E.T.A.ホフマンの『スキュデリー女史』より : カルディヤックの犯罪心理
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概要
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The novel "Miss Scuderi" by E.T.A. Hoffmann is an ancestor of the modern mystery. Murder cases occurred one after another in Paris under the reign of Louis XIV. Gentlemen who requested jewelry were murdered one by one, and their jewelry was plundered. I analyzed this novel and discovered a tripartite structure. (1) The author describes the developments. (2) In the description, one of the characters (a suspect) gives a deposition. (3) Furthermore, the real criminal confesses his crimes in the desposition. The criminal himself is rather easily identified, but the motive for the crime remains a mystery. I therefore examined the psychology of the criminal Cardillac, a jeweler, and consequently discovered three factors. (1) Artisan spirit. He never wants to part with his jewelry in his own care [cultural dimension]. (2) An abnormal partiality for jewelry, inherited from his mother. This is fetishism [biological dimension]. (3) Oedipus complex. He puts his client (a man who presents jewelry) and a lover of his mother in the same category [psychological dimension]. These factors connect with each part of the tripartite structures. There is also one additional dimension. The Paris of those days was fertile soil for criminal activity [social dimension]. Mysteries today are simply a form of entertainment, and identifying the criminal is a kind of game. However, the forefather of the modern mystery was pure literature. In the novel, we explore the mysterious mental state of people who live in society.
- 2005-06-30