Using the methodology of the “Hoffmann complex” the article investigates the influence of the romantic tradition on Danish prose of the second half of the 20th century using the example of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s works and V. Sørensen’s short story “A Tale of Glass”. It is claimed that the work reveals a layer of Hoffmann’s intertext from the short stories “The Sandman” and “Little Zaches”. The concept of the “Sandman complex” is introduced, which is a stable interweaving of problems, motifs and images characteristic of the Hoffmann novel by the same name, namely: optical symbolism (eyes, glass, spectacles), the principle of doubleness (“party of glasses” — “party against glasses”) and the problem of duality (Gert — the leader of the revolution, the brothers-opticians), the motive of blindness, the deconstruction of the features of a romantic hero, the motive of choosing between a “false” and a “true” beloved, the problem of spiritual death of man and the mechanization of society (elements from the short story “Little Zaches”), as well as the image system (Coppelius, Coppola, Olympia, Clara, Nathaniel) from the novel by E. T. A. Hoffman. The transformation of the “Sandman complex” in the short story by Sørensen is analyzed. The authors conclude that in the “Story with Glass” elements of Hoffmann’s poetics are refracted in order to reflect the beginnings of socio-political and philosophical conflicts (materialism and idealism) of the 20th century, which originated in the confrontation of philistine (everyday) and romantic worldviews