fmann anchors it in the growing bewilderment of Anselm at being caught between two worlds.
Anselm is seduced into the reality of Lindhorst's unreal world, drawn irrevocably toward Serpentina and away from Veronica. Initially, Anselm is horrified to be shut up in a crystal bottle, but gradually, as Hoffmann spins the tale, Anselm is drawn to believe that Serpentina, who bears the golden pot from which a lily containing the secret of life blooms, will redeem the quality of his existence. He is not disappointed. "Serpentina!" says Anselm. "Belief in you, love of you, has unfolded to my soul the inmost spirit of nature! You have brought me the lily that sprang from gold, from the primeval force of the world, before Phosphorous had kindled the spark of thought" (78 9). In other words, the fantastic world is of more importance than and is more preferable to the cares of the everyday world. Anselm's story is the celebration of the transfiguration of one being into being itself. At this point in the story, the narrative focus shifts abruptly. The reader
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