Hoffmann "The Sandman"

Response to The Sandman
Hoffmann's The Sandman tells the story of Nathanael, a romantic poet. Throughout the story, eyes are of particular significance. In Nathanael's letters the motif of the eyes is recurrent and the motif is again highlighted in the latter part of the story, told by the narrator. In this essay, I aim to discuss the motif of the eyes in the story. I will begin with a discussion of the general significance of eyes and I will then go on to the more specific case of Nathanael's childhood nightmare, including how it influenced his adult life, finally I will discuss eyes in relation to the automaton Olimpia, whose creation was partly due to the eyes of Nathanael himself.
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