“E. T. A. Hoffmann complex” in the novel “Perfume” by Patrick Süskind

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse E.T.A. Hoffmann’s tradition in the 20th century German literature in terms of the novel ‟Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” by P. Süskind. The features of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s aesthetics are considered in the form of an ideological and thematic complex of images, motifs and stylistic techniques inherent in the work of E.T.A. Hoffmann (‟Hoffmann complex of German literature”), which manifests itself in a similar style (irony and grotesque), problems – the mechanization of human and society (realised through the opposition of ‟living” – ‟inanimate”, the motif of duality), understanding the nature of genius (antagonism of genius and philistine) and its relationship with femininity, the problem of violent influence on someone else's personality, as well as in the use of such an artistic technique as synesthesia.