E.T.A. Hoffmann’s «The Sandman» (1817): A Short Story of Thanatophobia
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Abstract
E.T.A. Hofmann’s short story The Sandman (1817) has been interpreted from various perspectives, which are all valuable and integrate one another. This essay suggests a further reading by identifying the death anguish as the main thread of the story, which even explains other motifs such as the double and narcissism. Only suicide as a drastic assertion of individualism can release the protagonist Nathanael from his thanatophobia
Keywords
- E.T.A. Hoffmann
- The Double
- Narcissism
- Individualism
- Death Anguish
- Suicide
