"Journey through Space and Time": The Spanish Theme in E. T. A. Hoffmann's Short Story "The Interconnection of Events"

The relevance of the study is determined by the imagological aspect: the image of Spain in the first third of the 19th century was actively created in literary texts by writers from different countries. Considering imagology as part of literary studies, we define it as an important area of scientific research that studies the objectification of images of the alien/other in literary texts. The study of problems of reception and representation of national images is becoming one of the most sought-after areas in the humanities. The article analyzes the short story “The Interconnection of Events,” the plot of which is connected with the era of the Napoleonic Wars. E. T. A. Hoffmann, as a direct witness to the events of the Napoleonic invasion, highlighted the similarities in the fates of the peoples of Spain and Germany who resisted the French. The depiction of the “fatal time” in the novella allowed the author to present the drama of the situation, which affected the fate of all the characters. The research methodology is based on a combination of methods – cultural-historical, comparative-typological, and biographical. It is shown how the peculiarity of the narrative structure – a story within a story – made it possible to correlate “our time” and “that time”, the space of Germany and Spain. The article examines the specifics of E. T. A. Hoffmann's creation of the historical image of Spaniards participating in the struggle for independence; it highlights the special place of the topos, which has a specific influence on the formation of the character of the proud, warlike inhabitants of various Spanish provinces, deeply attached to their homeland. Attention is paid to singing and dance improvisations that fit harmoniously into the Spanish way of life and clearly express their temperament. The motif of the ring serves as a plot-forming function and adds mystery to the narrative. The novelty of the study is determined by the possibility of “incorporating” E. T. A. Hoffmann’s novella “The Interconnection of Events” into the literary tradition as a keeper of the cultural memory of foreign national consciousness about Spain and the Spaniards during the Napoleonic invasion. This approach allows us to clarify the specifics of the cultural dialogue of the Romantic era.