Meaning of the Eyes in the Sandman - Essay Example

English Literature – “The Sandman” (E. T. A. Hoffman) 2006 Outline Introduction A. Frequency of the words belonging to the notion of eyes and visionB. Meaning of the eyes in “The sandman” C. Eyes as a mirror of the soul of different people D. Freud’s theory about the fear of losing one’s eyes Conclusions Description. In this paper we will investigate the theme of eyes and vision in the story of E. T. A. Hoffman “The Sandman”. We will analyze the frequency of such words, possible interpretations and meanings. We will also mention some other interpretations of the problems of “The Sandman” by other researches. “The Sandman” by E. T. A. Hoffman, which belongs to the series of tales “Die Nachtstücke” (“The Night-pieces”), is often viewed as the introduction and one of the most vivid examples of the Germanic Romanticism. In this paper we will focus primarily on the theme of eyes, overview the main types of Hoffman’s vocabulary used in the story referring to the theme of eyes and vision, particular cases of the usage of these words, their meaning. We will also draw possible conclusions and try to discover author’s implications that are not stated directly in the text but can be read between the lines. Having read and analyzed the story, we can hypothesize that the words belonging to the theme of eyes represent an important and numerous bulk of Hoffman’s vocabulary, used in the story. Undoubtedly, the theme of eyes is one of the central ones in “The Sandman”. The author often refers to it as a means of characters’ description and representation of his own thoughts. In our paper we will overview the “eye” theme and its importance for the plot development on the story. We advance theses that eyes are viewed by Hoffman as a mirror of the person’s soul and a fear of loosing one’s eyes is associated with the fear of loosing one’s soul. In the process of topic investigation we will test the theses and search for evidences, which could prove out original idea. The results of the quantitative analysis prove that the words of vision are numerous and frequently used in “The Sandman” and that motif of the eyes in the leading one in Hoffman’s story. First we get acquainted with the topic of eyes in the letter of the main Nathanael in the description of his childhood nightmare. This nightmare was connected with the old nurse’s tale. “Eh, Natty,” said she, “don’t you know that yet? He is a wicked man, who comes to children when they wont go to bed, and throws a handful of sand into their eyes, so that they start out bleeding from their heads. He puts their eyes in a bag and carries them to the crescent moon to feed his own children, who sit in the nest up there. They have crooked beaks like owls so that they can pick up the eyes of naughty human children”1. This story exerted a dramatic effect on the child’s mind and became an apparent and ever lasting terror of the whole Nathanel’s life. He associated the Sandman with the strange- looking disgusting and evil fellow Coppelius, who used to visit his father, carried out alchemic experiments and was a cause of his father’s death. Thereafter the Sandman/Coppelius and the notion of eyes in various interpretations constantly haunted Nathanel during all his adult life and for the most part became a cause of his suicide. While reading the text we can notice a great number of elements, referring to eyes. These are the words like eyes themselves. They are used often to describe a person, reveal his/her real essence. For example, Coppelius was said to have “a pair of bushy grey eyebrows, from beneath which a pair of green cat’s eyes sparkled with the most penetrating luster”2 Clara’s eyes were compared “to a lake by Ruysdael, in which the pure azure of a cloudless sky, the wood and flowery field, the whole cheerful life of the rich landscape are reflected”3 Coppola had “little eyes darting fire from beneath their long grey lashes”4 We also come across the names of optical instruments: “spectacles”, “lorgnettes”, “pocket telescope”. The other elements referring to vision are words denoting various points of view (i.e. looking through curtains and windows, through a perspective, from a tower, etc.)5 So the above listed facts suggest that motif of eyes is one of the central ones in Hoffman’s story. It is used in letters of the main character to describe Coppelius, in his retelling of the old nurse’s story, in his recollection of the accident in the father’s cabinet, for the description of Olimpia, etc. From the frequency of the words referring to the notion of eyes implies the importance of their meaning. Let’s try to find out the possible meanings of the “eyes” theme inferred by the author. It’s a fact of common knowledge that eyes are the mirror of the person’s soul. How this can be applied to out theme? Coppelius is described to have green cats-like eyes. This implies a bad-willed, cunning person. Besides, his eyes are said to be penetrating and Nathanel felt as if this repulsive person can look directly into his heart. Nathanel associates this personage with the Sandman from the tale of the old nurse and fears him dreadfully. This character and his eyes appear in the most dramatic moment of the story and often cause Nathanel’s fits of madness. Some researches believe that the Coppelius/ Coppola character is even not a real physical character, but see it as a metaphor. They make a conclusion that the unity of characters of Coppelius, Coppola and the Sandman represent the dark side within the main character Nathanael.6 At girs, Nathanel poetizes Clara’s clear blue eyes, which reflected her rational and determined mind. But later Nathanel accuses Coppelius of touching “Clara’s lovely eyes”. And from that very moment every time he looked into Claras eyes “they flashed into Nathaniel’s heart, like bleeding sparks, scorching and burning”, “death looked kindly upon him from her eyes.”7 Particularly interesting is the description of Olimpia’s eyes. In his letter to Lothaire Nathanel describes her eyes as “fixed, without a power of sight.”8 Time after time, “it seemed to him as if moist moonbeams were rising in Olympia’s still and dead eyes; her glances flashed with constantly increasing life.”9 Although she is only a robot and her eyes are artificial, for Nathaniel they look like the eyes of an alive person with an intellect and sympathy in them. How could it happen that the eyes of a puppet became dearer and more humane than the eyes of his beloved girl Clara? The possible explanation to this can be that in Olimpia’s glass eyes he could see the reflection of his own ones. It was his intelligent and vivid eyes that he saw. And rational clear eyes of a bourgeois girl Clara predicted mental death for an intelligent and highly-spiritual young man like Nathanel. Clara with all the power of her rational mind could not possibly understand the fears and desires of her beloved. By means of this bourgeois girl’s character “with her enlightened scientific views” Hoffman tries to make a satirical critique of society of enlightened scientists and Romantic “hoverers and floaters.”10 One more possible representation of the eye theme was suggested by Freud, who connects the idea of losing one’s eyes with the notion of the uncanny. Here Freud makes use of the experience of the psychoanalysis. He claims that in all possible myths, neurotic delusions, stories and dreams the loss of one’s eyes is associated with a person’s fear of castration. Taking Hoffman’s story as the basis for his theory Freud explores the theme of the “evil eye”. He compares the development of the individual with the development of the species. Freud suggests that the child’s belief in its own omnipotence is not accidental. It goes back to the times when society has such beliefs. The theory is based around the notion of one particular organ – this is the eye. Freud says that the person who possesses the “evil eye” has the ability to castrate.11 Freud points that the extraordinarily “uncanny” atmosphere in the writing is brought to life by Nathaneal’s fear of loss of the eyes, his obsessive fear, which pursues him from the childhood to his death.12 Freud emphasizes that we can’t be sure whether the events of the Hoffman’s story are real or imaginary. He states that “for uncanny fiction, such ambivalence will become decisive.”13 In Hoffman’s story “The Sandman” Coppelius is viewed as the “bad” personage, who interferes and spoils all love relationships. Freud interprets him as “the powerful, castrating father who supplants the good father who first protects Nathaniel’s “eyes”14 According to Freud the castration complex, which is a part of our infantile sexuality, is revived and implied by the fear of loss of the eyes in this story. So, the uncanny as suggested by Freud and based on the Hoffman’s “The Sandman” is just “the return of something in our psychosexual history that has been overcome and forgotten” 15 So, we can drive a conclusion that the theme of losing one’s eyes is rather popular as it reveals latent fears of any individual. Though, different researches interpret this theme in quite different ways with respect to their field of study and their motives. For us the most interesting was the literary aspect of the story that’s why we won’t delve dipper in the subject and take into account inferences made by Freud. In stead we will support our original ideas that eyes are the mirror of the soul and person’s fear of losing one’s eyes is associated with his/her fear of losing the soul. In the process of investigation we also noticed that eyes theme became a leitmotif of the Hoffman’s story and provided a cohesive link for different parts of the text. We can also notice that the importance and the meaning of the eyes theme uncovers gradually, little by little in the course of the plot development in “The Sandman”. References FREUD, Sigmund. The Uncanny. London, Penguin Edition, Art and Literature, 1919. HOFFMAN, E. T. A. Weird tales. Translated by J.T. Bealby, B.A. Charles. New York, Scribners Sons, 1885. http://www.fln.vcu.edu> 8 April 2006. http://archives.digitalperformance.org> 8 April 2006 Read More