Literary Analysis: the Sand-Man

Literary Analysis: The Sand-Man Nathanael’s inability to see through deceptive appearances in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s short story The Sand-man is prevalent and is also integral to the story’s characterization. Hoffmann purposely grants his more intelligent characters the perception to see through these deceptive appearances, and thereby claims that one has to be intelligent to understand others. Not once in the story was Nathanael ever remotely described as intelligent or bright. In fact, Nathanael acts rather stupidly on several occasions in the short story. He completely forgets the love of his life Clara after one night of dancing with Olimpia, he absentmindedly addresses the letter to Clara, and after he writes to his family, fervently believing he saw Coppelius, he completely changes his mind after one word from Professor Spalanzani. On the other hand, Clara and Siegmund are both described as intelligent. Hoffmann clearly contrasts Nathanael’s mental characteristics with Clara’s (Nathanael’s “mystic extravagance was in the highest degree repugnant to Clara's clear intelligent mind”), while Siegmund is described as Nathanael’s “smart and kind” friend. The first deceptive appearance in the story presents itself in the form of Coppelius himself. Nathanael’s description is so fantastical it becomes unbelievable - he has a “two blotches of red on a face the color of yellow-ochre” and “a strange hissing noise proceeded from between his tightly clenched teeth.” Also, Nathanael’s description of Coppelius emphasizes his young mind – “what we children detested most of all were his big coarse hairy hands.” The description builds up in suspense to a bold climax of what about Coppelius he feared most – and it turns out to be a childish irrational fear. This immature view of Coppelius adds unreliability to the description, and forces the reader to automatically be skeptical of Nathanael’s judgment of Coppelius. This skepticism is only further developed by the facts that Nathanael...