E. T. A. Hoffmann, Kater Murr [Tom-Cat Murr]

Gerhart Hoffmeister (University of California, Santa Barbara)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1819 - 1821

Places

Russia, Kaliningrad (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

E. T. A. Hoffmann's novel, often abbreviated as Kater Murr, carried the full title Lebens-Ansichten des Katers Murr nebst fragmentarischer Biographie des Kapellmeisters Johannes Kreisler in zufälligen Makulaturblättern herausgegeben von E. T. A. Hoffmann [Life-Opinions of Tom-Cat Murr, together with the Fragmentary Biography of Conductor Johannes Kreisler in Accidental Galley-Proofs, Edited by E. T. A. Hoffmann] and appeared in two parts (1819 and 1821). A third part was planned, but never published. In several respects this is a unique romantic novel. It differs from its generic precursors in that it does not present the typical journeying hero, but two stationary protagonists in a Doppelroman (double novel). When he composed the text during the decline of German Romanticism, Hoffmann was in a position to look back on the kind of society and literature that...

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1791 words

Citation: Hoffmeister, Gerhart. "Kater Murr". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 October 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16365, accessed 05 December 2025.]

E. T. A. Hoffmann, Kater Murr [Tom-Cat Murr]

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

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