Chances are, by now you have probably heard the familiar, lilting lullabies and imaginative symphonies of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite” this holiday season.
As a lover of the music, the story, and dance, my inner classic literature nerd was curious to read E.T.A. Hoffman’s original story behind this holiday tradition.
I am happy to report that reading the original, unabridged version of The Nutcracker (albeit in English, as my German is not quite up to par to read the German Hoffman wrote it in) was an absolute pleasure!
The History
As it turns out, E.T.A. Hoffman was a pretty interesting guy. Born in Konigsberg, Prussia (at the time), he later worked and lived in Berlin, Germany. He was a jack-of-all trades, so to speak, though he originally followed in his family’s legacy of being a jurist.
As Anthea Bell describes in the afterword of her translation of the story, “he was also a talented musician, composer and music critic, and hoped for a while to make music his main profession.” In addition to his musical talents, he was, “a good artist and caricaturist, and—like Councillor Drosselmeier in The Nutcracker—took a great interest in ingenious mechanisms, particularly automata.”
Obviously, Hoffman was a writer as well. He most likely wrote the story for the children of a family friend. His tale was adapted by the French author, Alexandre Dumas (The Three Musketeers), as The Nutcracker of Nuremburg. Dumas softened the story, stripping away some of its darker elements.
Dumas’ version was the one which Tchaikovsky adapted into the famous ballet.
Christmas
Hoffman portrays Christmas as a spiritual occasion, a joyous celebration, and an opportunity for dreams to come to life.
As the children anxiously wait for the Christmas festivities to begin, they approach it with hope and joy:
“They knew that the Christ Child was looking down on them with shining, kindly eyes, and each new Christmas present would give more pleasure than the last, as if touched by a hand replete with blessings.”
“Their elder sister Luise was always reminding the children, when they kept whispering about the presents they expected, that it was the Christ Child who, through their parents, always made sure that children had what would give them real pleasure.”
It is interesting to note that instead of Santa Claus being attributed with bringing the gifts, the gifts are received directly from the parents and indirectly from the Christ Child. There is therefore a spiritual sense of blessing in receiving the gifts behind the material value.
When the children enter the sitting room containing their gifts, they exclaim and jump for joy.
The room is filled with their presents, complete with a big fir tree adorned with gold and silver apples and sweets.
The children’s uncle, Drosselmeier, brought them wonderful presents with finely crafted machinery that makes them seem like they are alive.
Invention and Machinery
Throughout the story, there is an emphasis on mechanical machinery, and its ability to make something seem alive.
Marie’s godfather Drosselmeier is the genius inventor, making all sorts of imaginative toys for the children. For Christmas, he makes a beautiful castle with moving, mechanical figures on it. He makes and then mends Marie’s ugly but beloved nutcracker doll.
Marie cuts herself on some glass and is bedridden with an infection for a few days. Drosselmeier visits her and tells her a story of, “The Tale of the Hard Nut,” which tells of people who are made of wood and machinery, yet live like humans.
This theme is revisited in stories such as the Italian story of Pinocchio, which was published nearly seventy years later.
Fantasy/ Imagination vs. Reality
The most fascinating theme in this story to me is the blurred lines of fantasy and reality.
The reader is left guessing until the end as to whether Marie’s escapades with the nutcracker are real or if they are an imaginative escape from a rigid reality.
For example, the mouse king terrorizes Marie at night, saying, “Give me your sugar dollies, your tragacanth figures, too, or Nutcracker’s dead, for I’ll bite him in two.”
The next evening, Marie leaves out her sugar dollies as a sacrifice to save her dear nutcracker. Her father finds them all bitten the next day and concludes that there really must be a big mouse living in their cupboard. But is the mouse actually a plotting villain or an ordinary creature?
Marie’s family continually treats her as though her fantasies about the nutcracker coming to life and doing battle with the mouse king, as well as the beautiful kingdom of toys she visits, are mere fancies and dreams.
The line between fantasy and reality is completely blurred at the end, when Drosselmeier’s nephew tells Marie he is the nutcracker brought back to his original form, just as her godfather Drosselmeier’s story predicted.
Marie and her godfather’s nephew are married a year later, and Marie becomes queen of the magical land. She is 7 when the story begins, so a year later she would be only 8 years old! This detail supports the notion that her adventures only happen in her imagination, but are inspired by objects from her real life.
Battle, Bravery, and Cowardice
Fritz, Marie’s older brother, is obsessed with soldiers and their honor throughout the story. He gives orders and speeches to his hussar soldier toys. Later, when Marie reports that they have acted dishonorably by deserting from battling the mice, Fritz:
“made a fiery speech to his hussars and then, to punish them for their selfishness and cowardice, he cut the insignia off their caps one by one, and forbade them to play the Hussars’ March for a whole year.”
Though initially Marie must be the brave, sacrificing hero of the story, the moment the Nutcracker is given a sword he valiantly slays the mouse king, taking his five crowns. The bravery of both Marie and the nutcracker save the day in the end, allowing them to travel safely to the Kingdom of Toys.
Sweets
Throughout the story, sweets are mentioned as they are enjoyed, admired, partaking in battle, or inhabiting the magical land Marie visits at the end. The Kingdom of Toys would be a decadent delight to any child.
Following the Nutcracker’s lead, Marie travels through Sugar-Candy Meadow, through Almond and Raisin Gate, and into Christmas Tree Wood. Each place they travel to is named after some sort of fine Christmas food, and peopled with delectable inhabitants.
Versions of “The Nutcracker”
I have always loved Tchaikovsky’s music from the Nutcracker. Every Christmas I listen to it and am enchanted once more. 
One of the most recent versions of the tale, in a sequel of sorts, was “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.” In my opinion Morgan Freeman was perfect as Drosselmeier, and the story and land created in the film hearken back to Hoffman’s original version.
I have posted several versions of the story at the beginning of this blog, if you are interested in reading the story yourself.
What about you? What are your nutcracker memories?
Classic Reads 
This is wonderful to read!
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