Hoffmann's Work is not just a reflection of a life. It is a work of art, an artwork. A common understanding of what art is and should be forms the background to the diverse works' heterogeneous forms of expression. Although the focus of this paper is on one of Hoffmann's Works, it reveals Hoffmann's ideas and ideals as a human being and romantic author, as well as his philosophical outlook on life ("Weltanschauung"). In Hoffmann's "The Devil's Elixirs," practically impossible events often serve a psychological function, by projecting the hero's internal processes externally and portraying mental or emotional events in realistic images. / In his novel, the poet did not just seek to portray a psychological conflict, but rather to use the various means provided by his knowledge and imagination to write a captivating, interesting story, which also reflects his ideas and ideals. Hoffmann was not a psychologist, but rather a poet. He didn't write a medical case history, he wrote a novel. His experience and observations of the internal and external world of human beings served as a stimulus for literary creation, without being the sole theme of the artistic work.

The topic of this diploma thesis is the motif of a Double-goer and related elements in Die Elixiere des Teufels by E. T. A. Hoffmann and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. We can divide it into 5 basic parts. The first and the second parts describe the development of the gothic novel, its main motifs and the motif of a Double-goer. The third part analyses these motifs in Die Elixiere des Teufels, whereas the fourth part has the same task in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Then, the related elements and differences in both works are pointed out in the last part.

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Zugl.: Hamburg, Univ., Diss.