An annual Christmas favorite is the Nutcracker ballet. However, another favorite for me is reading the Nutcracker novel by E.T.A. Hoffman, written in 1816.
The first part of the story will be very familiar to anyone who has seen the ballet, with Herr Drosselmeyer attending the Stahlbaum family Christmas party. He displays some works of clockwork genius, but the prize gift is a beautiful nutcracker. The nutcracker ends up in the hands of Marie (Clara in the ballet), is broken by her brother Fritz, and repaired by Drosselmeyer, using one of Marie's ribbons.
That night, Marie’s dolls and Fritz’s toy soldiers fight off an invasion by the mice and the Mouse King. Ultimately, Marie drives them off by throwing a slipper at the Mouse King. In the process, she cuts her arm on the broken glass of the toy cabinet, and her parents attribute her tale of mice vs toys battles to a loss of blood.
Unlike the ballet, we learn the origin of the Nutcracker, and it’s a doozy. It’s a weird 19th century folktale-style fantasy about a princess cursed to look like, well, a nutcracker. The cure? A magic nut, which can only be brought to her by someone who has never shaved, who can manage to crack this uncrackable nut, and, after giving it to her, can walk away backwards with his eyes closed without stumbling. Of course , it’s Drosselmeyer’s nephew who fills the bill, only he trips over the mouse queen on his way out of the princess’s chambers, and is transformed… into a Nutcracker!
It’s weird, it’s fun, and it’s full of the trappings of Christmas, with trees, toys, presents, and the Sugar Plum Fairy. Once the main action of the Nutcracker and Marie vs the mice is resolved, we get a tour of the fairy kingdom, much like the second act of the ballet.
Reading this really puts me in the holiday spirit. I’m looking forward to the Disney movie, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, next year.
This year, I followed the book up with Gregory Maguire’s Hiddensee, which is an adult fantasy detailing the biography of Dirk Drosselmeyer, incorporating European, Greek, and Celtic mythology, and encompassing—but going way beyond—the story of the Nutcracker. I highly recommend it as a companion.
For a different, beautiful take on the Nutcracker story, I also really recommend the comic strip version, produced by the Joe Kubert School, which can be viewed here.
That’s it for today. Come back tomorrow for another Christmas treat!
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