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December 11, 2003
Drosselmeyer
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Pyotr Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker' (which apparently he discarded after writing, thinking it too sentimental and simple - only to be retrieved by an assistant) includes the character of Drosselmeyer, Clara's godfather.
Different versions of the story exist, all based on the book, “The Nutcracker and the King of Mice” by E.T.A. Hoffman.
But the basic idea is that Drosselmeyer was a magician and toymaker.
Clara receives the toy soldier from Drosselmeyer, loves it, her little brother Fritz breaks it.
Drosselmeyer had built a special mousetrap that killed off half of all the mice, thus enraging the Mouse Queen, who then turned Drosselmeyer's nephew, Hans-Peter, into a wooden soldier.
Hans leads the other toys into battle with the remaining mice, for only once he has killed the Mouse King will the spell be lifted.
The story has love and fighting, so appeals to both boys and non-boys.
But as far as the themes of mechanical life are concerned, we see both toy soldiers who come to life as well as a human being turned into a mechanical being.
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Posted by mslaybau at December 11, 2003 09:56 AM
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