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Freud's analysis of Hoffman's "The Sandman" focuses on the mc's "castration complex" as a means of resolving the 'good' and 'bad' father figures in his psyche. Freud consistently misapprehended the accounts of childhood abuse his clients told him of, because how could the respectable burghers of Vienna who brought to him their wives, daughters and sons, be the same monsters who plagued their dreams, or the same men who paid his fees? ??

The Sandman is a nightmarish figure from the childhood memories of MC, Nathanael, & to what degree the characters Coppelius & Coppola are actually daemonic creatures or projections of Nathanael's fears, Hoffmann leaves the reader to decide. The most horrifying element for me was Nathanael's extreme narcissism, in which he was very much a pitiable victim as well as, ultimately, an abuser. There's lots of psychology to unpack, which Freud did, badly

Not *that* Sandman, but rather E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 gothic novella, being one of the stories from which Offenbach took inspiration for his opera, "The Tales of Hoffmann". It also provided grist for Sigmund Freud's mill, and this edition includes an extract from his essay, "The Uncanny", in which he examines the story from a psychoanalytic perspective. Sounds enticing! ?

When we read this back in school, I didn't like it. WAY to romantic, to much blah. Now that I've reread it after so many years, I came to like it. A lot. Yes, it's romantic. Dark and romantic, twisted. Just how I like it now.

I guess Hoffmann would be so confused now, seeing his nightmare is now reality. Poor fellow. But his book is still cutting-edge and visionary.

@TheAromaOfBooks #BookSpinBingo

Reading E.T.A. Hoffmann‘s The Sandman in English. It‘s such a beautiful country. I‘ll actually be there IRL next June. #backpackeurope

Libro molto molto particolare non trovo parole adeguate per descrivelo provare per capire!

When you go on a trip and still manage to buy some books 😁📚Do you do the same?
@Tsubame and @Sarah83 I found a great bookstore in Bamberg, they have a bunch of beautiful old books, I need to learn German!

Last night of vacation with a collection of transposed short stories. The book is not in the database... it's called "From Wahnsinnig to the Loony Bin".

So this was my year in books. I'm sure that I'll read a few more before the end of the year. I'm finding it interesting to see everyone else's stats. I'm particularly drawn to the least popular books section of everyone's page. I feel like I want to check them out and give those authors a little tlc.

The Sandman was originally published in 1816. I read the book through the Serial Reader App. Because this is a short story, I think I would have enjoyed it better reading it all in one sitting, rather than broken up into seven sections. Still, there was much creepiness in the story. I give this one a cautious recommendation, 3 of 5 stars.