Narrative «Teasing»: Withholding Closure in Hoffmann’s Elixiere des Teufels CHRISTOPHER R. CLASON O AKLAND U NIVERISTY Although the Gothic novel is often touted as a primarily English genre, it is well represented in Germany as the Schauerroman, especially by E.T.A. Hoffmann’s first published novel, Die Elixiere des Teufels, that appeared in two volumes in 1814 and 1815. While critical reception was largely negative, even damning, over the first hundred and fifty years after its publication, the Elixiere has recently enjoyed increased interest, somewhat parallel to the growing scholarly attention granted generally to the genre of Gothic literature. 1 Articles and book chapters devoted to this work have been appearing with greater regularity, as well as new editions. A long-awaited new translation into English appeared in 2007 (Sumter). While attempting to gauge the late Romantic reading public’s reception of the work, Wolfgang Nehring cites several, roughly contemporary examples in which readers express their delight: «In Weimar sah man dem Erscheinen der Elixiere mit großer Erwartung entgegen. Hermann Graf von Pückler […] bestellte bei seinem Buchhändler ungeduldig den zweiten Teil des Werks, ehe dieser noch vollendet war» (1981, 326). As Nehring further points out, even Heine, whose barbed wit painfully stung many a Romantic author, lavishes the following praise on the novel for the effects it had on him: «In den Elixieren des Teufels liegt das Furchtbarste und Entsetzlichste, das der Geist erdenken kann. Wie schwach ist dagegen The monk [! ] von Lewis, der dasselbe Thema behandelt. In Göttingen soll ein Student durch diesen Roman toll geworden sein» (326). Interest in the novel waned, however, after some less well-disposed critics began to weigh in. In England, for example, attitudes toward Hoffmann’s Elixiere fell largely under the influence of Walter Scott, whose comments damned the novel to relative obscurity for decades. In Germany, Goethe’s negative perspective on Romanticism, Hegel’s somewhat programmatic reaction to Hoffmann, 2 as well as the sober attitudes of Romanticism’s far more conservative successor, the Biedermeier, could scarcely support the wild extravagances of such writing. However, as Nehring points out, the public’s pleasure in reading Hoffmann never disappeared. It is most telling that the critically oft-reviled novel achieved the status of becoming the third Hoffmann work to appear in the Reclam Universalbibliothek CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 81 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 81 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56 82 Christopher R. Clason as early as 1870. Clearly, public opinion of Die Elixiere des Teufels reflects a substantial degree of interest and pleasure despite the objections of the nineteenth-century German literati establishment. Hoffmann’s manipulations of the reader have provided a continual source of fascination for critics. The Elixiere, perhaps more than any other novel composed in that style during the German Romantic period, offers a supreme example of how this author is able to evoke strong responses through such techniques as subtle communications and textual management. 3 Three characteristics of the novel have a profound effect upon the reader: a convoluted, fragmented, and disjointed plot structure; the evocation of fear; and a strong undercurrent of erotic energy. In this essay I wish to illustrate how the novel’s narrative interplay of especially the first and the third of these elements (fragmentation and eroticism) «teases» the reader on several levels, provoking her or him to heights of interest, agitation and arousal, but, again and again at the last possible moment, withholds conclusion or climax, and thereby forges a tense equilibrium between frustration and fascination that compels the reader to read onward in the vain hope of resolution and closure. 4 Disruption and fragmentation, marked by shifts and breakages in action, tone, character, narrative perspective and other essential textual features, distinguish the reader’s experience of the Elixiere from the outset (Becker 122). Almost immediately, the reader is struck by sea changes in atmosphere. In the «Vorwort des Herausgebers» the editor paints a clichéd and saccharine tableau of the monastery, the novel’s primary locus: against a sunny backdrop of tall mountains, shady trees, colorful and fragrant flowers and the frescoed, stone walls of the Gothic [! ] monastery, pious monks silently walk about, their gazes fixed upward as they perform their daily office of prayer and ritual. Suddenly, the editor describes his experience of reading the Medardus papers, despite the prior’s warning against doing so: «Eigentlich, meinte der Alte, hätten diese Papiere verbrannt werden sollen» (12). According to the editor, the papers themselves present «die bunte-bunteste Welt» (12), a very positive formulation in line with the previous depiction of the monastery. Yet, the editor’s description of Medardus’s life experience in this world, which the reader is about to share, is filled with qualities in diametrical opposition to what one would usually expect, such as «das Schauerliche, Entsetzliche, Tolle, Possenhafte» (12). There can be no doubt, however, that Hoffmann wants to involve his public as intimately as possible with the tale: as in many of his works, an editor draws a «günstiger Leser» (Elixiere 12) into the narrative, encouraging the reader’s identification with the narrator’s point of view in perceiving the events, evaluating them and responding to them as the narrator does. The introductory function of the «Vorwort» is thus fulfilled, not by CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 82 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 82 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56 Narrative «Teasing» 83 providing background details that enable the reader to order logically what she or he is about to read, but rather by acclimatizing her or him to vacillation, change, shifting directions and other deviations from the text’s logical forward progress. Before the editor concludes his «Vorwort,» he introduces two further images, apparently intended as metaphors to help forge the reader’s perspective: so wirst du dich vielleicht an den mannigfachen Bildern der Camera obscura, die sich dir aufgetan, ergötzen - Es kann auch kommen, daß das gestaltlosscheinende, so wie du schärfer es ins Auge fassest, sich dir bald deutlich und rund darstellt. Du erkennst den verborgenen Keim, den ein dunkles Verhängnis gebar, und der, zur üppigen Pflanze emporgeschossen, fort und fort wuchert in tausend Ranken, bis eine Blüte, zur Frucht reifend, allen Lebenssaft an sich zieht, und den Keim selbst tötet. (12) The image of the camera obscura, 5 like other metaphors of visual media in Hoffmann’s works, 6 provides a hint to the reader on how to read this novel, contributing to the idea of reading pleasure («ergötzen») despite (or perhaps because of) apparent uncertainty («das gestaltlosscheinende»). Most importantly, the editor indicates that things should get clearer («so wie du schärfer es ins Auge fassest, sich dir bald deutlich und rund darstellt»). How clear can the image become? The editor continues with a second metaphor, in which a blossom bears fruit and kills the plant from which it sprang. Although many interpretations of this «Frucht» are possible, each is fraught with problems when one attempts to understand it in relation to the act of reading. Interesting for my argument, however, is the fact that Hoffmann complicated an obscure, at least somewhat confusing and perhaps only tangentially applicable metaphor, when he wrote down not the word «Frucht,» but rather «Furcht» in the manuscript for the novel. 7 Could this be a mere mistake, or is it one additional element of Hoffmann’s less-than-gentle playing with the reader through a convoluted metaphor, which, in connection with other elements of the «Vorwort,» promises clarity but only delivers confusion? Following the «Vorwort,» the monk’s autobiographical narrative begins, and from the outset eroticism and virtue continuously duel for Medardus’s soul. 8 It is noteworthy that, to a far greater extent than in other works by Hoffmann or, for that matter, most other novels by German Romantics, eros plays a central role in the Elixiere. A number of female characters arouse Medardus’s desires (Steinwachs 43). However, eroticism does not come to the fore merely as base descriptions of either the eroticized body or the sex act, but rather primarily through the main character’s confessions of his affective responses to specifically three female characters: a sister of his music instructor, who awakens Medardus’s fascination with the female body when he sees her CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 83 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 83 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56 84 Christopher R. Clason nude; his beloved Aurelie, who is the primary focus of his libidinous cathexis, although he never consummates his lust; and Euphemie, the treacherous and scheming stepmother of Aurelie, with whom he shares a steamy sexual relationship before they eventually become enemies and he poisons her. Despite having engaged in sexual intercourse on several occasions with Euphemie, his association with her bears far less significance than either his initial voyeuristic encounter with the musician’s sister or his unrequited affair with Aurelie. Perhaps his passion reaches lofty zeniths because it remains unfulfilled. Since the reader’s identification with Medardus’s point of view is thorough and intimate, the ardor of the monk’s passion in these last two cases is experienced vicariously, but with surprising intensity. In order to illuminate Hoffmann’s techniques for controlling and augmenting the reader’s response through narrative, I would therefore like to examine two crucial incidents in which Medardus relates significant, albeit unrequited erotic experiences from his life. A detailed account of Franz’s (Medardus’s Christian name before taking vows) awakening erotic impulses comes in an episode where the youth visits a Konzertmeister for a music lesson, and espies the musician’s partially disrobed sister. The description of her «charms,» which the text reveals through a suddenly activated discourse of the male gaze, lies partly in the encoding typical for novels of the period, in which general form, arms, skin color and tone, etc. acquire representational signification for sexual features and experience, and partly in two striking, though subtle, additional details, one of form and the other of color: Der Konzertmeister hatte eine Schwester, welche gerade nicht schön genannt zu werden verdiente, aber doch, in der höchsten Blüte stehend, ein überaus reizendes Mädchen war. Vorzüglich zeichnete sie ein im reinsten Ebenmaß geformter Wuchs aus; sie hatte die schönsten Arme, den schönsten Busen in Form und Kolorit, den man nur sehen kann. - Eines Morgens als ich zum Konzertmeister gehen wollte, meines Unterrichts halber, überraschte ich die Schwester im Morgenanzuge, mit beinahe entblößter Brust; schnell warf sie zwar das Tuch über, aber doch schon zu viel hatten meine gierigen Blicke erhascht, ich konnte kein Wort sprechen, nie gekannte Gefühle regten sich stürmisch in mir, und trieben das glühende Blut durch die Adern, daß hörbar meine Pulse schlugen. Meine Brust war krampfhaft zusammengepreßt, und wollte zerspringen, ein leiser Seufzer machte mir endlich Luft. Dadurch, daß das Mädchen, ganz unbefangen auf mich zukam, mich bei der Hand faßte, und frug, was mir dann wäre, wurde das Übel wieder ärger, und es war ein Glück, daß der Konzertmeister in die Stube trat, und mich von der Qual erlöste. Nie hatte ich indessen solche falsche Akkorde gegriffen, nie so im Gesange detoniert, als dasmal. (21, my emphasis) The specificity of mentioning «Form und Kolorit» in reference to the girl’s breast extends beyond the mere suggestion of a pretty figure, and forces the CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 84 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 84 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56 Narrative «Teasing» 85 reader instead to linger for a moment in contemplation of the actual object. It is one instance of what in this novel becomes a common and subtle narrative titillation. While ostensibly innocent (because it is presented in the context of a character resisting temptation), it nevertheless focuses the reader’s attention on the exterior and concrete form of a desirable young woman’s body in a sexualized context. As soon as Franz actually fixes her in his gaze, the concrete details vanish from the depiction of the scene, and at the very point at which one expects further action and detail, the text retreats inward: «zu viel hatten meine gierigen Blicke erhascht, ich konnte kein Wort sprechen.» Confronted with his own new feelings of arousal, he flees from her by withdrawing from the outer world into the safety and solace of his own mind. What had been the discourse of the sexualized male gaze now becomes the discourse of interiority, and the text concentrates on mental processes and emotional reactions. The immediate, extreme effect that the experience has produced within him derails the potential that a first, physical sexual encounter will ensue. Franz passes moral judgment on his staring («gierig») and he loses the capacity to speak. Although the young woman seems willing to take advantage of the situation and to seize the moment of intimacy, Franz shuts down, and the entry of the Konzertmeister at this moment provides a convenient excuse for the adolescent boy to avoid further contact with her. One may understand how the musician’s intrusion would indeed provide relief for the inexperienced young man, frightened at the prospect of sudden sexual contact. However, because of the intimate connection between the affective point of view of Franz/ Medardus and that of the reader, it is a disappointment - but also a provocation to read further - since in this erotically charged atmosphere «fulfillment» may lurk just beyond the next twist of plot. Hoffmann thus teases his audience by forging an emotional identification between the reader and Medardus, awakening desire and then confounding it, thwarting fulfillment at present but leaving open future possibilities. The pattern of initial confrontation with sexuality and boldness, followed by retreat, interruption and eventually by self-denial and withdrawal from a communicative exchange repeats itself at significant moments in Medardus’s autobiography. I would like to provide one additional example of this pattern at another crucial juncture in the plot, at the moment of Medardus’s initial encounter with Aurelie. After the incident at the home of the Konzertmeister and his sister, Medardus takes his vows and begins his monastic existence, although two important developments indicate that his vocation as a monk may already be in jeopardy. First, he becomes such a skillful rhetorician that throngs attend his Sunday sermons; however, the approbation he receives from the crowds inflames his ego and sets him at odds with his monastic colleagues. Secondly, CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 85 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 85 19.08.11 17: 56 19.08.11 17: 56 86 Christopher R. Clason he fails at his duty as guardian of the reliquary, in which the fabled Elixirs of St. Anthony are kept; he commits the ultimate transgression of his office and drinks from the bottle. His patroness, an abbess who later is revealed to be his aunt, has warned Medardus to mend his evil ways, but her chiding merely further alienates him. Clearly, the monk is slipping out of his childhood innocence, and his inappropriate behavior has made him susceptible to temptations of the flesh. One morning in the church, Medardus’s destiny finally begins to play out, when he first meets the woman who will be the object of his obsession for the remainder of the novel: 9 Das Morgenlicht brach in farbichten Strahlen durch die bunten Fenster der Klosterkirche; einsam und in tiefe Gedanken versunken, saß ich im Beichtstuhl; nur die Tritte des dienenden Laienbruders, der die Kirche reinigte, hallten durch das Gewölbe. Da rauschte es in meiner Nähe, und ich erblickte ein großes, schlankes Frauenzimmer, auf fremdartige Weise gekleidet, einen Schleier über das Gesicht gehängt, die, durch die Seitenpforte hereingetreten, sich mir nahte, um zu beichten. Sie bewegte sich mit unbeschreiblicher Anmut, sie kniete nieder, ein tiefer Seufzer entfloh ihrer Brust, ich fühlte ihren glühenden Atem, es war, als umstricke mich ein betäubender Zauber, noch ehe sie sprach! - Wie vermag ich den ganz eignen, ins Innere dringenden Ton ihrer Stimme zu beschreiben. - Jedes ihrer Worte griff in meine Brust, als sie bekannte, wie sie eine verbotene Liebe hege, die sie schon seit langer Zeit vergebens bekämpfte, und daß diese Liebe um so sündlicher sei, als den Geliebten heilige Bande auf ewig fesselten; aber im Wahnsinn hoffnungsloser Verzweiflung habe sie diesen Banden schon geflucht. - Sie stockte - mit einem Tränenstrom, der die Worte beinahe erstickte, brach sie los: «Du selbst - du selbst, Medardus, bist es, den ich so unaussprechlich liebe! » - Wie im tötenden Krampf zuckten alle meine Nerven, ich war außer mir selbst, ein niegekanntes Gefühl zerriß meine Brust, sie sehen, sie an mich drücken - vergehen vor Wonne und Qual, eine Minute dieser Seligkeit für ewig Marter der Hölle! - Sie schwieg, aber ich hörte sie tief atmen. - In einer Art wilder Verzweiflung raffte ich mich gewaltsam zusammen, was ich gesprochen, weiß ich nicht mehr, aber ich nahm wahr, daß sie schweigend aufstand und sich entfernte, während ich das Tuch fest vor die Augen drückte und wie erstarrt bewußtlos im Beichtstuhle sitzen blieb. (42-43) The scene begins in the morning hours, as darkness gives way to light, and only limited sight is possible in the church. But as Medardus becomes introspective, even this vision diminishes: what he can perceive is primarily acoustic. Everything seems normal. The «Laienbruder» cleaning the church echoes the «normalcy» permeating, for example, the novel’s introduction, in which the editor describes the actions of the monks at work and prayer. The reader descends with Medardus into his interior space. He sits brooding until he first hears movements and then catches sight of «ein Frauenzimmer.» She is a most exotic figure, the dignity of whose motion is termed «unbeschreiblich.» «Un- CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 86 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 86 19.08.11 17: 57 19.08.11 17: 57 Narrative «Teasing» 87 beschreiblich» becomes the first item in a series that, in typical Gothic fashion (Sedgwick 1986, 13-20), the text cannot seem to render verbally. Aurelie approaches him (veiled! ) and gradually reveals to Medardus that she loves him to a degree also exceeding verbal description - the adverb here is «unaussprechlich» - and then grows silent. When Medardus responds to her, he says things that he later cannot remember; the reader would surely wish to know about such details, but the text again leaves the reader «in the dark.» Aurelie’s breath pattern seems to mirror the reader’s disappointment; she heaves a deep sigh, but communicates nothing further («schweigen» is repeated twice), then rises and departs, leaving Medardus (and perhaps the reader, as well) with seething, unfulfilled passion in the darkness. He then covers his eyes with a cloth, further «veiling» the veiled figure from his sight. The profusion of failure to see, remember, describe, and speak in this passage effectively retards the progress of the text and confines the action to little more than a one-sided declaration of the woman’s love. Thus, the pattern of erotic (non)encounter has been repeated: the passion of the moment has progressed through a psychological process of interiority, surprise, intensification and retardation, only to dissolve disappointingly as the characters fall out of the communicative situation. Before a sexual relationship can begin, Medardus’s object of cathexis withdraws, leaving him powerless, even unconscious, in his «Beichtstuhle» («wie erstarrt bewußtlos»), and the reader in a state of agitation and frustration. 10 It is most significant that Aurelie wears a veil to her first meeting with Medardus, placing her squarely in the tradition of Gothic heroines. 11 She is, of course, obliged to don a veil in order to enter a Roman Catholic church, as a sign of devotion and piety. The veil also supports the Gothic tension between secrecy and revelation, since Medardus cannot visually determine the identity of the veiled person who is declaring her love for him. Thus, he does not actually set his gaze upon her, as he did earlier in his encounter with the Konzertmeister’s sister, but rather «senses» her intuitively («Ich hatte das Gesicht der Unbekannten nicht gesehen, und doch lebte sie in meinem Innern …» [43]). His passion for her, which nevertheless is concrete and torrid, points to the deeper significance of the veil here as elsewhere in European Gothic novels. According to Sedgwick, The veil itself, however, is also suffused with sexuality. This is true partly because of the other, apparently opposite set of meanings it hides: the veil that conceals and inhibits sexuality comes by the same gesture to represent it, both as a metonym of the thing covered and as a metaphor for the system of prohibitions by which sexual desire is enhanced and specified. Like virginity, the veil that symbolizes virginity in a girl or a nun has a strong erotic savor of its own, and characters in Gothic novels fall in love as much with women’s veils as with women. (1981, 256) CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 87 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 87 19.08.11 17: 57 19.08.11 17: 57 88 Christopher R. Clason Aurelie’s veil thus does not preserve her anonymity, but rather enhances the eroticism infusing the scene. In addition, there is an important difference for Medardus between this encounter and the previous scene with the Konzertmeister’s daughter: instead of uncovering the cathected object for the reader’s gaze, and then withdrawing it from the reader’s view, the text here refuses access to that object by concealing its visual surface beneath another, perhaps even more strongly charged thing. Thus, the initial meeting between the monk and his fated lover becomes a significant textual «tease,» suggesting the object but ultimately withholding it from the subject’s vision and possession. Medardus’s gaze fixes instead on a portrait of St. Rosalie hanging above an altar in the church. The painting, whose origin is later revealed in the Old Painter’s Pergamentblatt, combines aspects of both eroticism and its rejection in the composition; it thus mirrors the «teasing» pattern characteristic of other «sexual» encounters in the text. It is no surprise to the reader that the monk recognizes the facial features he has imagined beneath Aurelie’s veil in the face of the saint in the portrait. Aside from the amazing coincidence of the painting’s origin and connections to the narrative’s present, the saint’s countenance evinces a hybrid representation of the forces within Medardus that threaten to destroy him as well as an external surface onto which he can focus his libidinous stare. For the reader, however, the painting presents another obstruction to forward movement toward an actual resolution of the erotic tensions arising in the situation. It stimulates Medardus’ erotic feelings, but after all, it is only a surrogate for a flesh-and-blood partner, with whom he could engage in authentic sexual experience. From the reader’s perspective, the jolting disruption of Medardus’ introspective mood and the sudden, unexpected intrusion of surface reality upon him could be received as disturbing, even annoying, rather than pleasurable: there is a fine line separating pleasure and frustration, and Hoffmann’s novel walks this line whenever the potential for eroticism enters the plot. The interruption of Medardus’ meditations through the sudden appearance of the exotic and extraordinary figure of Aurelie, who is undoubtedly the most significant person in the monk’s life and a character charged with erotic energy and intrigue, runs the risk of throwing the plot, and therefore the reader’s own perspective, into a psychological chaos. Again and again, the twists and turns of the plot rupture textual interiority, catalyzing the reader’s desire for reintegration, the recovery of logic, and the return to textual order, sequentiality and continence. For some members of Hoffmann’s audience, such a reading experience may become a puzzle and a challenge. However, if the experience proves wearying to the reader, the novel loses its effect as a provocation. This is perhaps the strongest criticism to be leveled against Hoffmann’s methods CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 88 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 88 19.08.11 17: 57 19.08.11 17: 57 Narrative «Teasing» 89 of terror and titillation in the Elixiere: although he evinces a strong talent for bringing the reader into the text, Hoffmann runs the risk of frustrating her or him by doing so in a too chaotic environment, wearing the reader down by promising but not delivering closure. In this essay I have attempted to illustrate Hoffmann’s techniques for «teasing» the reader by aligning her or his point of view with that of the main character, the monk Medardus, then creating a scene charged with sexual energy, but refusing consummation by delaying and hindering the characters’ physical intimacy through various disruptions. The central role textual disruption plays in Hoffmann’s Gothic novel, however, extends far beyond scenes of eroticism and provides an important compositional principle for several other key thematic and structural issues raised by the Elixiere. For example, since the Gothic plot depends to a great extent on the gradual revelation of multiple threads, the reader must almost constantly suspend disbelief, and wait vainly for later disclosure of the «sense» of the plot. This creates a yearning for knowledge that is seldom fulfilled, and on the epistemological level parallels the unconsummated erotic relationship between Medardus and Aurelie. 12 In the tradition of the Gothic novel, Hoffmann brings the reader to a level of «knowing» that approaches certainty and teases her or him along to the brink of satisfaction, only to dash the reader’s hope for closure by introducing a seemingly impossible event or plot twist. Eventually, the reader’s desire to know gives way to her or his realization that fragmentation, uncertainty and mystery reflect essential conditions of the Gothic characters’ existence, and that the hope for «closure» cannot be fulfilled in the universe Hoffmann presents in Elixiere des Teufels. Notes 1 Histories of the novel’s reception and bibliographies can be found in Kremer (1999, 45-50, 228-41; updated 2009, 147-51) and Nehring (1981, 325-50); also useful for situating the novel in a reception context is the chapter on the Elixiere by Feldges and Stadler (194-216). Connections to the Gothic are variously explored in several essays, especially Heinritz and Mergenthal, Horstmann-Guthrie, Kleine and Romero. 2 Sabine Kleine shows how damaging Goethe’s criticisms of Hoffmann’s writings were in general (28). She also traces the attempts by Hegel and others thereafter to «exorcis[e] the romantic as the destructive, grotesque and senseless perversion of art. This was precisely the sort of romanticism E.T.A. Hoffmann stood for» (29). 3 For example, see the fine essay by Ulrike Horstmann-Guthrie. Although she focuses on the epistemological aspects of Hoffmann’s writing in comparison with Hogg, her analysis examines the erotic aspects of the Elixiere as a means of arousing pleasure, while refusing consummation. Wolfgang Trautwein discusses the close relationship between terror and pleasure in the Gothic (particularly in Hoffmann’s Serapiontic tales). CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 89 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 89 19.08.11 17: 57 19.08.11 17: 57 90 Christopher R. Clason 4 Chambers 73-96. Chambers argues that narration per se is often an attempt to seduce the reader, and it may succeed or fail, but that «to allow oneself, as a reader, to be fascinated by narrative enigma and techniques of suspense is to fall victim to a form of ‹coquetterie› - that is, to artistic deception - and hence to court the same ultimate disillusionment» that a character experiences when narrated events frustrate fulfillment (90). 5 Steinecke comments on the camera obscura: «Das Gerät zeigt Bilder der Wirklichkeit, aber in umgekehrter, ‹verkehrter› Form. Damit wird das Problem der Wirklichkeitsabbildung und der Grenzen des Mimetischen zum erstenmal angesprochen» (EdT 594). 6 For example: «des mattgeschliffenen Spiegels dunkler Widerschein» in «Der Sandmann» (NS 27). 7 Steinecke hypothesizes, «die Lesart des Erstdrucks ist unwahrscheinlich, sie könnte allenfalls als (bewußter) Bruch des Pflanzen-Metapher und als Vorausdeutung angesehen werden» (EdT 594). 8 Steinwachs indicates how Hoffmann’s choice of the monastic vocation for his character Medardus creates an opportunity to represent the diametric polarity of the dissonant erotic-religious theme «inhaltlich wie formal» (37); Hinderer understands this choice as a result of Hoffmann’s fascination with current science («Bereits Schubert hatte beobachtet, daß gerade bei Menschen, die um religiöse Vollendung gekämpft haben, die Extreme von sinnlicher Lust und geistigen Freuden nicht nur ‹fürchtlich nahe› liegen, sondern geradezu austauschbar sind» [2003, 15]), but later integrates this characteristic into a thematic coding for love rather than a structural component; see also McGlathery (1979). 9 It is important to note that some critics have expressed doubt that the meeting between the monk and Aurelie actually ever takes place, save in Medardus’s mind; McGlathery (1985) reads the passage as follows: «The unlikelihood that Medardus actually hears any such confession, much less that the girl could resemble the painting, suggests that the whole encounter is a substitute for, and idealization of, the music teacher’s sister, whose flirtations had sent him into panic five years before […] the sighs and hot breath of the unknown young woman that Medardus heard and felt in the confessional even before she began her declaration of love suggests that the whole is a fantasy of wish-fulfillment» (52). McGlathery’s reading, although sound from a psychoanalytic perspective, reflects a distancing from the text that must come after the reading act. This essay posits the phenomenology of a first-reading act that includes the full suspension of disbelief and a «naive» identification with the narrator’s perspective since it is only in this way that the reader’s spontaneous, affective responses can come into focus. 10 Pfotenhauer claims that such scenes in the Elixiere are Hoffmann’s attempts to include aspects of Gotthilf Heinrich Schubert’s ideas from the recently published Symbolik des Traumes (440-42) and emphasizes that «Hoffmanns Roman ist nicht nur ein Roman, der mit seinen wiederkehrenden Halbträumen und Entrückungszuständen Bausteine einer Poetik der Imagination liefert, sondern er ist auch ein poetologischer Roman, welcher ständig auch das Erzählen selbst thematisiert» (442). 11 The significance of the veil as a focus of sexual energy has occupied a number of psychologists and critics, including Freud; a compelling analysis can be found in Sedgwick (1981): 255-70. 12 Gnam investigates a similar postponement of fulfillment in Kater Murr¸ and as an afterthought, the strange behavior of the character Belcampo in Elixiere, who, parallel to Johannes Kreisler in the Murr novel, inhibits the novel’s arriving at a «restlosen Aufklärung» by introducing «zuviele Störmomente und divergierende Seitenlinien» CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 90 CG_42_1_s1-96_End_Korr.indd 90 19.08.11 17: 57 19.08.11 17: 57 Narrative «Teasing» 91 which «die Totalität der Gesamtbilanz [verunsichern]» (99), in an atmosphere charged with passion and desire. She concludes, «In seiner eingestandenen und ausagierten Unangepaßtheit ist Belcampo gegen den Ausbruch des Wahns, als verdrängter Begierde, geschützt» (100); the same is obviously not true for either Kreisler or Medardus. Works Cited Becker, Allienne R. «Die Elixiere des Teufels: E.T.A. Hoffmann’s House of Mirrors.» Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts 9 (1998): 117-30. Chambers, Ross. Story and Situation: Narrative Seduction and the Power of Fiction. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984. Feldges, Brigitte and Ulrich Stadler. E.T.A. Hoffmann: Epoche - Werk - Wirkung. Munich: Beck, 1986. Gnam, Andrea. «‹Unzucht mit schönen jungfräulichen Gedanken›: E.T.A. Hoffmann als Zeremonienmeister der versprengten Leidenschaft.» Recherches Germaniques 23 (1993): 93-100. Heinritz, Reinhard, and Silvia Mergenthal. «Hogg, Hoffmann, and their Diabolical Elixirs.» Studies in Hogg and his World 7 (1996): 47-58. Hinderer, Walter. «Die poetische Psychoanalyse in E.T.A. 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