Are Friends Electric

 

             

"The Sandman" (German: Der Sandmann) is a short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann. It was first published in the 1816 book of stories Night Pieces. It is a story of mistaken identity resulting from the love affair between the protagonist Nathanael and an automaton. It addresses themes of possession, hallucination, and breakdown.[wikipedia]

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The story is partly a subjective description of the proceedings from Nathanael's viewpoint which, due to enormous psychological problems, is not likely objective—or possibly objectively portrayed. 

Hoffman consciously leaves the reader unsure. 

In this, the interpretation from an Enlightenment perspective makes sense against the Romantic view, whereby Clara represents the enlightenment and Nathanael the Romantics.

Of central importance is the "eyes" theme (interpreted by Freud in his 1919 essay "The Uncanny" as fear of castration), the "steps", the robot, and laughing.

 Hoffmann, well known for not conforming to society, manages to give a satirical critique of society here, which offers a lesson to both Enlightened scientists and Romantic "hoverers and floaters".

^[6] Freud's psychoanalytic interpretation emphasizes that the uncanny is an aesthetic experience evoked for all by the text.^[7] Thus, a reading of this text with attention to the uncanny opens up aesthetic theory to include the mixed positive and negative aesthetic pleasures