Visualizing Hofmannsthal’s “Das Märchen der 672. Nacht”

Recent scholarship on Hofmannsthal’s “Das Märchen der 672. Nacht” (1895) has focused on how the protagonist’s subconscious motivates his actions. Contrary to such a psychoanalytic approach, this article traces the role of the visual on a hermeneutic and structural level. Visuality defines and frames the textual world of “Märchen”: it conveys the protagonist’s thoughts and emotions, defines his relationships with others, dictates his behavior and actions, and functions as a structuring principle of the narrative. This analysis of visuality reveals how the visual and the verbal overlap and commingle in Hofmannsthal’s works, not only as ways of experiencing the world, but also as an inherent aspect of the reading experience.