Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann - Essay Example

Doctor Faustus Thomas Mann, in Doctor Faustus, uses a high degree of symbolism to present the numerous conflicts affecting Germanyin the 20th century. The novel is Gothic in nature and it peers into the souls of characters troubled by events in their backgrounds. The work could be either a political allegory or the profiling of an artist’s life amidst turmoil that affects his country. The book describes the life of Adrian Leverkhun as a composer who attains artistic talent by contracting syphilis. The book follows into the tradition of the Faust legend as a protagonist who exchanges one’s soul for success, greatness, and worldly pleasures. Mann characterizes the changes in his society as a manifestation of rot. It is essential to highlight that the novel is an abstract piece that manifests the dark side of concepts that are accepted as ideal for a changing society. This explains why it profiles the life of a maddened intellectual as a person who is unfit for the good of a society and chastises the nationalist ideals taking over Germany in the fascist era. By breaking into Biblical nuances, the novel announces that the end has come. In the beginning of the 20th century, Germany adopts a dangerous nationalistic attitude that defines the attitudes of her young people. In 1919, Zeitblum and Leverkhun attend a salon in the home of a Munich’s art collector. At this time, the war has destroyed the bourgeois values. This signifies an impressive tiding for Germany as the oppressed classes achieve the platform for socio-economic fulfillment in their lives. The professors of the nationalistic ideal, however, hail the era as a revolution for purifying the German nation. Zeitblum manifests this ideal as a savage attitude that will shuffle back Germany to the Dark Ages. In the changing Germany, family life is highly compromised. In Zeitblom’s account of events, there is a notable death for gratifying love relationships. In turn, marriages can only thrive in the realm of society in excluded rural settings. In such settings, there is a sense of purity that still bars the society from the infected climate that pervades the whole country. Inez and Helmut’s union is central to the understanding of a typical relationship that occurs in the 20th century Germany. In the narrative, Inez chooses Helmet for the security of a bourgeois life that he will eventually bestow upon the family. A tendency towards perfection constrains the development of love in such a family life. As the story develops, it emerges that Inez is in love with Rudi Schwerdtfeger, a violinist. She strives to project a stable family life on one hand, while she is deeply possessed of Rudi. Mann devotes himself to a mystic understanding of the society in carving out the Leverkhun character. The understanding of the society in God and the devil’s terms is a medieval way of perceiving matters in a modern society. Mann, however, uses this technique in order for the audience to understand Leverkhun in traditional terms. Germany seems as a religious society that can only understand morality in Biblical terms. Mann symbolizes Leverkhun’s moral breakdown by a pact with the devil. Leverkhun enters a deal with the devil in order to acquire an artistic genius. By having a conversation with the death of angel, the novel illustrates the enormity of Leverkhun’s immorality. Leverkhun is a knowledgeable and a willing participant in the pact that he has been waiting for many years. Thereafter, the novel, surprisingly, does not offer connection of the devil’s pact with immorality in Leverkhun. There is no discernible immorality in the composer because he is just a musician. In spite of his initial genius, the novel links his enhanced compositions to a devil’s instinct. The fact that his composition originates from the devil’s madness makes the composition evil in their core form. His compositions, such as Love’s Labour’s Lost is an intellectual piece that borders on the abstract. Mann portrays the daringness in Leverkhun’s music as a sign of sinfulness. Sinfulness, in this view refers to the lack of human connection. Leverkhun is an abstract thinker who primarily invests his life to the intellectual realm (Scaff 169). In this perspective, Leverkhun solely stands for the application of the intellect. His music, instead of professing emotions, dwells on the larger socio-economic climate of the country. Ordinary individuals, thus, cannot easily associate with his music. Leverkhun’s intellectuality suppresses his imagination and creative power as he commits himself to a Socratic life. Leverkhun intentionally contracts syphilis in order to spur his creativity. In the end, however, Leverkhun resorts to raw projection of human feelings. An inherent feature of Leverkhun’s personality regards the fact the composer shuts himself in an alienated world. He absorbs himself in the intellect and abandons the human quality of connection. Instead of loving music as a form of pleasure in song and melody, the composer confesses an interest in the geometric structures of chords and scales. This attitude also shows in his friendships as he shares an intimate exchange of ideas and predilections instead of human warmth. In his youth, the composer admits to his teacher that he is a rotten fellow of no warmth. His pact with the devil forbids him to a detached life. He says that he experiences hell on earth (Mann 67). His longing for attachment occurs alongside his frenzied productivity. He, thus, resolves to exterminate his existence in the society in order to produce the music that participates in his destruction. Mann manifestation of rot is eminent in the larger political life and in the singular life of Leverkhun. The afflictions of Germany in the 20th century confound the rational understanding of morality. The nation delves into destruction by adopting the fascist ideals that accept the purification of Germany from other races. The novel centers on Leverkhun’s pact with the devil as a symbol of moral breakdown in Germany. Leverkhun’s madness shows the distaste for family life and attachment that pushes individuals towards loneliness. The novel depicts a nation that can no longer draw a line between the evil and good. Leverkhun possesses extreme madness that alienates his work from the community. Works cited Scaff, Susan. “Doctor Faustus.” in Robertson, Ritchie. The Cambridge companion to Thomas Mann. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. Mann, Thomas, and John E. Woods (translator). Doctor Faustus: the life of the german composer Adrian Leverkühn as told by a friend. New York: Vintage International, 2000. Print. Read More