The Sandman (short story)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Der Sandmann (The Sandman) is a short story written in German by E. T. A. Hoffmann. It was the first in a book of stories titled Die Nachtstücke (The Night Pieces).
The story tells of a student who carries from childhood a fear of the terrible Sandman who steals eyes. He has come to associate the Sandman in his mind with the unpleasant Coppelius who became implicated in the death of his father, and later in life he again encounters Coppelius who haunts his thoughts. Despite being engaged, he becomes enamoured of Olympia, a gynoid automaton built by Coppelius and an accomplice, believing her to be real. The discovery of the trick drives him into madness, and he ultimately jumps to his death.
Elements of the story were later adapted (very loosely) as the ballet Coppélia. Subsequently, it was also adapted as Act I of the opera Les contes d'Hoffmann.
