A Companion to the Works of Thomas MannHerbert Lehnert, Eva Wessell Thomas Mann is among the greatest of German prose writers, and was the first German novelist to reach a wide English-speaking readership since Goethe. Novels such as Buddenbrooks, The Magic Mountain, and Doktor Faustus attest to his mastery of subtle, distanced irony, while novellas such as Death in Venice reveal him at the height of his mastery of language. In addition to fresh insights about these best-known works of Mann, this volume treats less-often-discussed works such as Joseph and His Brothers, Lotte in Weimar, and Felix Krull, as well as his political writings and essays. Mann himself was a paradox: his role as family-father was both refuge and façade; his love of Germany was matched by his contempt for its having embraced Hitler. While in exile during the Nazi period, he functioned as the prime representative of the "good" Germany in the fight against fascism, and he has often been remembered this way in English-speaking lands. But a new view of Mann is emerging half a century after his death: a view of him as one of the great writers of a modernity understood as extending into our 21st century. This volume provides sixteen essays by American and European specialists. They demonstrate the relevance of his writings for our time, making particular use of the biographical material that is now available.Contributors: Ehrhard Bahr, Manfred Dierks, Werner Frizen, Clayton Koelb, Helmut Koopmann, Wolfgang Lederer, Hannelore Mundt, Peter Pütz, Jens Rieckmann, Hans Joachim Sandberg, Egon Schwarz, and Hans Vaget.Herbert Lehnert is Research Professor, and Eva Wessell is lecturer in Humanities, both at the University of California, Irvine. |
Contents
Thomas Manns Beginnings and Buddenbrooks | 29 |
Art and Society in Thomas Manns Early Novellas | 53 |
Thomas Manns Early Stories | 73 |
Death in Venice | 95 |
Thomas Manns | 129 |
Thomas Manns Autobiographical Stories | 147 |
Joseph and His Brothers | 159 |
Lotte in Weimar | 181 |
Thomas Manns Late Politics | 203 |
The Gaze of Love Longing and Desire in Thomas Manns | 245 |
Female Identities and Autobiographical | 271 |
A Testament? | 297 |
Notes on the Contributors | 323 |
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Common terms and phrases
appears artist Aschenbach autobiographical beauty become Betrachtungen eines Unpolitischen Betrogene bourgeois brother Buddenbrooks called Castorp chapter character Chauchat contrast creative critical culture Death in Venice Decades desire Doktor Faustus DüD erotic Erwählte essay father Felix Krull fictional figure Fischer Frankfurt am Main Friedrich Gabriele Reuter Geist German Glück Goethe Goethe's Gregorius Heinrich Mann Herr Friedemann homoerotic homosexual human Imma intellectual Jaakob Joseph Katia Katia Mann Klaus Heinrich Knopf Königliche Hoheit Krull Leverkühn literary literature Lowe-Porter Lübeck Mann's modern morality Munich myth Nanda narrative narrator National Nietzsche Nietzsche's novel novella Paul Ehrenberg play political prince Pringsheim protagonist published reader relationship represents Richard Wagner Riemer role Rosalie Schiller Schopenhauer Schopenhauer's Schridaman Settembrini sexual social society Thomas Mann tion TM/HM Tod in Venedig Tonio Kröger Tony Trans Vaget Wagner woman women word writing written Wysling young Zauberberg Zauberer Zeitblom Zola