HEIDI UR13AH N I)E JAU ltEC;U I
99
l1I o re often than no t, no o ne eve n tri es. At th e end o f hi s life Tho mas Mann
determin ed that he was virtuall y penniless. H e had a medium-sized ho use
in th e mo untains. The ave rage busin ess lnan had a better o ne.
Th e o nl y adequate cOl1lpensati o n is pos thumo us f:clln e, whi ch is g rant–
ed to ver y few. Mann : "They have do ne eve rythin g for th e virtu e o f
immo rtali ty, for immo rtality is cheri shed above all else." Th e hope fo r
pos thumo us f:cml e differs in th at o ne wi shes to survive with o ne's terres tri –
ally determin ed identi ty in tact- an identi ty th at has already become
conscious of itself. Th e fea r that the wo rld was comin g to an end , an end
th at would bring with it th e ex tingui shing of any ho pe for pos thumo us
fa me, in creas ingly occLlpi ed Tho mas Mann in hi s o ld age. As he fini shed hi s
las t work ,
The
Holy
Si1l1lcr,
he contempl ated thi s eventuality: " Our present–
day
Ii
terature, th e mos t elevated and refin ed of it, o ften seems to me to be
a fa rewell , an attempt to co njure up the occidental m yth o nce aga in befo re
th e ni ght fa ll s, a lo ng ni ght, pe rh aps, and a deep fo rge tting." At seventy- fi ve
he asks himsel f if grea tn ess and ge niu s are still possible in an age whi ch is
"sympath eti c to all that is lazy, slovenl y, reac ti o nary and w icked," and views
himself as "consummato r" and o ne o f th e las t peopl e, perhaps th e last pe r–
son wh o "even knows w hat a work is." To day we have ceased to consider
th e possibility o f grea tn ess and co nsider th e crea ti o n of a great work to be
an anac hro ni sm . Our thinking run s alo ng th ese lin es: because we we re taken
in at o ne time by "grea t Ill cn"- mea ning, above all ,
Hi
ti er-we wo uld just
as soon res train o ursel ves w hen it comes to Th o mas Mann . Our age find s it
diffi cult to single o ut mas ters and masterpi eces, so we l1l aintain that w hat is
ex trao rdin ary is fundam cntall y undes irabl e.
Th om as M ann pitilessly examin ed the signs of th e til1l es w hi ch threat–
ened bo th himse lf and hi s wo rk. H e co nsidered analyses o f th e future,
whi ch simpl y pro mul gate indi vidual ho pes and desires a " descent into the
plains of o ptimi sm." H c neve r gave up hi s attempts to arrive at some so rt
of understandin g w ith hi s age and wa s surpri sed at how l1luch he need ed
its recogniti o n . At seventy-seve n , afte r a publi c readin g he w rites:
" Appl ause, but applause w hi ch does n't last lo ng eno ugh to ca ll me bac k
in to th e hall o nce I'vc left; thi s upse ts me eve ry time, as if I were a child "
Even at nin etecn he was f:cllnili ar w ith "childi sh va nity," w ritin g th at
"sol1l etimes Im y l sto mac h tums fi' om ambiti o n ." Mann desired ever y–
bo dy's praise, a central th eme in numerous diary entri es: " Peopl e talkin g
about m y prese nce o n th e train " and " Sw iss man at th e tabl e, a train eng i–
nee r, became tre nl endo usly exc ited w hen he di scovered
I1l
y identi ty;" and
"Swiss
CLI S
to ms agent as ks fo r autog raph ." H e awai ted newspape r repo rts
about a readin g w ith "childi sh imp;lti e nce." Wh en Mann , a N o bel Pri ze
w inn er, leam ed he was
to
rece ive an awa rd in Ita ly, he asked ever y possi–
ble acqu ;lintance to spread th e news beCl use he wo uld fe el so rry fo r hi s
