Editing E. T. A. Hoffmann (section)

===The provinces===
From 1796, Hoffmann obtained employment as a clerk for his uncle, Johann Ludwig Doerffer, who lived in Glogau with his daughter Minna. After passing further examinations he visited [[Dresden]], where he was amazed by the paintings in the gallery, particularly those of [[Correggio]] and [[Raphael]]. During the summer of 1798, his uncle was promoted to a court in Berlin, and the three of them moved there in August—Hoffmann's first residence in a large city. It was there that Hoffmann first attempted to promote himself as a composer, writing an operetta called ''Die Maske'' and sending a copy to Queen [[Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Luise of Prussia]]. The official reply advised to him to write to the director of the Royal Theatre, a man named [[August Wilhelm Iffland|Iffland]]. By the time the latter responded, Hoffmann had passed his third round of examinations and had already left for [[Poznań|Posen (Poznań)]] in [[South Prussia]] in the company of his old friend Hippel, with a brief stop in Dresden to show him the gallery.

From June 1800 to 1803, he worked in Prussian provinces in the area of [[Greater Poland]] and [[Masovia]]. This was the first time he had lived without supervision by members of his family, and he started to become "what school principals, parsons, uncles, and aunts call dissolute."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hoffmann |first=E. T. A. |title=Selected Letters of E. T. A. Hoffmann |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1977 |isbn=0-226-34790-7 |editor-last=Sahlin |editor-first=Johanna C. |pages=94 |translator-last=Sahlin |translator-first=Johanna C.}}</ref>

His first job, at Posen, was endangered after Carnival on [[Shrove Tuesday]] 1802, when caricatures of military officers were distributed at a ball. It was immediately deduced who had drawn them, and complaints were made to authorities in Berlin, who were reluctant to punish the promising young official. The problem was solved by "promoting" Hoffmann to [[Płock]] in [[New East Prussia]], the former capital of Poland (1079–1138), where administrative offices were relocated from [[Toruń|Thorn (Toruń)]]. He visited the place to arrange lodging, before returning to Posen where he married Mischa (Maria or Marianna Thekla Michalina Rorer, whose [[Polish language|Polish]] surname was Trzcińska). They moved to Płock in August 1802.

Hoffmann despaired because of his exile, and drew caricatures of himself drowning in mud alongside ragged villagers. He did make use, however, of his isolation, by writing and composing. He started a diary on 1 October 1803. An essay on the theatre was published in [[August von Kotzebue|Kotzebue]]'s periodical, ''Die Freimüthige'', and he entered a competition in the same magazine to write a play. Hoffmann's was called ''Der Preis'' ("The Prize"), and was itself about a competition to write a play. There were fourteen entries, but none was judged worthy of the award: 100 [[Friedrichs d'or]]. Nevertheless, his entry was singled out for praise.<ref>''Die Freimüthige,'' 11 February 1804. Volume II, no. 6, pages xxi–xxiv.</ref> This was one of the few good times of a sad period of his life, which saw the deaths of his uncle J. L. Hoffmann in Berlin, his Aunt Sophie, and Dora Hatt in Königsberg.

At the beginning of 1804, he obtained a post at [[Warsaw]].{{Sfn|Jaffé|1978|p=15}} On his way there, he passed through his hometown and met one of Dora Hatt's daughters. He was never to return to Königsberg.