"Mann the Magic Mountain" is a novel written by Thomas Mann and published in 1924. It is a highly acclaimed and important work of literature that explores various themes and ideas. The novel follows the story of Hans Castorp, a young man who visits a sanatorium in the Swiss Alps for what was supposed to be a short stay. However, his stay is extended to seven years due to his fascination with the world and people he encounters there. The mountain itself becomes a symbol in the novel, representing a place of isolation and reflection. It is described as a magical and enchanting place that has a transformative effect on those who visit it.
The novel’s story, briefly, though I suspect if you are interested in this novel you already know the outline: a young orphaned bourgeois German engineering student, Hans Castorp, intends to have a brief visit with his soldier cousin, Joachim Ziemssen, in the Berghof, an Alpine tuberculosis sanatorium administered by Dr. Hofrat Behrens. In the course of things, Hans is himself diagnosed with tuberculosis, and remains on the titular mountain for seven years, before leaving to fight in the Great War. During his stay in the Berghof, he begins a long study of science and human nature, partially presided over by the two pedagogues who compete for his allegiance, the Enlightenment humanist Lodovico Settembrini and the aforementioned anti-modern reactionary-revolutionary Leo Naphta. Perhaps more importantly, he is inducted into the mysteries of eros when he falls in love with Clavdia Chauchat, a Russian woman who reminds him of a youthful boy-crush with similarly Slavic origins; Clavdia stands for everything the Western European haute bourgeoisie has repressed: sex, femininity, queerness, and “the Orient.” The novel, in short, narrates the prying-open of Hans Castorp, the deconstruction of the ordinary Western bourgeois subject, a deconstruction in which the symbolically feverish young man genially acquiesces, as his rest-cure repose allows him an imaginative access to all reality. On the one hand, this apotheosis of the mind’s sovereignty is just what Hans calls it, “playing king.” On the other hand, what does the mind in its sovereignty learn? That life is a disease of matter, that man is a speck in the universe, that the heart beats in tiny fragility within the howling winds of uncaring nature. Mind in its sovereignty learns that mind is not sovereign.
That Hans goes back down the mountain to fight for Germany implies less a return to the normativity of what the Berghof residents somewhat contemptuously call the flatland and more the amor fati of the untimely artist intellectual. Krokowski, has by the end of the novel moved from Freud to Jung as Europe itself becomes progressively more irrational, and he is only too eager to enlist Elly in his psychical researches.
It is described as a magical and enchanting place that has a transformative effect on those who visit it. Throughout the novel, Mann explores the concept of time and its passage, as well as the philosophical and intellectual ideas that arise in the isolated environment of the sanatorium. One of the main themes of "Mann the Magic Mountain" is the exploration of the human condition.
Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain
I was a teenager—that is to say, pretty much an unsophisticated jerk—when I first read The Magic Mountain almost 50 years ago, in an undergraduate class taught by the iconoclastic theater director Herbert Blau. He had blasted us through two volumes of Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past in as many weeks, and now allowed us a week for Mann’s 720-page juggernaut. While Proust only lightly stuck, Mann’s majestic prose sucked me in like a downhill skier into a sudden blizzard.
The plot sounds deceptively simple. A young man named Hans Castorp goes up a mountain to visit a friend suffering from tuberculosis. There he is diagnosed with the same disease and winds up spending seven years in the same sanatorium. Gradually, he is drawn into the society of the sufferers, wonderfully drawn personalities, all of them: the ever-optimistic humanist Settembrini, the hunchbacked authoritarian Naphta, the erotically charged Madame Chauchat, the scientific Dr. Behrens, the loquacious Mynheer Peperkorn, a Dutch planter who emanates a charismatic cheeriness that causes people to hang on his every, half-coherent utterance. In short, the sanatorium’s inmates comprise a microcosm of Europe on the eve of the First World War, through which the impressionable young Castorp passes like Candide.
The Magic Mountain, published in 1924, is not a historical novel but a novel about history—about a time just past whose ramifications have yet to fully unfold. Mann chillingly foresaw the disintegrating faith in reason and the corresponding surrender to the irrational that only a few years later produced Adolf Hitler and caused Mann’s own books to be burned in Germany.
The Magic Mountain taught me that big ideas have vitality, that intellectual life could make for great storytelling, and that the map of an age could be found in the personalities of the people who lived it, lessons that I carried into the writing of history. But the truth is, I have returned again and again to The Magic Mountain because the characters who inhabit it are such delightful company. Hans Castorp finally, reluctantly, descended the mountain to disappear into the maelstrom of the First World War. Like him, I hate to come back down. Unlike him, however, I have the privilege of returning.
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Fergus M. Bordewich ’s most recent book is Congress at War: How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Remade America.
Mann’s story, which unfolds over nearly 800 pages, is set in a sanatorium in Davos, in the Swiss Alps, modelled after an actual establishment where his wife went to recover from a lung disease. The protagonist of The Magic Mountain is a young man called Hans Castorp, who is visiting a cousin suffering from tuberculosis. As Hans steps inside the microcosm of the sanatorium, away from the bustle of his city life, he begins to lose his familiar bearings. Days turn into weeks, as he explores the surrounding landscape, having deep epiphanies and meeting a host of characters, each of whom has a unique view on life, art, politics and the future of Europe, which is still a decade away from World War II.
Mann delves into the complexities of human nature, using the microcosm of the sanatorium to reflect on the larger world outside. The characters in the novel represent different ideologies and philosophies, allowing Mann to create a rich tapestry of ideas and perspectives. Another important theme in the novel is the examination of illness and mortality. As the characters in the sanatorium are all suffering from various illnesses, the novel raises questions about the nature of illness, its impact on individuals, and the inevitability of death. Mann uses this theme to explore existential questions and the fragility of human existence. Throughout the novel, Mann's writing is highly descriptive and reflective. He delves into the inner thoughts and emotions of his characters, allowing the reader to deeply engage with the story. Mann's prose is often philosophical and introspective, creating a rich and immersive reading experience. "Mann the Magic Mountain" is considered a masterpiece of German literature and has had a significant impact on the literary canon. It continues to be studied and analyzed for its rich themes and insightful exploration of the human condition..
Reviews for "The Exploration of Science and Rationality in The Magic Mountain"
1. John - 2 out of 5 stars - I found "Mann the Magic Mountain" to be a disappointing read. The plot was incredibly slow-paced and there were too many extraneous details that seemed unnecessary and only served to drag the story further. Additionally, I found the characters to be quite unrelatable and uninteresting, making it difficult for me to become invested in their journey. Overall, I had high hopes for this book but was ultimately let down by its lackluster storytelling.
2. Sarah - 1 out of 5 stars - I couldn't finish "Mann the Magic Mountain" as I found it incredibly tedious and boring. The language was overly verbose and filled with unnecessary philosophical musings that did nothing to move the narrative forward. The characters lacked depth and the plot seemed to meander aimlessly without any clear direction. I was highly disappointed with this book and would not recommend it to anyone looking for an engaging and captivating read.
3. Robert - 2 out of 5 stars - "Mann the Magic Mountain" was a book that simply did not resonate with me. The writing style felt pretentious, and the story itself felt incredibly slow and meandering. I struggled to find any compelling reason to continue reading as the plot failed to captivate me. Additionally, I found the characters to be unlikable and difficult to connect with. Overall, this novel was not my cup of tea and I would not recommend it to others.