About Puppenstube

In Germany and some other European countries, the term for doll is "puppen."  This word is much older than the term "doll."  It has a Proto-German root (Proto-German meaning a language older than modern German, an ancestor language) -- "pupe."  "Pupe" has a few various spellings, but the meaning is always the same.  It means "the image you see of yourself when you look someone else in the eye."

This basic idea is associated with other words, all of which are derivatives of "pupe."  The dark area of the inner eye where your reflected image is seen is the "pupil."  A pupil is also a student, which means a person who "lives in the eye of a teacher."  Because the image seen in the eye is small, the definition of a "puppen" is "small person," or a "reflection of the self that is smaller than real life."  A "Puppet" is a puppen that moves.

"Stube" is a room -  Puppenstube is a doll room.