E.T.A. Hoffman

By: Chenoa Morris

A.K.A. Katja

Some Facts on E.T.A. Hoffman

Full name: Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffman (later changed to Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffman)

Born on January 24, 1776From Konigsberg, East

Prussia a very lively and cultural place

Map of East Prussia

A Picture of Konigsberg

Family History• Father- Christoph Ludwig Hoffman

1736-1797. He was a barrister in Konigsberg, Prussia

• Mother- cousin of Christoph: Louisa Albertina Doerffer 1748-1796

• E.T.A was the youngest of three children. The second child died in infancy

• Eldest son is named Johann Ludwig Hoffman

A Broken Home

• E.T.A’s parents get a divorce when he was 3

• Father Christoph moves with his eldest son Johann to Inters berg, E.T.A. never sees them again

• Left in his mothers care• Louisa Doerffer was said to be on the

edge of insanity, to live with her became to difficult

• E.T.A. goes to live with his uncle Otto Wilhelm Doerffer

The School Days• 1782- attended

reformed “Burapchule” school in Konigsberg where he studied the arts and sciences, as well as music, drawing, and painting

• 1786- close friendship with Theodor Hippel began

• 1792- Began studying law at the University of Konigsberg

A start in the working world

• 1795- Hoffman passes his 1st state law exam and starts work as an assistant in Konigsberg

• 1798- He passes his 2nd state law exam & was transferred to Kammergericht (Chamber Court) in Berlin

• 1800- In March he passes his 3rd state law exam & was appointed an assessor by the Prussian government & transferred to Posen (Poland)

Sad Times

• 1796- On March 13th death of Mutter as a result E.T.A. moves to Glogau with his god Uncle J.L.Doerffer

• 1797- On April 27th death of his Vater at Intersberg

Finds Love & More

• 1802- Hoffman marries Maria Thekla Michaelina Rorer-Tracinska, a young Polish girl

• 1804- in February he was appointed as councilor & transported to Warsaw

• 1805- in July his daughter Caecilia was born

A Change In Career

• 1805- E.T.A. becomes vice president of the Musikalische Gesellschaft (Musical Society), he conducts his first Orchestra

• Out of respect for the composer Mozart E.T.W. (A) changes his 3rd Christian name Wilhelm to Amadeus

Napoleon & his French army

• 11-28-1806 French troops invade Warsaw which leads to the demise of Prussian government & its courts

• The effect, E.T.A. loses his job

• Anyone who wouldn’t swear allegiance to Napoleon was told to leave the country

• E.T.A. wanted to go to Vienna but was denied

• E.T.A. is forced to go to Berlin

The near starvation years

• 1807- August his daughter Caecilia dies of cholera

• E.T.A. couldn’t keep a job• He had to borrow money

constantly from friends & family

• He was barely able to survive

& was starving

Musical Career Starts

• 1808- Hoffman becomes a music director in Bamberg

• 1809- his first weird tale is written called Ritter Gluck

• 1810- Hoffman becomes a director, composer of occasional works, stage designer and painter at the Bamberg Theater

• Hoffman also did private music lessons

Facts

• Hoffman was considered the 1st romantic composer

• He loved writing about the lives of musicians

• He invoked music in his stories whenever possible

• 1st to create unusual sound effects in his programs

• 1st to support Beethoven intelligently

His Musical Accomplishments

• 10 Operas which led to a dozen plays

• Vocal music• 2 Masses• Several Cantatas &

Motets• Considerable

amount of Chamber music

• 2 symphonies

Realization

• Hoffman realizes that he will never have a stable or long-term career in music so he turns to writing in the last 10 years of his life

E.T.A. Hoffman (the writer)• Key author of the romantic

movement• Considered the first flowering of

the horror & fantasy short story• Called the first Edgar Allen Poe

of his time• Had the technique of presenting

the supernatural convincingly• Hoffman considered to be a

favorite German author in Europe, Canada, and the United States

Job Security

• 1813- Hoffman obtains a secure position as a Judge in Berlin. He holds this position in the Supreme Court until his death

• His writings continue throughout

Famous Writings

• The Jesuit Churches in G• Nussknacker und

Mausekonig• The Little Zaches• Die Elixiere des Teufels• The Life & Opinions of

Kater Murr• Der Sandmann

• Der Goldne Topf

• The Nutcracker & The Mouse King

• The Devils Elixir• His last unfinished book

• The Sandman

• The Golden Pot

About his stories

• His short stories in which supernatural characters reveal peoples hidden secrets

• E.T.A. reveals the tragic and sometimes grotesque sides of human nature by populating their lives with sinister characters

Continued

• Hoffman’s fairy tales have been praised for their imagination, beauty, and idealism

• They are structured around clash of good & evil

• Also a contrast between mans ideal & his mundane existence

• He presents a view of a better world for “those who have eyes to see it”

Der Goldne Topf• This story is about a magical battle between the

Archivarius & the witch. It involves the powers of the supernatural world running rampant through Dresden.

• Critics agree that The Golden Pot is Hoffman’s best story written

• E.T.A. considers it to be the best as well. While working on this story he wrote “God grant me to finish the story as I have begun it. I have never done anything better; everything else is still & lifeless compared to it”

Some more stories

• Der Sandman(The Sandman) written in 1817 is a tale surrounding a young man Nathaniel in which he believes a salesman he encounters is a gruesome childhood fairy tale character come to life

• Die Automate(Automata) written in 1814 is a two part tale containing a ghost story and a mystery about a robot

• Der Elixiere des Teufels(The Devils Elixir) written in 1815-16 is a doppelganger tale in which 2 characters identities are so intermeshed that neither can tell where one begins and the other ends

The Nutcracker & the Mouse King

• This story is popular in children books

• Performances of the Nutcracker are a yearly feature in many cities around Christmas time

• It inspired Pystr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet in 1892

View of the Nutcracker

E.T.A.’s Nutcracker Today’s Nutcracker

Some Book Covers

References of Hoffman in other fiction

• Robertson Davies invokes Hoffman as a character with a pet name of ETAH trapped in limbo within his novel Lyre of Orpheus 1988

• Andrew Crumey’s novel Mobius Dick also mentions Hoffman

• Alexandre Dumas referenced Hoffman in The Count of Monte Cristo

• Der Sandmann(The Sandman) influenced Sigmund Freud's theory “Oedipal Castration Complex”

E.T.A. Hoffman (his death)

• 1822 E.T.A. became ill• He abused alcohol and contracted

syphilis which led to weakening of his limbs, eventually this led to his paralysis

• Hoffman dies in Berlin at the age of 46

Written on his Gravestone

• The Life E.T.W. Hoffman• Born Konigsberg in Prussia

on January 1776• Died in Berlin, on 25 June

1822• Legal Court Advisor • Excellent In His Official

Position• As writer• As composer• As artist• Dedicated by his friends

A drawing of himself

Influences• Europe• Carl Jung• Sigmund Freud• Edgar Allen Poe• United States• Washington Irving• Nathaniel Hawthorne• Charles Dickens

Major Influence

Hoffman Lives On

• E.T.A. Hoffman was received and read with great enthusiasm in France & Russia

• By 1833 an edition of his works appeared in France

• 10 years later he had become the best known German Romantic

Die Welt Wird Traum, der Traum Wird Welt!

The world becomes the dream, the dream becomes the world!

E.T.A. Bamberg Theater

About the E.T.A. Hoffman Theater

• The theater was built in 1802• Named in honor of the German poet

and composer, Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann.

E.T.A. Hoffman House & Museum

E.T.A. Hoffman House/A Germany Attraction

• The E. T. A. Hoffmann Haus in Bamberg is located on Schillerplatz. This house was the former home of the man, who became one of the main people involved in the Romantic movement. This house is a museum to Hoffmann and his works, with many of his writings and memorabilia on display.

Works Cited

• http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hoffman.htm• http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/w

eekly/aa083000a.htm• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._T._A._Hoffma

n• http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/37

32/hoffm-zeittafel.html• http://www.agermanyattraction.com/