Date of Award
2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Wallace, Miriam
Keywords
Hoffmann, E. T. A., Rath Krespel, Supernatural Elements, Uncertainty, Offenbach, Jacques
Area of Concentration
Humanities
Abstract
“Rath Krespel” is a short story written by E.T.A. Hoffmann in 1818. It tells the story of Councillor Krespel and his daughter, who eventually dies as a result of what appears to be consumption. This thesis is broadly interested in why E.T.A. Hoffmann elected to avoid the explicitly supernatural for the uncertain, and what this gray space of inconclusiveness does to Antonia and her father’s narrative. Using this initial query as a jumping off point, the project then becomes more specifically interested in what happens to the fantastic-ness of the original story when placed in two different performance-based positions and why the uncertainty of the action being witnessed is appealing in times of artistic change. In essence, the fantastic affords a certain type of complexity often lost over time in template-style media through its inherent openness.
Recommended Citation
Handerson, Savannah, "THE CASE OF ANTONIA: TRACING THE FANTASTIC THROUGH E.T.A. HOFFMANN’S “RATH KRESPEL,” JACQUES OFFENBACH’S LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN, AND MICHAEL POWELL AND EMERIC PRESSBURGER’S “THE TALES OF HOFFMANN”" (2016). Theses & ETDs. 5215.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5215