The Nutcracker Part III
In Alexandre Dumas’ adaption of the tale, we are given an entirely different style of storytelling. Dumas prefaces the tale with a creative introduction, he (the narrator) is at a party and sneaks away for a few minutes into another room for a moment of silence. He falls asleep on a comfortable chair and wakes up bound to it. For the children of the party found and played sport with him by tying him hostage. He negotiates with them, and finally the children agree to let him go if he tells them a lovely tale. He then recounts the tale of E.T.A Hoffmann’s Nutcracker and Mouse King.
Dumas introduces the characters quite differently than Hoffmann. Hoffmann gives you little delightful bits of enduring characteristics. Whereas, Dumas, goes into intricate details. For example, with Fritz, throughout the Hoffmann version, the reader concludes that he is a boisterous, sometimes aggressive little boy that tends to cause trouble. In Dumas’ version, an entire paragraph goes into describing Fritz as a rebellious, disrespectful, spoilt child who is hard to discipline.
Not only does he go into greater detail of the characters, but Dumas also changes the characters a little as well. In Hoffmann’s tale, Marie, the little girl, is confident and strong willed. In Dumas’ version, she comes off as meek and obedient. The parents are loving and caring, as opposed to Hoffmann’s version where the parents were more strict and disciplined. This could be that in Hoffmann’s time, there was a stricter attitude towards children. Drosselmayer (a different spelling in Dumas’ version), is the Godfather, medical counselor, toymaker, and inventor. He is interesting that is for sure. But in Hoffmann’s version, there is a mystery about Drosselmeier. Is he good or bad? Is he on Marie’s side or the parents? He often puts her down and hurts her feelings, yet he can also be nurturing. He is a complex character that comes across as untrustworthy even though he holds all the secrets. In Dumas’ version, he is the same, but comes across as a bit softer.
Overall, both versions are the same plot with a different flavor. Hoffmann’s style is more poetic, a simpler yet more musical form of telling the story. Dumas’ style, as mentioned before if very detailed, for example-his description of the first battle near the cabinet is twice as long as Hoffmann’s version. The Tale of the Hard Nut is also twice as long. Dumas does a good job at explaining to his audience parts of Hoffmann’s tale that benefits us even today. For example, he explains the tradition of the Christmas tree on the table at Christmas Eve. He also explains that reason the Mouse King wanted revenge against The Nutcracker. He is good at filling in the holes we might have missed with Hoffmann’s tale. Despite all the intricate details and the length of his story, Dumas’ version may be easier to read for todays reader. I am not sure if it is the different translations between German to English verses French to English or if it has to do with the fact that Hoffmann’s version is older and has a fairy tale element to it.
I do love and prefer Hoffmann’s version of the tale. It truly is a fairy tale, with enough detail to follow the storyline, yet the characters remain somewhat mysterious. Hoffmann has a way of describing to the reader an element that makes us use our imagination, that forces us to use our senses, to make us decide for ourselves. Whereas Dumas tends to tell us what to think. Ah, how can I explain it? Dumas’ version reads more as a fantasy novel, and less as a fairy tale.
I do want to point out two funny quotes from Alexandre Dumas’ tale of The Hard Nut. The first is when he is talking about the fate of Princess Pirlipat, and the threat of Lady Mouserink “According to what the lady had said, the point was no worse, for the heiress to the happy little nameless kingdom, than the loss of her life, or at least the loss of her beauty-which, we are assured, is far worse for a woman.” Seriously? Now really Dumas, do you think that the loss of beauty is worse for a woman than her actual life?
The second quote, he was making fun of the king in the Hard Nut tale, “On the contrary; Powerful men always believe they need to blame smaller men for any calamities they endure, and so the king shifted responsibility..”
I guess much has not changed in the last 150 years. A woman’s worth is based on her beauty and powerful men blame others for their mistakes.
Nutcracker and Mouse King, E.T.A Hoffmann, Translated by Joachim Neugroschel, Pinguin Books, NY (2007)
The Tale of the Nutcracker, Alexandre Dumas, Translated by Joachim Neugroschel, Pinguin Books, NY (2007)