[[Dreams]visions in Hoffmann's «fairy tales»: An experience of phenomenological description].
Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova 2025 DOI: 10.17116/jnevro202512505233 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Hoffmann Ambivalence Natural philosophy Romanticism romantic movement Romantic era Romantic period Dream consciousness dreaming Sleep states Visions Reverie Psychological narratives Supernatural literature Dark fantasy |
| Key points | Argues that Hoffmann presents dreams/visions as ambivalent phenomena that can both temporarily overcome the split between human and nature and cause sensory exhaustion, loss of identity, and loss of control. |
Abstract
The article highlights the stable characteristics of the world of dreams/visions, which is revealed to Hoffmann's visionaries in borderline, «twilight» states (half-asleep, intoxication, creative ecstasy, fever). Hoffmann sees in it not a closed, escapist «other-reality» but one of the two constitutive modes of perception, which has a common denotation and a common source with the «everyday» worldview. Dreams/visions in his «fantastic» stories are characterized by 1) hypermateriality, 2) animation, 3) dynamism, plasticity, and permeability, and 4) vigor and infinite productivity. According to romantics, immersion in the «dream» allows one to temporarily overcome the split between the purely human and natural, internal and external, to return to the original all-unity. However, Hoffmann emphasizes the ambivalent nature of a dream/vision, the downsides of which are: 1) «sensory» and emotional exhaustion of the dreamer suffering from excessive contrast and fullness; 2) increasing dependence of the subject on connections that the dreamer cannot break; 3) dissolution in the chaos and loss of identity, reflected in the motives of bodily disintegration and vampiric rapport; 4) loss of control and turning against the subject of spontaneous energy and productivity. In conclusion, the ways of adaptation of «sober-minded» consciousness to the «twilight» (Dionysian) world are outlined, allowing for the neutralization of its potential threats; Hoffmann considers dynamic balance and plasticity of the spirit to be necessary for the successful processing of dreams.