Re-Imaging the Fantastic: E. T. A. Hoffmann's "The Story of the Lost Reflection"

Abstract

During the nineteenth century, the mirror, which had been revered for centuries as an object of fascination, assumed a distinct role as an icon of bourgeois selfconsciousness. Its importance as a symbol of middle-class prosperity made it a staple in every respectable household in Europe; as both an art object and a functional fixture, the mirror suggested the desire of the middle class to acquire cultural breeding and elegance but also emphasized bourgeois practicality and the fascination with the self. Given the importance of the mirror as a marker of good taste and an elevated social standing, it is not surprising that it forms the centerpiece of E. T. A. Hoffmann's Geschichte vom verlorenen Spiegelbild Story of the Lost Reflection, 1815),1 which addresses, like most of the authors works, the interplay between the fantastic world of art and mundane bourgeois existence. This work, a typical Hoffmannesque Fantasiestuck (fantasy piece), traditionally has been read as an allegory of the authors divided existence as artist and civil servant, in which the lost mirror image signifies the artist's pact with the Devil and the inherently immoral quality of an vis-a-vis middle-class mores. Upon closer examination of the mirror's function in this work, however, it becomes clear that the enlivened image is neither the uncanny embodiment of the artist's imagination nor the corporeal expression of his guilt. On the contrary, it is the icon of the bourgeois values to which Erasmus Spikher, the artist figure, is inextricably connected. mirror, the apparent embodiment of the fantastic in this story, represents, in fact, bourgeois convention and signifies the intricate connection between the fantastic and the everyday that forms the foundation of Hoffmann's work. Indeed, the story, and in particular the detached mirror image, can be (re)read, not as an assessment of the questionable moral value of romantic art, but instead as the necessity of the bourgeois Allfag (everyday) as a prerequisite for aesthetic creativity. The Devil cannot write such devilish stuff.2 With these words Heinrich Heine summarizes the predominant views of E. T. A. Hoffmann as the quintessential author of German gothic literature, whose tales exposing the supernatural forces of the world and the sinister side of human nature historically have been linked to the eccentric character of the author himself. These views draw not directly from the historical personage of E. T. A. Hoffmann but rather more significantly from the dark tenor and unusual figures in the disturbing tales for which he is renowned, such as Der Sandmann (The Sandman, 1816), Der Majorat (The Entail, 1817), Dos Fraulein van Scuderi (Madamoiselle de Scuderi, 1819), and Die Brautwahl (The Choice of a Bride, 1820).3 Although the majority of Hoffmann's fairy tales and fantastic stories were received favorably by a sizable readership upon publication, many of Hoffmann's contemporaries criticized the works in which he highlighted criminality, madness, or the dark aspects of human nature for their hideous, confused, and deranged quality, and they subsequently ascribed these qualities to the author himself.4 Other widespread perceptions of the author included images of the quixotic musician who feverishly composed by night, the romantic poet torn between reality and fantasy, and the sardonic critic of middle-class philistinism and bureaucracy whose works were consequently censored. Rahel Varnhagen von Ense (1771-1833) summarized the mixed reception of Hoffmann's works upon publication and her own dubious view of the author when she wrote: Such is the grand pleasure-of Hoffmann. And long live the author cries the German reading public. Utterly beyond comprehension (qtd. in McGlathery 22). In keeping with the mixed reviews Hoffmann's writing inspired during the nineteenth century, his works have received a varied reception among literary scholars to the present, enjoying greater and lesser favor at various historical junctures. …