Alright, so let's talk about one of the most intriguing German authors: E.T.A. Hoffmann.
(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
He was born in 1776 and died in 1822.
This man's œuvre is incredible. He was one of the most prolific writers of the late Romantic era and as such, he showed interest in both dark, supernatural elements and a nonlinear structure of narration. He was also a talented musician, which brought him a position as conductor and contact with Beethoven. For this reason, he changed one of his middle names to Amadeus to honour Mozart.
His character gave the opportunity for much idealisation. While he worked as a respectable lawyer by day, he allegedly devoted himself to writing and drinking by night, thereby creating the image of an artist struggling with society that we are well familiar with today. While this is not entirely true, he did struggle greatly with censure offices due to his satirical caricatures. Important for the reception of Hoffmann as a person was in particular the opera "The Tales of Hoffmann" by Jacques Offenbach.
Some of his most remarkable works are:
- The Sandman, a novella detailing the descent into madness of the young student Nathanael. After receiving childhood trauma, he falls in love with a machine resembling the perfect woman. In this piece, the Sandman doesn't bring people to sleep. He steals their eyes.
- Mademoiselle de Scudéri, a novella about an elderly crime-solving poet in Louis XIV's Paris. When a young man knocks at her door, leaving behind precious jewellery, this leads to murder investigations. Hoffmann makes use of compelling psychological arguments that motivate the crimes.
- The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr, detailing the biography of the ideal artist, who is, in fact, a cat. Hoffmann approaches the Romantic era conflict of artists versus philistine citizens in a very modern, nonlinear manner.
And last, but definitely not least:
- The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, a novella. Yes, this is the basis for the Tchaikovsky ballet and the Christmas films. The idea of objects coming to life fits in with the fascination the dark romantics had with parallel lives and machines, as seen before in The Sandman.
There are of course many more stories, but these are some of the most influential. Many of his works can be found online in the original German as well as in translation.
