BOOKS
THOMAS MANN 'S FAUH
DOCTOR FAUSTUS.
By
Thomas Monn. Alfred
A.
Knopf. $3.50.
With this novel Mr. Mann has returned to a familiar theme
and scene.
Doctor Faustus
closes the circle of a life's work begun with
the
Buddenbrooks
and
Tonio Kroger.
It
has been praised as holding
up a mirror to the German soul; it has been criticized for being obscure
and ponderous.
It
is
neither. It is an important document for other
reasons than the re-interpretation of the "Faustian" myth. It is a re–
markable achievement not so much on the level on which it attempts to
convey a positive message, but rather on the different level on which it
fails to solve the basic problems it has raised.
On the former level,
Doctor Faustus
purports to show how the hero,
Adrian Leverkiihn, becomes a musical genius at the price of failing as
a human being. He creates a series of musical masterpieces,* but fails in
every human, interpersonal relationship- whether it is friendship, love,
the outside world, or the care of a child. Moreover, there is an intrinsic
connection between Leverkiihn's achievements as a musical genius and
his faiiure as a human being-and, by analogy, between the achievements
of a "good" Germany (from Bach, Beethoven to Leverkiihn) with Ger–
many's failure in the society of nations (from Luther, Frederick II to
Hitler). But the only clue which makes Leverkiihn's tragic fate (and,
oy implication, that of Germany) meaningful is the pact with the devil
or an explanation in terms of the dionysian, demonic element of his
nature. The only concrete experience which affects his life, the syphilitic
mfection intentionally incurred, is precisely on this level. Nothing else
*
Mr. Mann attempts to most elaborate transcription of musical meanings
into literary symbols-an undertaking which, I think, is carried too far, but which
I cannot competently judge. However, this problem of rendering musical symbols
in a different artistic medium seems to me well worth a separate study on the
basis of the ingenious attempt made in this book.
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