Tale-novel "The Sandman" (Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann): a short summary. "Sand Man": the main character novels

E. Hoffmann - one of the most prominent representatives of the era of German Romanticism. His work is very versatile: in addition to literary activity, he composed music, and painted. At the same time, his works differ in originality, which makes his tales completely different from the traditional works of romantics of the period under study. 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 the termination of training he chose the same profession. However, the study and the public service that followed it severely weighed on him, and he tried to make a living by art, but without success. The situation improved somewhat after the writer received a small inheritance. Despite the difficulties, he did not quit writing, but his works did not find any 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 United States.

Creation

The romanticism of Hoffmann is very specific and differs from that written by representatives of this direction. Most authors approached the depicted subjects and characters very seriously, glorifying the idea of absolute freedom. But Ernst Amadeus abandoned these attitudes, introducing into his narratives elements of sharp satire. In addition, the author abandoned the utopian ideals of freedom, concentrating exclusively on the characters of his characters. Hoffmann's fairy tales are fantastic and with an admixture of horror, but, nevertheless, they do not scare as much as teach. The author's humor is also very specific. The writer in a tart and very ironic form ridicules the vices of his contemporary society, for which, perhaps, his works and did not enjoy much popularity in his homeland. But in our country he was recognized. Belinsky called him the greatest poet, and Dostoevsky seriously took a great interest in his creations; moreover, Hoffmann's tales were reflected in the works of the novelist.

Features

A characteristic feature of the writer's works was a close interweaving of reality and fiction. But the latter is not perceived by the author as something out of the ordinary: on the contrary, he portrays it as a matter of course, as the back side of everyday human existence. His characters seem to live a double life: in the ordinary world and in a fairy-tale entourage. An example of such a fairy tale is Hoffmann's novella The Sandman. This is one of the most popular of his works, which became the author's calling card. The work is based on folk legends, but at the same time it reflects the realities of the modern author of the era. Tale-story was so popular that its motives are used in popular culture. One of the main storylines even went into 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 fairy tales), unfortunately, does not convey the entire originality of the structure of the text. And it 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 fairy tale begins with the correspondence of the main character with his friend Lothar and the bride of Clara. After retelling the content 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 to know the complex and highly controversial inner world of Nathaniel, who is in terrible turmoil because of a child's trauma: nightmares are haunting him, and even all attempts by the bride to distract him from heavy thoughts are ineffective. In the second part of the narrative the reader sees the hero as if from outside, already aware of his spiritual suffering. But now we see their external terrible manifestation, which leads to tragedy.

String

In the analyzed work, Hoffmann proved himself to be one of the best masters of human psychology in world literature. Summary ("Sandman" differs dramatically and the complexity of the plot, despite the apparent simplicity of the structure) of a fairy tale should begin with the mention of friends' correspondence, from which we learn its background. Nathaniel tells his friend the terrible story that happened to him in his childhood. Nanny frightened him with a fairy tale about a sand man who allegedly punishes those children who do not want to go to bed. Memories of this were so deeply embedded in his memory that the child's imagination was in some way crippled. The final blow to the child's psyche was caused after one terrible incident, which he witnessed.

In this work, Hoffmann proved himself to be the master of scary fiction. The summary ("The Sand Man" is a rather gloomy short story) of the work is not able to convey the whole intensity of passions and the complex internal struggle of the main character, the text should be read completely. But since we are limited to the scope of the article, we will manage with a shortened retelling. Nathaniel witnessed the terrible death of his father, who conducted experiments with one strange professor who visited their house. One evening the boy saw how this stranger was conducting experiments with his eyes, and after the experiment his father died tragically. The child is sure that the professor is a murderer, and swears to take revenge.

The development of the plot

In the analyzed work Hoffmann proved his skill in depicting human psychology. The summary ("The Sand Man" - a work with a deep philosophical overtones, despite the presence of fantastic elements) of the fairy tale is dynamic due to the rapid development of events and at the same time the authenticity in the depiction of characters. In the next letter, Nathaniel tells how he met an unusual teacher in physics and began to study with him. There he met a mechanic who was very much like a professor who killed his father. The hero was preparing to take revenge, but the bride in the return letter persuaded him to give up gloomy thoughts that could drive him crazy. After some time, the hero reported that he was mistaken: the mechanic was just like a professor, and to somehow appease him, the hero bought from him a telescope through which he began to watch his teacher's daughter, Olympia, who turned out to be a very beautiful girl. In vain, Nathaniel's friends assured him that she was very strange and resembled a mechanical doll (and so it turned out later): the hero did not want to hear anything and, forgetting about his bride, decided to make Olympia an offer.

Further events

One of the most controversial storytellers was Hoffmann. The "Sand Man", 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 we approach the denouement. The hero was dissatisfied with Clara, who turned out to be a simple and sincere girl, not subject to superstitious fears and false impressions. Nathaniel read her grim stories to her, but she did not perceive them, which he took for indifference and stupidity, while Olympia listened to the young man, not distracted by anything. Deciding to make her an offer, the young man came into the house to her father, but to his horror found a terrible picture: the teacher with a terrible professor broke the doll. From what he saw, Nathaniel went insane.

Character of the hero and 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 for Clara, the girl simple and sincere, he still succumbed to his superstitious fears, which led him to insanity. Unfortunately, the good makings in him were destroyed by a broken psyche, which could not be cured either by Clara's love, or by the friendship of her brother Lothar. In the final, the hero returns home and, after a temporary improvement in his state of health, spends his time with his bride. But one day he looks again into the telescope and again goes insane. After almost killing Clara, he ends his life by suicide. So, the popular fairy tale of the writer is "Sandman". Hoffmann, whose 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 gloomy coloring, but with a specific humor that was noticed by many readers and critics.