TRAUM UND WIRKLICHKEIT IN DER DEUTSCHEN ROMANTIK ("DER SANDMANN")

This article examines the complex relationship between dream and reality in German Romanticism, using E.T.A. Hoffmann’s short story “The Sandman” as a case study. The research focuses on the role of subjective perception, imagination, and irrational experience, which are central to Romantic thought. Through the character of Nathanael, the study demonstrates how the boundaries between dream and reality become blurred and how individual perception constructs reality. In addition, the motif of the automaton, represented by the character of Olimpia, is interpreted as a symbol of idealized perception and technological influence. The study concludes that in Romantic literature, dream and reality are not opposites but complementary dimensions of human experience.