Given the importance of E.T.A. Hoffman’s, The Sandman, to Freud’s, The Uncanny, and thus it’s importance to The Freudian Robot, I decided to read Hoffman’s work, which you can do here at the following pdf link: http://art3idea.psu.edu/metalepsis/texts/sandman.pdf
I found Hoffman’s work quite interesting, and was actually reminded more of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, than I was of Blade Runner, or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I then decided to do a little more research on Hoffman, his other works, and the time period in which he wrote. Through this research I discovered—not surprisingly—that Hoffman was a key figure among the romantic writers, and that he was actually also the author of The Nutcracker. I then found a really interesting article and radio piece done by NPR News, found here: http://www.npr.org/2012/12/25/167732828/no-sugar-plums-here-the-dark-romantic-roots-of-the-nutcracker . The article delves into the romantic, fantastical roots of all of his works. I found it interesting that ideas with their roots in romanticism and fantasy would also drive serious, scientific development. This made me think about the different ways in which science fiction writers have “predicted” or perhaps more accurate to say influenced the development of technology and science.