Paul Thomas Mann

"Magic Mountain"

The action takes place at the beginning of the 20th century (in the years immediately preceding the outbreak of the First World War) in Switzerland, in a tuberculosis sanatorium located near Davos. The title of the novel evokes associations with Mount Herzelberg (Sinful or Magic Mountain), where, according to legend, the Minnesinger Tannhäuser spent seven years in captivity of the goddess Venus.

The hero of the novel, a young German named Hans Castorp, comes from Hamburg to the Berghof sanatorium to visit his cousin Joachim Ziemsen, who is undergoing treatment there. Hans Castorp intends to spend no more than three weeks in the sanatorium, but towards the end of the planned period he feels unwell, accompanied by a rise in temperature. As a result of a medical examination, signs of tuberculosis are revealed, and at the insistence of the chief physician Behrens, Hans Castorp remains in the sanatorium for a longer period. From the very moment of his arrival, Hans Castorp discovers that time in the mountains flows completely differently than on the plain, and therefore it is almost impossible to determine how many days, weeks, months, years have passed between certain events described and what period the action of the entire novel covers. At the very end of the novel, however, it is said that Hans Castorp spent a total of seven years in the sanatorium, but even this figure can be considered as a certain artistic convention.

Strictly speaking, the plot and events that happen in the novel are completely unimportant for understanding its meaning. They are only an excuse to contrast the different life positions of the characters and give the author the opportunity to speak through their mouths on many issues that concern him: life, death and love, illness and health, progress and conservatism, the fate of human civilization on the threshold of the 20th century. Several dozen characters pass through the novel - mostly patients, doctors and staff of the sanatorium: someone recovers and leaves the Berghof, someone dies, but new ones are constantly taking their place.

Among those with whom Hans Castorp meets already in the first days of his stay in the sanatorium, a special place is occupied by Mr. Lodovico Settembrini - a descendant of the Carbonari, a freemason, a humanist, and a staunch supporter of progress. At the same time, like a true Italian, he passionately hates Austria-Hungary. His unusual, sometimes paradoxical ideas, expressed in a bright, often caustic form, have a huge impact on the consciousness of the young man, who begins to revere Mr. Setgembrini as his mentor.

An important role in the life story of Hans Castorp was also played by his love for the Russian patient of the sanatorium, Madame Claudia Shosha - love, which, due to the strict upbringing he received in a Calvinist family, he initially resists with all his might. Many months pass before Hans Castorp speaks to his beloved - this happens during the carnival on the eve of Lent and Claudia's departure from the sanatorium.

During the time spent in the sanatorium, Hans Castorp became seriously interested in many philosophical and natural scientific ideas. He attends lectures on psychoanalysis, seriously studies medical literature, he is occupied with questions of life and death, he studies modern music, using for his own purposes the latest achievements of technology - recording, etc. In fact, he no longer imagines his life on the plain, forgets that work awaits him there, practically breaks ties with his few relatives and begins to consider life in a sanatorium as the only possible form of existence.

With his cousin Joachim the opposite is true. He has long and persistently prepared himself for a military career, and therefore considers every extra month spent in the mountains as an annoying obstacle to realizing his life’s dream. At some point, he cannot stand it and, not paying attention to the doctors’ warnings, leaves the sanatorium, enters military service and receives an officer’s rank. However, very little time passes, and his illness worsens, so that he is forced to return to the mountains, but this time the treatment does not help him, and he soon dies.

Shortly before this, a new character enters Hans Castorp's circle of acquaintances - the Jesuit Nafta, the eternal and constant opponent of Mr. Settembrini. Nafta idealizes the medieval past of Europe, condemns the very concept of progress and the entire modern bourgeois civilization embodied in this concept. Hans Castorp finds himself in some confusion - listening to the long arguments between Settembrini and Naphtha, he agrees with one or the other, then finds contradictions in both, so that he no longer knows which side is right. However, Settembrini’s influence on Hans Castorp is so great, and his innate distrust of the Jesuits is so high that he completely stands on the side of the former.

Meanwhile, Madame Chauchat returns to the sanatorium for a while, but not alone, but accompanied by her new acquaintance, the wealthy Dutchman Peperkorn. Almost all the inhabitants of the Berghof sanatorium fall under the magnetic influence of this certainly strong, mysterious, although somewhat tongue-tied, personality, and Hans Castorp feels some kinship with him, because they are united by their love for the same woman. And this life ends tragically. One day, the terminally ill Peperkorn takes a walk to a waterfall, entertains his companions in every possible way, in the evening he and Hans Castorp drink in brotherhood and become familiar, despite the difference in age, and at night Peperkorn takes poison and dies. Soon Madame Chauchat leaves the sanatorium - on this time, apparently, forever.

From a certain moment, some kind of uneasiness begins to be felt in the souls of the inhabitants of the Berghof sanatorium. This coincides with the arrival of a new patient - a Danish woman, Ellie Brand, who has some supernatural abilities, in particular the ability to read thoughts at a distance and summon spirits. The patients become interested in spiritualism and arrange seances, in which Hans Castorp is also involved, despite the caustic ridicule and warnings of his mentor Settembrini. It is after such sessions, and perhaps as a result of them, that the former measured passage of time in the sanatorium is disrupted. Patients quarrel, and every now and then conflicts arise over the most insignificant issues.

During one of the disputes with Nafta, Settembrini declares that he is corrupting youth with his ideas. A verbal skirmish leads to mutual insults, and then to a duel. Settembrini refuses to shoot, and then Nafta puts a bullet in his head.

And then the thunder of world war struck. The residents of the sanatorium begin to go home. Hans Castorp also leaves for the plain, admonished by Mr. Settembrini to fight where those close to him by blood are, although Mr. Settembrini himself seems to support a completely different side in this war.

In the final scene, Hans Castorp is depicted running, crawling, falling along with young people like him in soldier's greatcoats, caught in the meat grinder of the world war. The author deliberately says nothing about the final fate of his hero - the story about him is finished, and his life was not of interest to the author in itself, but only as a background for the story. However, as noted in the last paragraph, Hans Castorp has little hope of survival.

A young German named Hans Kanstorp travels to a sanatorium to visit his sick brother Joachim Ziemsen. There his temperature rises and as a result of the examination, signs of tuberculosis are revealed. The novel describes that Hans spent about seven years in the Berghof sanatorium.

While undergoing treatment, Kanstorp meets Lodovico Settembrini. This gentleman was a humanist, a convinced supporter of progress. His ideas had a huge impact on the consciousness of young Hans, and he begins to consider him his mentor.

He immediately fell in love with a Russian patient, Madame Claudia. At first he rejected this feeling, as he had a strict upbringing. But a few months later, on the eve of her departure, he dares to speak to her.

Hans was interested in philosophical ideas, attended lectures on psychoanalysis, and studied medical literature. He thinks about life and death and is interested in modern music. In the mountains, he forgets about his former life, work, and loved ones.

His cousin perceived this picture completely differently. He dreamed of a military career, and therefore considered every month spent in the sanatorium as an obstacle to his dream. One fine day, he can’t stand it and, despite the doctors’ warning, leaves the Berghof. In military service he receives the rank of officer. His health worsens and he soon dies.

During this period, Hans met the Jesuit Nafta. He idealizes the past and condemns progress. Kanstorp, listening to the arguments between Nafta and Settembrini, gives greater preference to the ideological thoughts of the second.

Claudia Shosha returns to the sanatorium, accompanied by the wealthy Dutchman Peperkorn. He was an interesting and mysterious personality, who undoubtedly interested many patients, and often went on walks, entertaining his companions. One day, hopelessly ill Peperkorn, after another walk at night, drinks poison and dies. Madame Claudia leaves the sanatorium forever.

After the arrival of the Danish Ellie Brand, a certain uneasiness settles in the sanatorium. Ellie had supernatural powers and could read minds. Many patients begin to get involved in spiritualistic seances, and frequent quarrels and misunderstandings arise between them.

So one day a dispute between Nafta and Settembrini escalates into a duel and ends with Nafta shooting himself in the head.

A world war has begun. Many patients are going home. Hans also goes home and participates in the war. Whether he managed to survive remains a mystery, although as the author shows, his chances were slim.

At the beginning XX century in Switzerland, before the outbreak of the First World War, the action takes place in a tuberculosis sanatorium, near Davos. The title of the work is associated with Mount Herzelberg (Sinful or Magic Mountain), where, according to legend, the minnesinger Tannhäuser spent seven years in captivity of the goddess Venus.

The main character is Hans Castorp, a young German who came from Hamburg to the Berghof sanatorium to visit his cousin Joachim Ziemsen. Hans plans to stay in the sanatorium for no more than three weeks, but at the end of his stay, his health deteriorates sharply. The temperature rises and you feel unwell. After being examined by doctors, he is diagnosed with tuberculosis. Following the recommendations of Chief Physician Behrens, Hans is forced to stay longer. The young man, immediately after arriving in the mountains, notices that time flows here completely differently than on the plain. Therefore, it is not known how long Hans spent here. True, at the end of the novel it is said that in total, he spent about seven years in the mountains.

The plot and events that develop in the work are a reason to contrast different life situations that concern the writer: health and illness, life and death, love. So that the author can express his position through the lips of the characters. There are a lot of characters in the novel, these are patients recovering or dying, doctors, and staff. And new ones are constantly arriving to take the places of those who have been healed or those who have died.

From the very first days, Castorp met different people, among them Mr. Lodovico Settembrini - a descendant of the Carbonari, a staunch supporter of progress, a humanist. In addition, he hates Austria-Hungary, like a native Italian. Unusual, paradoxical ideas that are expressed in a caustic form have a huge influence on a young person. Gradually, Mr. Setgembrini becomes a kind of mentor for Hans.

Another important factor in his life was his love for a patient of the same clinic, a Russian woman, Madame Shosha. A love that he does not want to accept as a gift, since he was strictly raised in a Calvinist family.

After many months, Hans plucks up the courage to be the first to speak to his beloved. This happens at a carnival, on the eve of Lent and Claudia's departure.

During treatment, the young man becomes interested in various philosophical and natural scientific ideas. He is interested in medical literature and takes courses in psychoanalysis. He becomes interested in questions of life and death. Using gramophone recordings, he studies contemporary music. And in general, Castorp can no longer imagine his life on the plain. Life in the sanatorium is now more important for him than relatives, work, which... He breaks ties with the world in which he lived before; now living in a sanatorium is the only possible form of existence.

Cousin Joachim, on the contrary, does not want to linger in the mountains, just as he dreamed of being a military man all his life and considers this a waste of his time, an obstacle to achieving his goal. One fine day, not paying attention to the doctors' warnings, he leaves the sanatorium and enters military service, receiving the rank of officer. But very soon his health deteriorates, and returning to the mountains does not save him from death.

At that time, Hans meets a new character, the Jesuit Naphtha, who is the constant opponent of Mr. Settembrini. He condemns the concept of progress and the entire bourgeois civilization, idealizes the medieval past of Europe. Being present at the disputes between Settembrini and Naphtha, the young man either agrees with either one or the other, then finds contradictions in each of them. Therefore, he no longer knows from whom he can find the truth. But still, the innate distrust of the Jesuits is very high, and Settembrini’s influence on Castorp is so great that the main character stands on the side of the second.

After some time, a Russian woman, Madame Shosha, returns to the sanatorium, accompanied by the wealthy Dutchman Peperkorn, who is a very close acquaintance of hers. Almost every patient at the Berghof sanatorium falls under the influence of this strong, mysterious type. And the young German feels some kind of kinship with him, because they love the same woman. But the Dutchman's life ends tragically. One fine day, Peppercorn, who was already incurable, leads everyone on a walk to the waterfall, entertaining his companions. In the evening, he and Hans have a drink for brotherhood and, despite the large age difference, move on to becoming more intimately acquainted, allowing each other to be addressed as “you.” That same night, the Russian woman’s companion drinks poison and dies, after which Madame Shosha leaves the mountains forever.

After this incident, there is a feeling of uneasiness in the souls of Berghof patients. All this coincides with the arrival of the Danish Ellie Brand, who can not only read thoughts from a distance and summon spirits, but also has supernatural abilities. The patients' interest in the new personality grows, they begin to get involved in sessions of spiritualism, where Hans Castorp is also present. But the mentor, Mr. Settembrini, does not like this very much and he begins to sarcastically mock and warn his ward. Over time, patients begin to divide into two groups: opponents and receivers. Many people quarrel over trifles, and conflict situations begin to arise.

After another argument between Nafta and Settembrini, a verbal altercation ensues, which leads to a duel. Mister Lodovico refuses to shoot, so the Jesuit shoots himself in the head.

From this moment on, the residents of the boarding house begin to go home. Hans also leaves for the plain, having listened to Settembrini’s parting words, to fight where he is close by blood, although he himself supports a different idea.

At the conclusion of the novel, Hans Castorp is depicted crawling, running with the same soldiers who ended up in the world war. The author does not specify the fate of the hero, because the story about him is already finished, and his life was only interested in as a background for the story. Although, as noted in the last paragraph, Hans Castorp's chances of survival are slim.

A summary of the novel “The Magic Mountain” was retold by OsipovaA. WITH.

Please note that this is only a brief summary of the literary work “The Magic Mountain”. This summary omits many important points and quotes.

The author was inspired to write the novel by visiting one of the Davos sanatoriums. Thomas Mann came to Davos to visit his wife, who was undergoing treatment in the mountains. The writer was already well acquainted with the daily life of the inhabitants of the sanatorium thanks to letters from Frau Mann.

Work on the novel began in 1912. For the sake of a new work, Thomas Mann was forced to interrupt work on another novel, Confessions of the Adventurer Felix Krull. Due to World War I, Mann had to temporarily stop writing The Magic Mountain. And only in 1920 the writer was able to return to work again.

Thomas Mann wanted to write about people who do not seek treatment for their illnesses and “hide” behind the walls of a sanatorium from the harsh reality. Originally, The Magic Mountain was supposed to be a short story. The result was a novel that was published in 1924. The plot of "The Magic Mountain" has many similarities with the plot of the story "Tristan", written by Mann in 1903. The main character of the story brings his beloved, suffering from tuberculosis, to a mountain sanatorium.

Hans Castorp, a young engineer, comes to a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients to visit his cousin. The sanatorium is located high in the Alps, far from the bustle of the world. The main character is fascinated by the atmosphere of the medical facility. The sanatorium has its own little “rituals,” for example, prayer before meals.

Castorp meets several patients, with each of whom Hans develops a close friendship. The main character planned to stay in the sanatorium for three weeks. Instead, Castorp spent 7 years in an institution. Meanwhile, the First World War began. The patients of the sanatorium are not interested in military operations. They continue to live as if nothing is happening: men and women flirt with each other, arrange seances and argue among themselves on abstract topics.

Characteristics

The patients of the sanatorium, whom the main character of the novel meets, embody certain character traits of the author’s contemporary society.

Hedonist Peppercorn

Baron Peppercorn considers pleasure the main goal of his life. The Baron flirts with a Russian patient named Claudia. Peppercorn is not looking for true love, deep feelings, or affection. In relationships with women, he is only interested in the physiological aspect.

Conservative Nafta

Jesuit Nafta is a traditionalist. He embodies a person who resists any changes in society. Nafta opposes all modern trends.

Liberal Settembrini

Lawyer Settembrini advocates education and is a supporter of progress. According to Settembrini, society must develop. Every person is obliged to keep up with the times.

Hans Castorp

The main character of the novel also deserves attention. Castorp combines the traits of all previous characters. On the one hand, Hans wants to be an active member of the society in which he lives. On the other hand, Castorp is afraid of change, which prompts him to stay in the sanatorium for 7 years. Like Baron Peppercorn, Castorp strives for pleasure.

Literary criticism greeted The Magic Mountain with enthusiasm. In the mountain sanatorium, it is not difficult to recognize European society on the eve of the First World War. Mann considers the Europeans of his time as suffering from tuberculosis (tuberculosis should be understood as human vices). According to Susan Sontag, the disease of humanity in the early twentieth century is a decadent consciousness. The author himself called The Magic Mountain a novel about time. Mann does not place himself as a judge over his contemporaries. He tries to understand them and maybe even justify them. The author does not impose his opinion, providing only facts. The reader has to make his own conclusion about everything that happens.

According to the work of Thomas Mann, European society was divided. One part of it was isolated in a “sanatorium”. These people do not intend to get rid of their problems. Illness for them is a reason to escape from reality. They live in an artificial world, where access to everything unpleasant that spoils the mood is prohibited. Patients turn a blind eye to everything that happens “down there.” Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the sanatorium are not nearly as naive as the reader thinks. They understand perfectly well that well-being in their small cozy world can end at any moment. Anticipating death, decadents want to get maximum pleasure from life. They don't even try to prevent this death. It is much easier to spend the last moments of your existence on forbidden joys. Death will allow you to avoid responsibility for the pleasure received.

The decadent society is constantly replenished with new “followers”. In the novel “The Magic Mountain,” Hans Castorp became such a “follower.” The inhabitants of the medical institution seem to the main character more humane and sincere than the people he is used to seeing outside the sanatorium. The presence of service personnel allows you not to worry about solving everyday problems and to completely indulge in decadent philosophy, the extreme form of which the author considers to be decadent romanticism, represented by the Russian woman Claudia Shosha.

Claudia falls into the extreme of romantic anarchy and desires complete permissiveness. At first glance, it seems that the main character has accepted Shosh's point of view. However, as the plot develops, it becomes clear to the reader that Hans does not agree with Claudia. Complete permissiveness and anarchy are not freedom, but a kind of beginning of the end. When there are no certain rules or norms of behavior, society gradually comes to destruction, significantly accelerating it.

There is another part of European society that remains outside the “sanatorium”. These are people who strive for chaos. Raising questions of psychoanalysis in his novel, Thomas Mann, following Freud, wants to understand people's irresistible attraction to death. Europeans outside the “sanatorium” strive for destruction and violence, knowing deep down that they themselves will suffer from the chaos of war. The author does not see the future of Europe either in decadent hedonists or in chaos worshipers.

To a modern reader, “The Magic Mountain” may not seem very relevant. The novel describes people who lived at the beginning of the last century and had different tastes. There is no denying that the differences between generations are palpable. However, there is a lot in common between modern Europeans and those who lived at the beginning of the twentieth century. The healing that Thomas Mann may have hoped for never came.

Society at the beginning of the new 21st century was unable to recover from its illnesses. People are still divided into those who strive for aggressive wars and violence, and those who hide from the cruel reality among their own kind, creating all kinds of artificial worlds.

Proof of this point of view can be considered the novel by the popular writer Paulo Coelho “Veronica Decides to Die”. As in Thomas Mann's novel, Coelho's work presents a medical institution - the Villete psychiatric hospital, where people tired of life find their refuge. Like the inhabitants of the mountain sanatorium, Villete's patients live a carefree life, divorced from reality, within the walls of the hospital. They argue about useless things, love or hate. Not all patients in a psychiatric clinic are truly sick. The only thing that is painful is their attitude towards the life from which they are fleeing within the walls of Villete.

Among those with whom Hans Castorp meets already in the first days of his stay in the sanatorium, a special place is occupied by Mr. Lodovico Settembrini - a descendant of the Carbonari, a freemason, a humanist, and a convinced supporter of progress. At the same time, like a true Italian, he passionately hates Austria-Hungary. His unusual, sometimes paradoxical ideas, expressed in a bright, often caustic form, have a huge impact on the consciousness of the young man, who begins to revere Mr. Setgembrini as his mentor.

During the time spent in the sanatorium, Hans Castorp became seriously interested in many philosophical and natural scientific ideas. He attends lectures on psychoanalysis, seriously studies medical literature, he is occupied with questions of life and death, he studies modern music, using the latest technological achievements for his purposes - recording, etc. In fact, he no longer imagines his life on the plain, forgets that work awaits him there, practically breaks ties with his few relatives and begins to consider life in a sanatorium as the only possible form of existence.

Meanwhile, Madame Chauchat returns to the sanatorium for a while, but not alone, but accompanied by her new acquaintance - the rich Dutchman Peperkorn. Almost all the inhabitants of the Berghof sanatorium fall under the magnetic influence of this certainly strong, mysterious, although somewhat tongue-tied, personality, and Hans Castorp feels some kinship with him, because they are united by their love for the same woman. And this life ends tragically. One day, the terminally ill Peperkorn takes a walk to a waterfall, entertains his companions in every possible way, in the evening he and Hans Castorp drink in brotherhood and become familiar, despite the difference in age, and at night Peperkorn takes poison and dies. Soon Madame Chauchat leaves the sanatorium - on this time, apparently, forever.

From a certain moment, some kind of uneasiness begins to be felt in the souls of the inhabitants of the Berghof sanatorium. This coincides with the arrival of a new patient - Danish Ellie Brand, who has some supernatural abilities, in particular the ability to read thoughts at a distance and summon spirits. The patients become interested in spiritualism and arrange seances, in which Hans Castorp is also involved, despite the caustic ridicule and warnings of his mentor Settembrini. It is after such sessions, and perhaps as a result of them, that the former measured passage of time in the sanatorium is disrupted. Patients quarrel, and every now and then conflicts arise over the most insignificant issues.

Works dedicated to Mann, but the construction of his works and its connection with real events and elements were not studied. The purpose of this work is to study the realistic elements in “Buddenbrooks” by Thomas Mann. Objectives: 1. identify the time and place where the work was written, 2. study the events that took place in Germany during the writing of the work, 3. explore realistic elements (place, time...

... " We briefly reviewed the basic theoretical information about the vertical context of a work of art. Now we can proceed directly to the analysis of the vertical context of Thomas Mann’s short stories “Tristan” and “Tonio Kröger”. 2. Analysis of the vertical context of the short stories “Tristan” and “Tonio Kroeger”. It would be advisable to start the analysis of the vertical context with the short story “Tristan”, so...

Among those with whom Hans Castorp meets already in the first days of his stay in the sanatorium, a special place is occupied by Mr. Lodovico Settembrini - a descendant of the Carbonari, a freemason, a humanist, and a convinced supporter of progress. At the same time, like a true Italian, he passionately hates Austria-Hungary. His unusual, sometimes paradoxical ideas, expressed in a bright, often caustic form, have a huge impact on the consciousness of the young man, who begins to revere Mr. Setgembrini as his mentor.

During the time spent in the sanatorium, Hans Castorp became seriously interested in many philosophical and natural scientific ideas.