The Cabinet (Symbol)
The cabinet in which Cesare is kept is, of course, in the title of the film, and also bears symbolic significance within the narrative. The fact that Cesare is a sleepwalker is already representative of his abnormal remove from waking life and normal society. The fact that he is then kept in a cabinet, as though he is an inanimate object or a possession, is symbolic of the fact that Dr. Caligari has taken him on as his keepsake, his most prized possession. The relation between Caligari and Cesare is that of master and slave, and Cesare's cabinet exemplifies this relationship. Furthermore, the cabinet is less like a bed and more like a coffin, representing the way that Cesare is more dead than alive.
Staircases (Motif)
The off-kilter perspective of the set design is particularly noticeable in the film when it comes to staircases. The stairways in the film are foreboding, shadowy, ominous…and almost always lead to figures of authority, like the police or the head of the insane asylum. This has the effect of showcasing the power of authority figures in the film. The fact that the staircases are also shadowy and ominous symbolizes how nothing is ever quite as it seems, that the thresholds between places and levels within the societal hierarchy often hold unforeseen surprises.
Twisted Perspectives (Symbol)
A recurring symbolic aesthetic in the film is the twisted sense of perspective in the set design. The village in which the narrative unfolds features architectural angles and perspectives that defy logic. Walls go diagonally, hills are cartoonishly steep, and architecture seems to fold over itself, almost like in a dream. This twisted perspective symbolizes the twisted mind of the narrator relating the story as he turns out to be a patient in a lunatic asylum. Additionally, historically, it symbolizes the revelation that the old order of things upon which Germans and their European neighbors had depended for so long was skewed and heading toward collapse in the years leading towards WWII.
The Asylum (Symbol)
The insane asylum is the perfect symbol for what Germany was experiencing politically following their surrender in WWI. The asylum as the central location in the film mirrors the disillusionment and post-traumatic German conscience following WWI.
The asylum is a place in which boundaries collapse and nothing is as it seems. First Caligari is a madman, then he’s the director of the asylum, then he’s a lunatic masquerading as the director and then the story itself is revealed to be the fever dream of a lunatic. At the time of the film's release, Germany was in a heightened state of anxiety over what the future held and how the past would impact that future. Essentially, Caligari’s insane asylum can be interpreted to symbolize Germany itself.
Cesare (Symbol)
Cesare, the Somnambulist, is a symbol in the film. In his half waking state, he represents the political subject who has lost his will and his subjectivity and must submit to the will of a master. Indeed, Caligari refers to Cesare as his "slave," and enlists Cesare to commit murders at his behest. Then later, Francis and the others discover that Caligari keeps a stuffed puppet in the cabinet to pose as Cesare while Cesare commits his crimes. The puppet is a further representation of the fact that Cesare has no will and is at the mercy of an evil master. Cesare is alive, but barely conscious, and has no autonomy of his own, which makes him a symbol of a person who is subservient to a corrupt master.
