FARIDATUL RIZKA (30802300010)
Not all
good endings have to end with the characters being together. In The
Nutcracker and the Mouse King, E. T. A. Hoffmann tells the story of Marie,
a young girl who lives in a world of toys, dreams, and imagination. The story
begins on a joyful Christmas Eve when Marie receives a wooden Nutcracker from
Mr. Drosselmeier. That night, she discovers that her toys come to life and that
the Nutcracker is actually a brave soldier who fights the evil Mouse King. The
story is full of magical adventures that reflect the pure imagination of a
child.
However,
the ending of the story feels out of place. After all the adventure, Hoffmann
suddenly shifts the tone from a child’s fantasy to a romantic conclusion. Marie
grows up a little and is proposed to by Drosselmeier’s nephew, who is revealed
to be the Nutcracker himself. This change feels abrupt because it moves away
from the innocence and curiosity that shaped most of the story.
The
romance at the end weakens the story’s sense of adventure and makes the message
less focused. Instead of highlighting Marie’s courage of her growth through
imagination, the story ends with a proposal that does not match the tone of the
earlier chapters. It’s interesting that many later versions of The
Nutcracker, such as the newer children’s storybooks, remove the proposal
part to keep the story focused on its magical adventure instead of romance.
Source: Cover of The Nutcracker and the Mouse-King (1930 edition, Albert Whitman &Co.). Public domain (USA).
Even so, The
Nutcracker and the Mouse King is still a beautiful and creative story that
has captured the hearts of readers for generations. Its magical world and a
sense of imagination make it timeless. A good ending doesn’t always need to be
about love. Sometimes it can simply be about courage, kindness and the simple joy
of believing in something.
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