Hoffmann's "The Sandman" and Todorov

In "The Sandman," Hoffmann creates a Fantastic story where the events that happen within it to the characters are not easily dismissed as either real or supernatural, and thus increases the tension of the story.  Hoffmann presents his tale from an outsider's viewpoint, where he serves as the narrator and the bridge between the story and the reader, often talking about what the reader has just read, or even addressing the reader directly with questions about the characters or the story.  He begins the story by presenting three letters exchanged between Nathaniel, Karla, and Lothar, which tell of Nathaniel's traumatic childhood incident and of his encounters with Coppola, who he believed to be Coppelius in disguise.  Within these letters and the subsequent discussion between the narrator and the reader is the first creation of Fantasy; Karla and Lothar assert that Nathaniel's childhood trauma is driving him mad and causing him to see Coppelius where he isn't, while the narrator talks of this event in the context of trying futile to convey the emotions or feeling of a certain event to others, suggesting that this event might be real, just poorly conveyed.     This confrontation between rational and supernatural explanations continues throughout the story; with Olympia being something unearthly or instead simply dull and stiff or with the issue of whether Coppelius is really influencing Nathaniel and interfering with his life, and supports for both real and supernatural explanations are constantly put forth.  Because the story simply ends with the death of Nathaniel, and there is no real conclusion to the matters, the reader is hesitant to dismiss the events as real or supernatural even after the story ends, increasing the tension and creating multiple ways of interpreting the text.