Nathaniel and Coppelius·Coppola's antagonistic relationship
The relationship between Nathaniel and the figure he knows as Coppelius—and later as Giuseppe Coppola—is the dark spine of E. T. A. Hoffmann's 'The Sandman', a lifelong antagonism that transforms a childhood terror into an inescapable, fatal destiny. From the moment Nathaniel, as a boy, identifies the repulsive family acquaintance Coppelius as the Sandman of his nurse's gruesome tales, the two are locked in a struggle that spans years, crosses identities, and ends only with Nathaniel's shattered body on the cobblestones of the market square. Coppelius is not merely a villain but a persecutor who seems to orchestrate the key catastrophes of Nathaniel's life, appearing and reappearing with a mechanical inevitability that blurs the line between external threat and internal delusion.
Childhood Encounter and the Revelation of the Sandman
Nathaniel's first direct confrontation with Coppelius occurs when, driven by a burning curiosity to see the fabled Sandman, he hides in his father's study. He watches as his father and Coppelius, both in long black smocks, conduct secret work before a hidden hearth, where a blue flame flickers and human faces without eyes seem to appear in the vapour. When Nathaniel cries out and bursts from his hiding place, Coppelius grabs him, bares his teeth, and hurls him at the hearth, singeing his hair. Whispering, "Now we've got eyes—eyes—a lovely pair of children's eyes," Coppelius grabs glowing cinders to strew in the boy's eyes. Only his father's desperate plea—"Master! Master! Let my Nathaniel keep his eyes!"—saves him. Coppelius then twists Nathaniel's hands and feet, reinserting them in different positions, until the boy loses consciousness. This assault leaves Nathaniel with a high fever that lasts for weeks; his first clear words upon recovery are, "Is the Sandman still here?"
The Death of Nathaniel's Father
A year later, Coppelius returns. At the family's evening gathering, his slow, leaden steps are heard on the stairs. Nathaniel's mother goes pale, and his father, with a weak and broken voice, confirms it is Coppelius, promising it is the last time. That night, a terrible boom like a cannon shot shakes the house. Nathaniel rushes to his father's room to find him dead on the floor before the steaming hearth, his face terribly contorted and burnt black. Nathaniel cries out, "Coppelius, you cursed Satan, you killed my father!" before losing consciousness. The explosion awakens the neighbours, and the authorities issue a warrant for Coppelius's arrest, but he disappears without a trace. This event cements in Nathaniel's mind the conviction that Coppelius is a devilish fiend who has destroyed his family.
The Return as Coppola and the Purchase of the Looking-Glass
Years later, while studying in the city of G., Nathaniel encounters a barometer salesman whom he immediately recognizes as Coppelius, now calling himself Giuseppe Coppola, a Piedmontese mechanic. The reappearance throws Nathaniel into a state of profound agitation, and he resolves to confront him and avenge his father's death. Although he later learns from Professor Spalanzani that Coppola is a genuine Piedmontese lens grinder, and he tries to dismiss his fears, the figure of Coppelius remains deeply engraved in his memory. When Coppola later visits Nathaniel's room, the encounter triggers a visceral horror. Coppola produces a cascade of eyeglasses, and Nathaniel sees "a thousand eyes peep and twitch and stare" at him, shooting blood-red rays at his breast. Overcome with frantic horror, Nathaniel grabs Coppola's arm. But Coppola then produces a small, finely crafted pocket looking-glass. When Nathaniel tests it, he sees into Spalanzani's room and beholds Olympia's face with unprecedented clarity. He buys the glass for three ducats, and from that moment, his obsession with Olympia begins, erasing Clara from his heart.
The Revelation of the Automaton and the Final Confrontation
The climax of their antagonism occurs when Nathaniel, intending to propose to Olympia, hears a violent struggle in Spalanzani's study. He bursts in to find Spalanzani and Coppola fighting over a female figure, tugging and tearing at her. Nathaniel recognizes the figure as Olympia. Coppola wrenches her free, swings her, and strikes Nathaniel with her body, sending him crashing backward over a work table. Then Coppola flings the figure over his shoulder and races down the steps, her dangling feet banging with a wooden thud. Nathaniel sees that Olympia's wax face has no eyes—only black hollows. She is a lifeless doll. Spalanzani, bleeding from glass shards, cries out that Coppola has robbed him of his finest automaton, and that the eyes—the eyes—were stolen from Nathaniel. He flings a pair of bloody eyes from the floor at Nathaniel's breast. At that moment, madness seizes Nathaniel. He screams, "Hopla—hopla—hopla!—ring of fire—ring of fire!" and attacks Spalanzani, trying to strangle him. He is overpowered and taken to the madhouse, raving.
The Final Act: The Tower and the Suicide
After a period of recovery, during which Nathaniel seems gentle and childlike, he climbs the town hall tower with Clara. There, he mechanically reaches into his pocket and finds Coppola's looking-glass. When he turns it sideways and sees Clara in the lens, a spasmodic quiver runs through him. He turns deathly pale, his eyes roll with sparks of fire, and he lets out a horrible cry like a hunted animal. Shouting, "Turn, little wooden doll, turn!" he grabs Clara and tries to hurl her off the balcony. Lothar rescues her, but Nathaniel remains on the gallery, flailing and jumping. Below, Coppelius has appeared in the market square. When Nathaniel spots him, he shrieks, "Ha! Eyes a pretty! Eyes a pretty!" and leaps over the parapet. His skull smashes on the cobblestones. Coppelius disappears into the crowd. The antagonistic relationship that began with a childhood assault ends with Nathaniel's self-destruction, triggered by the very object—the looking-glass—that Coppola sold him, and consummated in the presence of the persecutor himself.
