Reading Questions for Gautier, "The Coffee Pot" (1831)

1. What is the relationship between the epigraph (from Joseph's Vision) and the story?

2. What are the chief characteristics of the bedroom where the narrator is to spend the night?

3. What is the role of the clock?

4. Explain what is wrong with the music during the dancing scene. What purpose does this detail serve?

5. How is Angela described? What is the relationship between her and the coffee pot?

6. How does the narrative unsettle the usual distinctions between dream and wakefulness?

7. In what ways does the tale remind you of a dream? What dream-like themes does it try to emphasize?