The German Romantic movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries gave rise to the Kunstmärchen, or literary fairy tale. Unlike traditional folk tales collected by figures like the Brothers Grimm, these are original stories by known authors that often explore dark psychological and philosophical themes. A leading author in this tradition was E. T. A. Hoffmann, whose works frequently probe the unsettling boundary between humanity and machinery. His famous 1816 story “The Sandman,” for example, features the automaton Olimpia, a clockwork doll so lifelike that the protagonist falls in love with her, leading to his psychological collapse and death. Hoffmann used such uncanny figures to question the nature of identity, perception, and emotional attachment to artificial creations. Stories about automata became an important feature of Gothic-Romantic literature, which often reflected anxieties surrounding scientific progress, artificial life, and the possibility that human beings themselves might be reduced to mechanical processes.

Pullman’s Clockwork draws heavily on this Gothic-Romantic tradition. Dr. Kalmenius recalls the uncanny inventors commonly found in Romantic automata fiction, while Prince Florian and Sir Ironsoul continue the literary tradition of mechanical figures that unsettle distinctions between the human and the artificial. Seen in this context, the novel becomes more than a simple fantasy story. Its clockwork figures and artificial figures revisit Gothic-Romantic concerns about humanity, artificial life, emotional connection, and the limits of mechanical control.

Similar concerns remain relevant today through discussions about increasingly human-like technologies. Modern debates surrounding artificially intelligent chatbots and virtual companions reflect some of the same fears and fascinations explored in Hoffmann’s fiction, particularly the tendency to project human emotions and relationships onto artificial figures.