The Uncanny Between Clara and Olympia The theme of the uncanny in this short story by E.T.A. Hoffman isn’t only associated with The Sandman himself, but with Nathaniel’s relationship throughout the text. Nathaniel’s admiration for Olympia shows us his love for Clara is just as lifeless and automated as the doll he fell in love with. The uncanny theme is introduced with the introduction of Olympia, somebody new that Nathaniel falls in love with, yet brings an awful sense of familiarity in an eerie form; the uncanny between Clara and Olympia. This claim can be supported by three different details that fall together to give us this fresh look at the theme, found at the passage at the end of page 14 and throughout page 15. Firstly, Nathaniel is …show more content…
But why? Did the pair of dollish eyes belonging to Olympia trigger a childhood fear? It’s likely, but it is also likely that he has come to a realization that has drove him mad. This realization is the connection to Clara and Olympia, the uncanny. The process of when the conscious and unconscious thoughts have clashed and emerged to become fully self-aware, yet unconceivable that it has driven Nathaniel to madness. When Nathaniel realizes that Olympia is a doll, it revealed to him how lifeless and mechanical his relationship is with Clara. Though he cannot seem to express the unconscious thought that has leaked over, resulting in this temporary madness that nearly killed Professor Spalanzani. Nathaniel’s love for Olympia was alive until he found out that she was a doll, representing his companion with Clara that has throughout their relationship. At first glance of this short story in the lens of the uncanny, the uncanny to many readers is the childhood memory and fear of The Sandman and his association with eyes. Through a second and more analyzed glance, the reader may find many other source of the uncanny, whereas my analysis indicates the connection between Clara and Olympia. This story is opened to many interpretations not just limited to the uncanny
...ile forms an image of her character. By comparing her eyes with marbles the reader can construct that Mrs. Merkle was expressionless and had cold, glazed hard eyes. For every instance that Mrs. Merkle is mentioned the phrase is repeated, in the last occurrence to excuse her from not crying for the loss of Mrs. Bylow. Wilson’s adaptation of a motif in her writing shapes the character’s conscience based on their emotional reactions to a situation.
In the beginning of “Barbie Doll”, pleasurable and unpleasurable imagery is given so that the reader can see the extremes girls go through to be considered perfect.
In Marge Piercy’s, “Barbie Doll,” we see the effect that society has on the expectations of women. A woman, like the girl described in ‘Barbie Doll’, should be perfect. She should know how to cook and clean, but most importantly be attractive according to the impossible stereotypes of womanly beauty. Many women in today’s society are compared to the unrealistic life and form of the doll. The doll, throughout many years, has transformed itself from a popular toy to a role model for actual women. The extremes to which women take this role model are implicated in this short, yet truthful poem.
In Der Sandmann, anxiety stemming from the contingency of the conception of blindness is merely interpreted as a substitute for the fear of castration. Correspondingly, Nathaniel’s fear of the Sandman removing his eyes is analogous to the removal of a definitive trait that causes irreparable damage to one’s self-image and character. Therefore, this parallel concerning castration emphasizes the significance of male sexual characteristics as indicators of power, authority, and identity. Contrary to the prior contention, this parallel also comparatively elucidates to the indignity and inferiority women are burdened to bear within society as a consequence of natural, biological developments of primary sexual
The level of detail the speaker uses in her descriptions of the visual images on her lover’s body suggests that there is
Eyes in “The Displaced Person” tend to be illustrated with violent terms. The eyes are harsh and very rarely are they described softly; Mrs. McIntyre has eyes like “steel or granite,” characters’ gazes often “pierce,” and “icy blue eyes” and other similar descriptions are common.
However, the easily overlooked similarity is the concept of love. This emotion is merely overlooked. Through this similarity, it becomes evident that love not only is something yearned for by humanity, but also a temptation so strong it can blind us to reality. This blindness can cause the pain of death. Love can cause people to do crazy things, and if you are Lieutenant Cross, even make you treat a pebble as if it were a tongue. Frank’s love for Mary Ann, as innocent as it may seem, exists as a love for a married woman. Love and lust are dangerous beasts, ones that we as readers must be weary of, for if we are not, we may find ourselves sharing the same fate as Frank, death by
Her lionhearted clothes reflected her valiant and strong attitude. However – Elisa Allen hid her true feelings. She was deceitful in interpersonal communication. Her tongue spilled bittersweet black smut like that of industrialized coal engines. However – it was compassionate, her concern and subtle behavior. A girl screaming to escape maiden life, but only knew it was disrupt order. “Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful. “The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy.” Verily, she had the heart of a lion and the appearance of a virgin.
In Shirley Jackson's novel "The Haunting of Hill House", there are numerous traces of the representation of the uncanny which was suggested by Sigmund Freud. In the story, the Hill House itself is an uncanny figure to the central protagonist, Eleanor, as it features as her mother which has an ambivalent nature as the meaning of the German word of `uncanny' itself. Moreover, the house also acts as a mirror reflecting her own image so that she can see herself by looking at the house, thus the house is actually an allegory of Eleanor's psychological condition and she is literally consumed by it in the end as the boundary between her and the house collapses. Besides, another protagonist, Theodora, is a double of Eleanor as she figures her opposite side which is her denied self and self-destructiveness while she also expresses the repressed feelings of Eleanor. These examples match with the concept of the uncanny which stresses on the uncanny effect of the `Doubling' and `Infantile complexes' . (Alison 32)
The unveiling of a piece of artwork symbolises the gradual revelation of the girl’s feelings. At the beginning of the text she seems to have no emotions, “Live. Survive. They’re the same thing” and “she thought the thoughts of a machine.” She is portrayed as robot-like and is not in possession of feelings or vulnerability. However, over the course of the story, she progressively gives in to her overwhelming, pressing emotions. “She took off her watch and bikini and lay in the sun” and “She ran naked down to the water.” This can be perceived as the beginning of the exposing of her emotion; her nakedness introduces a sense of vulnerability, a quality not associated with machines. In addition, the leaving behind of her watch reinforces the idea of the deterioration of her ‘robotness’. The watch is a symbol of time and regulation, the girl choosing to abandon it, represents her no longer needing to rely on regulation and control. By the end of the story, her true emotions had surfaced, “No, you old bitch” and “She cut through the water and filled up cold with anger”. She is no longer machine–like and automatic. This final display of emotion is represented through the uncovering of the artwork. The man whom is uncovering the piece symbolises the mother. It essentially was the girl’s mother who filled her daughter’s head with her “stupid, recurring statements” and as a result, emotion. Furthermore, the exposure of her emotions coinciding with her death implies that, although emotions are stereotyped as something beautiful to share, her emotions were engulfing and devastating. In conclusion, the disintegrating of her ‘robot-like’ armor is represented through the uncovering of a piece of artwork.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on A Doll’s House”. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. SparkNotes.com. 20 Mar 2011. http://Sparknotes.com/lit/dollhouse/themes.html.
Laura, our fragile daughter-figure, finds herself escaping life at every turn. She induces sickness in her typing class and even as the Gentleman Caller awaits her in the livingroom. Unable to deal with those difficulties, Laura goes to the zoo and walks aimlessly around the city to waste time. Frightened of interacting with people, she looks to her collection of glass animals as a place of secure acceptance. Laura clings to the fear that she is strange and crippled though she herself exacerbates the reality of that. Magnifying ...
Scott, Clement, Michael Egan, and B. C. Southam. "Part 1: A DOLL'S HOUSE: Chapter 17: An Unsigned Notice By Clement Scott In The Daily Telegraph." Henrik Ibsen (0-415-15950-4) (1997): 101-103. Literary Reference Center. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Unbalanced relationships in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House are shown through the symbolism of a doll. Characters in A Doll’s House live according to the assurance and pressure of society in the Victorian era. These unbalanced relationships shown through the symbolism of A Doll’s House is commonly displayed among the main characters, and minor characters, and can also be shown through social class. A Doll’s House is an empowering book that inspires women and educates men. The multiple “dolls” in A Doll’s House can connect to the audience on a personal level because there is a type of doll for
In the play, A Doll’s House portrays the fixation to keep up with appearances through the main characters’ actions and words. A Doll’s House creates a statement about the gender roles and social norms in the nineteenth century. Ibsen argues that individual tend to get sidetracked due to appearances, especially in an effort to please society. Individuals tend to focus on the opinions of others, therefore they believe that keeping up with appearance is important. Appearances can be used to masks or deflect various hardships and issues of reality. A Doll’s House depicts that not everything is how it appears. Appearance are not necessary, if fact they only hold people back from doing what is important and distorts reality.