the composition is not capable of conveying the entire passions and complex internal struggle of the main character, the text should be read in full. But since we are limited by the scope of the article, we will do with an abridged retelling. Nathaniel witnessed the terrible death of his father, who was experimenting with one strange professor visiting their house. One evening, the boy spied how this stranger conducted experiments with his eyes, and after the experiment his father died tragically. The child is sure that the professor is a murderer, and swears revenge.
Plot development
In the analyzed essay, Hoffmann proved his mastery of portraying human psychology. Summary (“Sandman” - a work with deep philosophical implication, despite the presence of fantastic elements) of the tale is dynamic due to the rapid development of events and, at the same time, authenticity in the depiction of characters. In the next letter, Nathaniel talks about how he met an unusual physics teacher and began to learn from him. There he met a mechanic who looked very much like the professor who killed his father. The hero was preparing to take revenge, but the bride in a reply letter persuaded him to abandon gloomy thoughts that could drive him crazy. After a while, the hero reported that he was mistaken: the mechanic was just like a professor, and to somehow appease him, the hero bought a telescope from him, through which he began to watch his teacher’s daughter, Olympia, who turned out to be a very beautiful girl. In vain did the friends of Nathaniel assure him that she was very strange and resembled a mechanical doll (as it turned out later): the hero did not want to hear anything and, forgetting about his bride, decided to make an offer to Olympia.
Further events
One of the most controversial storytellers was Hoffmann. The Sandman, the analysis of which is the subject of this review, is the best confirmation of this. The gloomy coloring of the work is felt especially strongly as it approaches the denouement. The hero was unhappy with Clara, who turned out to be a simple and sincere girl, not subject to superstitious fears and false impressions. Nathaniel read her dark stories to her, but she did not perceive them, which he mistook for indifference and stupidity, while Olympia listened to the young man, not distracted by anything. Having decided to propose to her, the young man appeared at her father's house, but to his horror he found a terrible picture: the teacher and the terrible professor broke the doll. From what he saw, Nathaniel went crazy.
The character of the hero and the denouement
The author focuses on the image of the main character, a very impressionable young man who could not get rid of his childhood obsession. Despite the love of Clara, a simple and sincere girl, he still succumbed to his superstitious fears, which led him to madness. Unfortunately, the good inclinations in him were destroyed by a broken psyche that neither Clara's love nor the friendship of her brother Lothar could heal. In the final, the hero returns home and after a temporary improvement in well-being, spends time with his bride. But one day he again looks into the spyglass and again goes crazy. Almost killing Clara, he commits suicide. So, the writer’s popular tale is Sandman. Hoffman, whose book reviews, despite all the tragedy, turned out to be very positive, entered the world literature precisely as the creator of works with an unusual color and dark coloring, but with specific humor, which was noticed by many readers and critics.