Russell Sims

Response Paper: Sigmund Freud�s The Uncanny

Sigmund Freud was born in Freiberg (in what is now known as Příbor, Czech Republic), on May 6, 1856. At the age of three years old, Freud and his family fled from the anti-Semitic riots then raging in Freiberg, and moved to Leipzig. Shortly thereafter, Freud and his family settled in Vienna, where Freud studied at Vienna University and remained for the majority of his life. Considered to be the founder of modern psychoanalysis, Freud was also a physician and neurologist.

In The Uncanny, Freud begins by exploring the etymological background of the German word for “uncanny” (unheimlich), as well as by providing the basic definition of what he calls “the uncanny.” According to Freud, “the uncanny is that species of the frightening that goes back to what was once well known and had long been familiar” (124). In terms of literature, “the uncanny” represents the distinctive aesthetic experience that is produced by certain literature or other works which are not only disturbing, but which also draw out feelings of anxiety or distress from the reader or audience. Freud focuses on E.T.A Hoffmann’s “The Sandman” as a case study for exploring the “the uncanny” in literature. Freud argues that the theme of doubt as to what constitutes the animate and inanimate—specifically in regards to the character of Olimpia—is not the only framework, and is by no means, the most crucial framework for analyzing the uncanny effect of Hoffmann’s story. Instead, both the Sandman’s character and its actions (tearing out the eyes of children) represent a much more integral motif for understanding “the uncanny.” To Freud, the fear of losing one’s eyes is symbolic of the fear of losing one’s masculinity (140). This symbolism, in Freud’s view, is the leitmotif of “The Sandman” because it illuminates the relationship between many elements of Hoffman’s tale: Nathaniel’s fear of losing his eyes, the death of Nathaniel’s father, the Sandman’s destruction of the objects of Nathaniel’s love, and ultimately Nathaniel’s suicide. Freud postulates that when one ignores the connection between the loss of eyes and castration, “features of the tale appear arbitrary and meaningless” (140).

I enjoyed Freud’s analysis of “the uncanny” because it did, indeed, provided me with a new framework with which I could understand and connect events in Hoffman’s “The Sandman”. I especially found that Freud’s link between Nathaniel’s fear of losing his eyes and his fear of losing his masculinity (manifested oedipally in the death of his father) helps to illuminate “the uncanny” nature of Hoffmann’s tale. This link also helped me to become aware of the extent to which Nathaniel’s witnessing of the Sandman and the death of his father served as an undertone for the rest of the action in the story as it unfolded, for the fear of emasculation represents a driving force in Nathaniel’s neurotic behavior.

However, I found some of Freud’s other, periphery claims and observations to be equally relevant to my understanding of the uncanny effect of “The Sandman” (especially manifested in Nathaniel’s madness). For example, Freud’s claim that “the uncanny element we know from experience arises either when repressed childhood complexes are revived by some impression, or when primitive beliefs that have been surmounted appear to be once again confirmed” (155) bears much relevance to Hoffmann’s story because Nathaniel’s childhood fear of the Coppelius (the Sandman) is revived when he later encounters Coppola. Nathaniel’s bouts of madness seem to be inextricably linked with his encounters with Coppola, thereby lending credence to Freud’s argument that the uncanny arises from revived, repressed childhood complexes. I also believe that Freud’s claim that “an uncanny effect often arises when the boundary between fantasy and reality is blurred…” (150), aptly describes the uncanny effect that the constant interplay between fantasy and reality in “The Sandman” has on the reader. The shifts between Nathaniel’s sanity and insanity, as well as the relationship between the reality and fantasy of characters such as Coppelius and Olimpia, conspire to produce an unsettling feeling within the reader.

Questions to Consider:

1) Did reading Freud’s The Uncanny alter or modify your understanding of the meaning or relationship of events in Hoffman’s “The Sandman”?

2) Do you agree that the connection between Nathaniel’s fear of losing his eyes and his fear of emasculation is pertinent in understanding the uncanny nature of “The Sandman”?

3) Did you find some of Freud’s claims regarding the effect of “the uncanny” to be more strongly related to “The Sandman” than others?

4) How does Freud’s discussion of the Doppelgänger fit in with Hoffmann’s story?