“ … Noch einmal hinter die gardinen zu kucicen”: reflections on absolutism in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s das fräulein von scuderi

Abstract

Familiar landmarks in the criticism of E.T.A. Hoffmann's Das Fraulein von Scuderi include psychopathological or redemptive artist figures, philistinism and the regeneration of society, as well as issues pertaining to detective fiction. A much less well-beaten track leads in the direction of the socio-political and juridical implications of the story. Alone the subtitle, "Erzahlung aus dem Zeitalter Ludwig des Vierzehnten," vouches for an importance and intentionality beyond mere historical titillation. Just before commencing, Sylvester the narrator explicitly underscores the historical context: "Wir haben soeben an Voltaire gedacht, ihr moget daher, meine teuren Serapions-Briider, an sein Siecle de Louis XIV, an dies Zeitalter iiberhaupt selbst denken „.."