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tr y Nvl
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THOMAS MANN
The Stor ofa NovelThe Genesis of
DOCTOR FAUSTS
D BY
Rcha an Ca Wnsn
19 . 61
R E D K N O · N E W Y O R K
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L C. catalog cad number: 61074
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e me o paon every ork o any od
and pon own fe and aomp on ee Hen
I ave never en fond of emenng any of mne w
preae or porp nor ave I oered any apooge o
e r. Neveree e more wo ecede no e
pa e more neeve ey eome n meare o er
eevene a e momen. Indeed ey are e e e
eemed e more ey ave eowed on e ony'
re a moer are o eay overadowed a evy o
eaf daer Terefore mee and ng o n
or em er ora vae y dng er orgn
men o nderandng and good
GOETHE Pery and r
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T
M
ARY ETRIES or 5 how me hat on December that year the Lo Angee corepondent o m caed
n me t an hour drve rom downtown Lo Angee or country home) e came to chaenge me concernng
rophecy had mde teen year beore the whch wa
ng to be ued At the end o Sketch y e
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HO M A S M A NN
4ren n 1 9 3 and avalable also n Englsh I had hhalsporve bele n ceran symmeres and numercal co
respodcs n my le venured he guess ha ould passrom hs orld n 1945 a he age o seveny as had mymoher The oreold year he man sad as vrually over
and I hd no kep my ord ha dd I an o say o he
publc o ecuse mysel or sl beng alvey rply dd no please my e a allhe less so snce
her anous hear had or a consderble me been concerned
abou my healh She red o sop me o proes o unsayhe hngs hch I as pemng an nerveer o dra
rom me and hch had prevously kep even rom heThe llmn o propheces sad as a curous busness
Oen y dd no come rue lerally bu suggesvely
Fullmn mgh be a b de o he mark open o queson
and umsale Ceran acors mgh be subsue
or ohr cors. To be sure I conceded n spe o my
dsre or maers o ork ou n n orderly ashon I asno ye dead Bu my vsor should kno ha n he year Ihad se or my le hadbologclly speakngreached
a lo such as had never knon beore I hoped ha myval orces ould help me clmb ou o hs abyss Bu mypresen condon seemed o me ully o bear ou my pro
phec gs and I ould be glad he and hs eseemej ournal ould also consder ood enough
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e Sy a Nve
5hen I poke n thee term three month were yet to
a beore the boogca ow to whch I had reerredreached etremty: a erou phyca cr whch orcedupon me a urgca operaton or month prevented me
rom workng and teted my conttuton n a way I hadscarcey magned pobe. menton th however because
the eperence caued me once more to note the cuosdvergence between boogca and nteectua vtay
Perod o phyca webeng and boomng heath, when
the body gve one no troube at a and one te m
re not at a neceary perod o outtandng cretty.
wrote the bet chapter o The Beve Retun durng amonth bout wth nectou catca ever have I en
ured uch wd pant cannot be decrbed to thoe who
ve not had the deae To ecape thee agonzng twnge
you vany eek the rght poton day and nght There nght poton Ater nght whch may God keep me rom
ver havng to ve agan breakat uuay brought a certan
spte to my burnng named nerve and then ttng at
y dek at one trange ange or another I woud pero
e un mystca wth Goethe the tar o ubme beauty and a catca not a deae that reache deep nt
vta Depte a t torure t not an ne to be
en very erouy On the other hand the tme o whch Im peakn and or whch I had propheed my death wa
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H O M A M A N N
6a erio o rea ecine in a m via orce akabe
bioogica reucion Ye hi wa he io in
which a work germinae which rom he mn o iincepion ha ha an unuua arreaching power
There wou be omehing ocrinaire ao eeing a
inkng o ia a he caue an preconiion or a crea
ive eor ha aborb ino ie he u o an enire eha ha unwiing ha conciou nhize an
une a man enire ie an hereore embo he via
charge whch he hica e i no onger capabe o I
wou be eaer o urn he expanaion aroun an o bame
m ine on he wor For inee ike no oher o mbook hi one conume an ook heav o o m inner-
mo orce. Wemeaning inimae i ake he reaion
hi in ha gh an when he aw me ookng o run
own were ap o commen: I i he boo An i I noa e? There i a nobe aing ha he who gve hi ie
ha ae ia aing a apicabe o he ream o ar an
ieraure a o reigon. I i never rom ack o ia ha
uch an oerng o one e i mae an r no uch
ack i hown whenrange cae ineea en aman wrie h wie book Nor wa here an gn o
ha in he ag wih which I roe up rom h operaion
marke wih a car rom che o back a o he amuemeno he ocor ruhe home o nih ha book
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e Sy f a Nve
u I wan o e he or oausus embee a i i nhe reure an umu o ouwar even wan o r o
reconruc ha or on he bai o m brie ai noe
or me an or m rien
In November 194 a ourne o he a ea he compeion o seph he vide, which I ha oug o brig
o a cocuion urig he receig week ami he huner o he bae or burning Saigra On hi j ore Iook wih me he manucri o a ecure o he nearnihe eraog The exeiion e hrough Chicago oahingon an New York an wa rich i ecouer
ubic meeig a aearance Amog ohe hig Ioce again aw Princeon an he rien beonging o ha
rio o m ie when I ive here Frank Aoeinein Chriian Gau een owePorer a Ra-
e o he awrecevie Schoo a hi circe rich vonher erman roch an oher The a i Chcago
a been overhaowe b new o he war in Norh
ica erurbing accoun o he march o Germa roorough unoccuie France Pain roe he ranhi
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HOA A
men of he iler or o n he Ialan occaon o
orca he recaure of obruk We rea of feverh
efenive meaure b he German a all robable invaonon of ign ha he French ee wa rearng o o
over o he e of he Alle
he igh of Wahingon on a war fooing wa new an
remarkable o me. A gue once more of ugene eer anh beauiful wfe n heir alaial home on recen Place I
gae in aonihmen a he heavl miliarize iric
aroun he ncoln emorial wih barrack oce
builing an brige an a he rain lan wih war
maerial ha nceanl rolle ino he ci. wa oreivel ho a belae Inan ummer A a inner n m
ho houe a whch he Brailian an ech ambaaorwere reen wih heir wve he icuion urne o
Amercan collaboraion wh Darlan an he roblem ofeeienc Onon were ivie I i no conceal m
iae for i Afer inner we hear he rio are of
Wenll illke who ha u reurne from hi One
orl our ommuniu on he imoran naval vicor
o he Solomon cheere he gaherng.To m eligh he lecure arrange a he ibrar of
ongre brough me ogeher once more wih Archbalaceih hen ll braran of ongre an h wife. An
I regare a a ecial honor ha Vce reien Wallace
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e ry a Nve
9rouce b acLeih in hi urn ai an inroucor
or or me Aer uch a reue he reaing ie me
ih a more han rien reone ex wa coore
mewha b curren even an he oupeaker ran
mie m wor o a econ coe packe ha
The evening wa concue wih a recepion abounin
peronaiie a he eer houe There I ake chieih men in whom I pace much conence who heigh poiion in he Rooeve aminiraion Waace an
orne Genera Franci ie The aer peaan wifei man kin hing o me abou m ecure ie wih
hom I ha correpone abou he rericion impoeuon enem aien" paricuar he Grman exie o
e o hi inenion o remove hee imiaion ver oon
rom him I ao earne ha Rooevewhoe reaion
ih he Vich Rgime were arouing oub an iquiei oher beie mewa a an rae emaning he
eae o he aniFaci an Jew he in Norh Arica
I wa graeu o our hoe Agne eero acive inirar poiica an ocia circe, an m parone hee
a earor arrangin a meing wih he Swi amba-or Dr ruggmann an hi wie a ier o enr
aace Thi converaion wih he ineigen an warmare rereenaive o he counr ha ha en u iroecion or ve ear wa boh eaurabe an imoran
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HOA A
o me The ubec o our ak wa o coure he ark ae
o Germany i hopeene now ha he poibiliy o
capiuaion eeme o be cu o Dr ruggmann waconvince ha he Ruian woul oon be pouring ino
Germany
ven more imporan o me wa he perona meeing
wih aim ivinov Our ho ha invie him an hicharming rih wie o lunch The laer eremey
prighly ocially gie an uck o ongue omnae
he converaion a abe. Aerwar owever I ha heopporuniy o epre o he ambaaor my amiraon or
hi polical aue an acviy beore he war hipeche in he eague o Naion an hi inience on heiniviibiliy o peace. e ha been he ony one I ai who
ha conenly calle hing by hei righ name an given
ruh he oounorunaely in vain e hane me
wih ome melancholy i moo eeme o me rahermoroe an bierwhich wa probably ue no only o he
errible ria acice an uering which he war wa
impoing upon hi counry. y impreion wa ha hi
miion a meiaor beween a an We wa being maea har a poible or him by hi governmen an ha in
ee he wa no likely o remain or long a hi ambaaor
o in WahingonIn hour ree o ocia obigaion I rie o puh orwar
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e Sry a Nve
o he curre chaer o Jsp t alrea oe
o he las he chaer o he blessig o he sos Bu wha
srikes me a imresses me as somehig mserious is heki o reaig ha I i o his ri urig rai oures
eveig hours a brie ress Corar o m usual habio lecure ours i bore o relaio o m rese occua-
io or o he ex work I ha i view. Isea I rea hememoirs o Igor Sravisksuie wh he ecil
ha is o sa makig uerliigs or rreaig I also rea
wo books log amilar o me Ntzscs Zusmmruc
Ntzscs llaps) b rich Frierich Poach a ou
AreasSalom's recollecios o Niesche which I lke-wise we hrough makig ec marks Faeul msi
cism uaroable oe arousig i The uoru
ae Tha is he iar oig aroos his raig usic
he a Niezsche I woul o be able o exlai wh mhoughs a eress were uig i his aricular irec
io a ha me
I our New York hoel oe a he age Armi Robi
so calle uo us o rese mos emigl a la or
book o be ublishe o ol i glish bu also i our orve oher laguages; i was o bear he ile T
madmts The roec was o have a moral a oleic
sla. Te worlamous wriers were o coribue o i
ach reaig oe o he commames a ellig he ale
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HOA A
2
o ome crmina breach o he mora aw The were oer
ng me a ee o one houan oar or a hor ea
nroucing he whoe hing Traveing one i more recepve o uch commiion han a home I agree an wo
a aer n he oce o a awerwhere I me Sigr
Une who ha ikewie agree o paricipaeI igne a
conrac u o pia an barbe hoo I ha carcera he ocumen an n I hane over o he enrepre-
neur he eerna righ o a work which i no e exi o
whoe eveopmen I ha no concepion an whch I wa
eine o ake ar more eriou han he occaion e
mane I i ooh o bu a pg n a poke evenmore ooih o e one n ha manner
The hockng war new ha he commaner an crew
o he French ee ha unk heir hip oue Touon
came n he mi o our a e wh going o concer
an o he heaer wih nvaon an meeing wih
ren a n whch man bi o occaiona wriing ha
ao o be ahe o The uua uie page o m noe
book which I i ha rom Swzeran were now
prnke wh name The Waer an Were a Reinhar he acor Karwei arin Gumper he pubiher
Lanho Friz von Unruh gure in i; ao charmingo Annee Kob rich von Kaher o Shenone our
riih ren rom Prnceon an American coeague o
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The S Nve
he ouger geerao uch a Ge wa Weco Chare
Neier a Chrioher Lazare I aiio here were our
chire We e Thakgiig Da wih Souh Americague a Are Ko cour houe i Purchae
ih he Germaeakg grou we ha arou rea-
ig rom work i rogre; Kaher rea ome erme
mrie ecio rom hi ieecua hior o heuma race which wa o be ubihe uer he ie o
Man th Maur I me oce more roe ou he grae
u aucaio chaer rom Jph th Prdr ao he
cu a recogiio ce a receie he rie a
courageme which i boh he rwar a he aim och reaig o reae urere aage rom he
ork oe ruggig wh Wha ha bee careu orge
he coure o og morig oure ou oer he
ieer i a rai hour o reag he uo o imroiaio o oihe eemorzaio eie he imreo whe oher are rre o mare we or our ar
iee ha eerhng e
e reure home beore he mie o December a he wa hrough Sa Fracco where we ie wo o
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HOA A
4
he chren our ounges son he muscan an hs re
Swss we an where once more I was charme b he
skbue ees o m aore granson e Fro anuer enchanng ch I mmeae resume work onhe bessng chaer. Aer concung hs a I ha e
was o escre acobs eah an bura an The Grea
Progress rom g o Canaan The ear 194 was on aew as o when I se own he as nes o he ourhJoseh noe an herewh brough he whoe work o s
en. I was a curous a or me ha ourh o Januar buceran no one marke b hgh srs Ths grea narra
e wo whch ha accomane me hrough a heseears o ee nsurng me he un o m e was onewas nshe wh an I was unburenea sae o oub
u weghessness or one who snce hs ear as snce he
as o Buddbrs has e uner muarous burens
ha ha o be carre ong sances an who scarce
knows how o e whou hem.
Anono orgese an hs we our Esabeh were wh
us an ha same eenng I re h wo na chaers o
he am crce The messon was cmog We rankchamagne. runo Frank norme o h n o he a
eehone o congauae me hs oc bra wh ee
ng. Wh I shou hae been suerng sorrowu ee
erurbe an wear urng he ne ew as s somehng
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The Str Nvel
5
known on o Go o whoe knowegeeven abou
imefwe mu conign o much Perhap he prevaiing
orri wn ike a Swi fhn conribue o m ae ao
he new of he iioic cue of he Ni who in pie of
Sweih inervenion were going o epor he eigh
hreeearo wiow of a iebermann o Poan She
ook poion inea A he ame ime Ruian corwere avancing upon Roov he euion of he German
from he Caucau wa near compee an in a rong
conen peech o he new Congre Rooeve announcehe invaion of urope
e o work giving ie o he chaper of h fourhvoume an iviing i ino even rincipa ar or book
eanwhie rea uch hing a Goehe ea Ial n th
Dt Freu Mo Erich Auerbach' Wt und Glob
t Land (Dt and Pomd Land) an ao ppe inohe Penaeuch I ha ong been aking mef wh I hou
conribue on an eaiic forewor o he book of orie
iinguihe wrierwh no raher an organ pre
e a Werfe aer u i? Wh no a ae of he iuance
f he Commanmen a Sina novea? Tha eeme vernaura o me a a oue o he Joeph or; I wa warm from he epic. Noe an rearaion for hi work
quire on a few a One morning I eivere m raio
oaca on he enh ear of Nazi rue an he nex
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HOA A
6mornng I began wriing he oe or I wa area in
he eevenh chaer when on Februar 1 i haene
ao o be our weing annverarhere rew roun forhe enh me he a we ha ef unich wih can
baggage wihou uecing ha we wou no reurn
In no uie wo monha hor an for me wih
wa of working wroe he or own amo wihoucorrecion In conra o he uaicienic circuma-
iai of he Joh hi one wa wif ace from
ar Durng he wriing or erha even before I ha
given i he ie of Da Gt Th Law) b which I wa
referring no on o he Decaogue bu ao o he moraaw in genera man civiiaion I wa a ubjec I wa
eriou abou for a ha I reae he egenar maeria
eing an mae ue of Voairean mocker for he
characeriaionagain in conra o heJoh
orierobab uner he unconciou inuence of eine or
rai of oe I i no give m hero he feaure of
icheangeo oe bu of icheangeo hmef in orer
o eic hm a an ar oiing aboriou over refracory
human raw maeria an uering iiing efea hecure a he en again he reena wreche o whom
ower wa given o rofane hi work he abe of he
Law came from m hear an a ea a he en eave no bshed as bls Lw
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e Sor of Novel
oub o he mian nen o h oherwe omewha
roou hng
The mornng aer compeng h or I ceare awa
a he mhoogca an Orena maera ha ha accumuae n he coure o he pcure ecerp
ra The u wa a packe awa The book I ha
rea or he purpoe remane on her hee a ebrar n e An on one a aerarch 5 o beacm eenng noe conane he cur ong Dr
au T r menon an n on he bree o
rerence ookng hrough o paper or maera on
r Fau Wha paper? I can har a Bu he noaon whch occur agan he oowng a connce
wh r o Proeor Gua Ar o he Uner o
Caorna n o Angee an o aceh n Wahngon
ng or an eene oan o he Fau chapbook anheer o ugo \o The combnaon ugge ha I ha
og been purung a raher ene oune o an ea whch
he oher han wa ao erem nebuou Apparen
h heme wa o be ome emonc nocaon an
eang bu caarophc eeche che characer o an ar o a unpece or bu een a comcae creaure Gong hrough o noe n he morn
I hae own or he h Dug up he hreenene o he Dr Fau o . Aocaon wh he Tono
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T H O M A S M A N N
8
Krger pero he unich a, he neverreaize pan
for The Loer an Maya O ove, o frenhp rie
aong wh hee. Shame an rong enmenai a re-membrance of hee ouhfu orrow .
Forwo ear ha pae nce I ha e own ome-
hng abou an ar pac wih he ev a a poibe ubjec
for a piece of wrng, an he eekng an nng of heenoe wa accompane b a egree of emoion, no o a
inner umu which mae one hing ver cear o me ha
he meager an vague nuceu ha been urroune from he
beginnng b a be of perona concern, a eni of bo-
graphca feeing, whch from he r ene he onghor or for a novehough h wa far from m mn.
I wa a h inner rrng which caue me o epan m
uua aconic ar noe ino monoogue: On now o
I reaze wha mean o be whou heJoeh
work, heak which awa oo beie me before me, a hroughhi cae On now ha The Law po nhe o
I become concou of he nov an pr of he iuaion
I wa comforabe working awa on wha I ha area
rege up Do I have rengh for new concepionave I no ue u m ubjec maer An f nwi I
be abe o ummon up he eire for work? oom
weaher ran, co Wh a heaache, I rew up oune
an noe for he novea o o Angee for he concer;
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e Stor of Nove
9 Sinberg box wih hi lie orowiz ple he
B mor Pno Concero o Brhm, he orcher i
he Don Juan oerure n Tchikok Pahqu.
In complince wih mn reue, he phre woul once
he been Ye i i hi melnchol be he highe he
coul rie o n hre i lw omehing beuiul n
moing in eeig limie len reching, b who knowwh e o circumnce he pek o biliie I re
membere, oo, how Srink er go in rich, con
ee o me h he mire Tchikok I h ke him
bou i) ih he conucor in he green room
Re wih muemen orie in he Ga Romaorumlikewie Nzc und d Fraun (Nzch' Womn)
b ell Wlr Brnn, n Seenon miece,
r. Jkyl and Mr Hyd wih m hough n he
u ubecwhich, howeer i r rom king heAlhough he hologicl pec coul be hie io herelm o ble coul be like wih mholog h whole
hing h omehing orbiing bou i h iculi
em iuerbl, n i i poible h I hrink rom he
nrking becue I h lw regre i m l"Reing h oer I know h he uppoiion w righ
< igh bou he linege o he brel enble ie whoeng roo rech r own no m lien righ h in lie pln which w lw pln o work I h rom
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THO M A M A NN
he sar ke he reamen o his iea or he en To
myl I ha calle his work, which migh some ay have
o e one my Parsial Srange hough i seem ha awok ol age shoul be lace on he agena in youhi was is likely ha here is a connecion beween hs
an my conscious inees, eresse in many criical
esy in he lae woks o ariss al isel, he secnar o Faut he las works o Ibsen he ose o Aalbe
Sier an Theoor Fonane in he laer years o heir lies
The quesion was wheher he hour ha come o his
ask so long ago hough so imly sighe Clearly, I l
cerain insincive scrules, reinoce by he remoniionha hre was somehing uncanny abou his subjc an
ha i woul cs hears bloo, a grea eal o i, o whi i
ino shae Ae o his was a vague noion o how raica
is emans woul be, how everyhing in i woul have obe crie o eremes This whole hing coul be comis in he cry e me ry somehing else rs The
somehing else, which ha he meri o uing o he ohe
roec or a goo ong ime, was o ick u an comlee
he ragmnary novel ha lai asie beor he FirsWor War, he Cofo of Flx Kull, Condc
Man
K. ha is my wie seaks o nishing he Kul,
which iens have oen eiione or The ia is no
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Te Str f Nvel
2
ogehe ien o me b h coniee he boo whching m eio when he ibougoi obem
w m mo ominn concen uennu n ou-moe b he Jo Nevehee eng n ening o
muc ngh w cou ie b he hough o
euming chie om he oin o viw o e uni.
Ae hiwo he wou e omhng inigungou ng u gin whee e o beoe Dth n
Vnc o whoe e ineue he Kl w
men h m mjo n incien wo h bn n
neoion occuing whoe gneion ino h un
ing h he hiixo h been ngg onAo he vnge o buing on n o ounon"
Wh hi cme o w Le me omhng
" An e he hon w in m h he n f
cuioi bou he new n ngeou Th weiveion uing he nex w h o wie m
ccion iec boc o Gemn n On L
Axei Tooi conbion o RuinAmicn
chnge. Then cme hoc he uen h o enich
mme he bn noog n hn o Chinmnnh; h wn he mei o Th Tan
d Had om hi ge boo on nin mhoog.
m New Yo cme new o conemovmen e b
fz iin n ohe o ouenhove cii
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Stoy of a Novl
2 3
assive a ssemaic bombigs of iers coie A
vaces of he Russias i he Crimea Sigs of immie
ivasio of urope A Bruo a iesl Frak's i
evr ls for ier e rea his Nazi sor o he
ourh Commame xcellel oe Some wors i
coece abou he pla for Faus "
Wha was hawas I alrea aoucig his pla ofie o o fries uclear hough I was i m ow mi
cocerig form plo maer of preseaio eve ime
place? ow exacl ha I pu i? I a case his washe rs ime ha I opee m mouh abou i excep for
cosulaios wih m wife who favore he ew plaher ha he resumpio of he ol oe Icieall I
was o feelig well A hroa a brochial caarrh wasivig me rouble i spie o he clear warm weaher a I
ou mself ver ull i spiri" usure of mself assimisic abou m fuure creaivi A e I ha ol
cel oe higs lke ama, Annuncaon a he
co half of he oses Dippig io books o
ezsche ove b a leer of Rohe cocerig him A
h Mu h omca b E T A oma I Bekkersor of music o plafuless i he ar of a gaie
he sese of beig beo es a earesess he suruig of reali"
Oe a i spie of everhig I se abou uig he
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THO N
24bune o maeria on he Codc Ma an rereaing
he preiminar iewih a reu ha wa paing
range I wa inigh ino he inner kinhip o he Fauubjec wih hi one he moi o oneine, in he onecae mic an ragic, in he oher humorou an roguih)
neverhee m eeing i ha he Fau, i I am capabe o
haping i, i more approriae or me oa, more opicamore urgen " The baance ha been wung The
osh buine wa no o be oowe b a preiminar
omehing ee in he om o m nove abou a rogue The
raica eriou, menacing ubjec aroun which he igh
ning o grave acrce eeme o ah, ha prove heronger in i eman an in i romie eaven gran
ha i wou rove oibe o e i parake a ie o
ariic paune an e, iron, rave higher humor
noe o he nex evera week no onger ea wih
anhing ee I wa buring me in hi new e, reco
ecing an ummoning u maeria, accumuaing ieigh,
in orer o creae a bo or he hovering haow
On German urban ie in uher region Ao meica
an heoogica reaing Groping, aemp, an a enaiveeeing o greaer ecuri in he amophere o he ubec
ake he mounain roa wih K A a reaing uhereer ook u Uch vo Hu b D F Srau
Decie o u book on muic Finihe ekker hior
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Sor of a No
2 5
wih greae aevee Nohig e ha bee oe
abou ag he book wih characer ig i ou wih
meaigu ubiiar gure I Th Mac Mountan hee
were roie b he eroe o he aaorium i Joh
b he ibe here i wa a ueio o reaizig he oe-
iaiie o he ibica gure I Krull he wor cou
ermiib have bee haamagorica. I ma be o hereoo o a cerai exe bu here much uboie reai i
eee a or ha here i a eciec o cocree ober
vaio . The characer wi have o be uie ou o
he a ou o memor icure iuiio u he eou
rage mu r be ivee a xe I wroe o Proeor Pau Tiich o he Uio Theoogi
ca Semiar o ak abou he roceure o uig or
he miir Curiou eough here came amo imu-
aeou a eer rom erma icher ramiig aSweih rooa ha I wrie a book o Germa, i aa uure I oe cou o o everhig. u he
ema o he era which emo he oice o eoe or
i uroea boom we mee hem bu ire rom
he wa ake Si a a a eer rom he Oce o Warormaio wa ao receive a hi ime hakig meor he arice o Germa uure which ha me wih
much arova i Swee. I o oger have a iea wha
ice i reerre o
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HOA ANN
6ae erac o Lamenaion o Fau an mocker o
he piri inene a a mphon Noe excerp mei
aion an calculaion on ime euence. Luher leerDrer picure rne Newman Huo Wolf in nglih
Though on he w he ubec wa ienie wih hing
German wih German oliue in he wor in genera
Smbolic vaue here Reaing o he Wch Hamm Deail o ouh in unich Figure o Ru Schwer
eger vioini in he apener orchera )
Drawing up a li o characer or he novel an heir
name acal and h Mdval Dnon of God b
Nize ."Ami uch urve an uie he monh o a 94 3
began a monh in which he enere mo elicae impreion an eeling were couple wih a riving eing
invening whch ha area become he ominan acor inm ie an which arrogae or i own purpoe all ha
reali brough m wa. The chilren rom San Francico
came or a ongih vii wih he wo bo who look ne
an rong ove a awa b Fri beauiu ee
Wen walking wih him beore inner e ae wih u . uch eing wih he lie elow who i u beginning oak" Tuea a 4: In he aernoon on he promenaewih ile Frioin When he walk i over he a Nu
Thi or Nepomuk Schneiewein vening reaing he
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e Sor of a Novel
2
all Malcarum Fro ver che o me
Afer he wlk unch wh hm n he ramr; he
cl w ver well behve
A ler o Bruo \ler n New York w wren ou
h me no whou connecon wh he ubjecha
o wh he kech of he novel an ncenall fu
of ore n ncoe abou he chrmng chl n replWler epree rm nere n he pn for a mucnnovel ng h few were o calle o I e alo
me wh referre o know no wh wha feelng
a rmrkble uggeon nmel h ro houl
la pr n he bookhe coul mgne he epoe he n allro modrao. Th er fren n pen
mucan h no noon of he col breh of nhumanha blow hrough he book a he en. e cou no know
woul be conrne o ell he or of he chl ofo n que anoher pr from ha of allgro modrao
A zable ple of noe ha accumulae efng o hecomple of he plan I foun I ha ome wo hunre
lfquaro hee: a wl mele of orere boen
e from mn ellnguc geogrphc polco-cl heologcl mec bologcal horc an mu
w l connung o gaher an hor everhngful o purpoe bu I n goo o ee ha n pe
uch preoccupon n obeon m mn wa l
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THOM MN
2
open o impreion rom ouide he mgic circle rom he
world h did no perin o he noel Red n ecellen
ricle in he Naton piece by enry me on icen e down one dy. Wrien in he ge of weny-
wo Amzing I here nyhing like i in Germny? he
criicl wring o he We re r uperior en-
ie reding in Niebuhr book Th Natur and Dtny ofMan ll fer midnigh reding in i enirey Sifer
wonderful Rock Crytal" Bu hen oo he col miner
rike eriou crii Goernmen keoer o he mine.roop o proc hoe wlling o worwhich will be
few Red ome curiou hing on he ingoriou defof he Germn in Afric Nohing of Nzi fnicim o
he l drop o blood lking in he eening wih
runo Frnk bou he ne rike we here nd he d
minirion' reponibiliy or i Concern bou heAmericn home ron eie bombing o Dor
mund ih more hn hound plne All urope ininion eer Preprion of he French underground
orgnizion Announcemen o generl rie he grri-
on in Norwy i inruced o gh o e l mnwhich neer hppen n Aric ooooo prionr wereen. Superioriy o mriel in quniy nd quliy e-
plin he icory xpecion o he inion ofIly nderking gin Srdini nd Sicily re in he
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e Str f a Nvel
2 9
og n he eeng read Lo' Labou Lot"
he Shepere play i perine all wihin he
mgic circlewhile around i oud he upror o he
world upper wih he Werel nd ra oerio
on Niche ad he piy he aroueor hi or moregenerl deperaio Meeig wih Schberg and Srin-
y plned . . alcuaio o ime ad ge reliohipi he oel il ic nd m . O Rim-
cneider d hi ime. Purcha V olbch' tuntn-
d a hadboo o muical inrum No concrnig Leerhn a muicin Hi gin m o be
elm Adrea, or Adri Noe on aci idogy ohe period Ghering a he Werl wih Scberg
umped S a gre dea on muic and he lie o comper
o my dep peaure he hime ii we mu ll ge
oeher more oen he Ared Neumn wih ur upper hie he ladie were preparig he meal (we
e wihou a maid), epounded he pln o he noe o
N, who w irred o mazeme
hal neer orge ha hi aihul riend or whom
d awy hd uch hig regard liened wih ecmaion he ee inere Hi aiude cormed me in all d e abou he booall he pleaure ad pain whic
aed rom he dea a oulined i o him, my word
mig o me wly and eaily Wha mo impreed him
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HOA A
hink w he cenr ide he igh from he diculie
of he culur crii ino he pc wih he dei h cing
of proud mind hrened by eriliy for n unblocingof inhibiion ny co, nd he prlel bwen perni
ciou euphori ending in colpe wih he nionliic
frenzy of cim herd ler h on he drie home he
oe o hi wif he whole wy of wh hd conded ohim
On My 2 3 94 Sundy morning il more hn womonh fer hd fched ou h od noebook nd lo
he de on which hd my nrror Serenu eiblom
o work begn wriing Docto Fautu
My diry of he period doe no ecord ecly when mde
he deciion o inerpoe h medium of he frind be
ween myef nd my ubjec; in oher word no o ell he
ife of Adrin Leerkhn direcly bu o h i old ndherefore no o wrie a nol bu biogy wih l irpping Auredly ecollecion of h hm uobiogr
phy of eli Kull inuenced me here. Beide hi regy
wa bie neceiy in orde o achiee cerin humorou
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e Stor of a Noe
3
leeig of he ombe mel d o mke hoo
beble o mylf well o he ede. o mke he
dmoic i p hough udemoic medium oeu hrmle d imple oul well meig d imid,
wih he ecil of he oy w ielf comic de I
remoed ome of he burde fo i ebled me o ecpe he
urbulece of eeyhig diec, peol, d cofeiolwhich uderly he beful cocepo, o ee i o i
diecio d o ey I depiced hough he eye
of hi good uheroic oul, who could oly wig hi hd
d he hi hed hee ee
Bu, boe ll, he epoiio of he o mde oible o ell he ory o dul ple of ime, o wee
ogehe he ee which hke he wrir he wrie wihhoe he i ecouig, o h he quieig of hi hd i
mbiguouly d ye obiouly eplied boh by he ib-io of di bomb hi d by h ie coerio
h Profeor eiblom begi hi ie o he me
dy h I myelf pu he r lie o pper i chceiic
f he eire book, of he cuiou brd of eliy h clig
i, which e from oe pec i ol rice i p of plyful eor o chiee pecieprecie o he poi of
g ifuriigeliio of omehig ciol he
phy d he chrce of Leekh hi wok
oer, ook curiouly ruhle fom, d w co
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THOA A
3
ny mzed by he y i nic mechnim dre
upon cul, hioricl peron nd een lierry d A
in e pnorm on in my childhood, plpble reliyw oreer indiinguihbly merging ino pined perpec
ie nd illuion hi monge echnique w coninuly
rling, een o me, nd ge me cue o orry Ye i
rigly belong o he concepion o he ide, o heboo; i h o do wih he rnge nd licenio piriul
relion rom which i emerged wih i gurie nd
en gin lierl direcne i crcer rcnum nd
coneion o long I w woring on e boo,
e concep o i public eience did no nr y mindhe muggling o liing peron, nmed ly by nme
mong he crcer o he noel, wih wom ey eheir plce eqully rel or unrel, i only minor emle o
e monge principle I m peing o ere i e iner
weing o Leern rgedy wi o Nizchewhoe nme doe no pper in enire boodiedly,
becue e euporic muicin h been mde o mucNiece ubiue he originl i no lone permied
epre eience. here i he ing o Niceeperience in e Cologne bordello nd o e ympom
ology o hi diee; here re he deil quoion rom
Ecc Hom; lo he borrowing rom die menu o be
ound in Niezche ler rom Nice (which mu he
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Str f a N
33eped he enion o o reder) likewie borrowed
ro Pul euen oun o hi l ii o hi dernged
riend o who he brough bouue o ower. uo
ion of hi kind he oehing uil bou he
diregrding he inne ehnil uliy hey re ore
oer reliy rnored ino ion ion h borb
he rel nd hu rngely proen nd rie inglingo he phere. lo quoedbu hi i obiouro he
biogrphy o hikoky whoe iniible friend Fru
on Mek i here preened Mde de oln he oryo he wooing i lo uoed fro reliy he rekle
hough i w in ruh by no en reklepuing o propol hrough friend
Sine here i o uh Niehe in he noel h i h
been lled Niehe noel i beoe ey o ue
h he ringle o Adrin Mrie Godeu nd RudiShwerdeger i righ piure of Niehe propolo Lou Andre hrough Re nd o Frulein rpedh
hrough ugo on Senger who w lredy hlf enggd
o her) Bu een een ro he poin o iew of Leerkhn
hielf he ringle i rher Shkeperen reiniene uoion ro he onne whih Adrin lwy h by
hi nd whoe plohe relionhip o poe loer nd
riend he oi o he reherou wooing h ii lo
hee o eerl o he ply hee ery ply in lie
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HOA A
4upon he muician dek Twlfh Nh Much Ado abou
Nohng and Two Gnlmn of Vrona And Adrian
ae michieou deigh n weaing no hi remrk oeiblom, who i no more aware of i han he reder, direc
quoaion from hee play. curiouy formal phrae
You would be obliging me ery much by hi friendly
erice" a quoe from Much Ado abou Nohn whereClaudio confee o he prince hi loe for ero Laer e
repe he bier Friend are ike ha oday" from Two
Gnlmn of Vrona and cie almo word for word he
ere
Whom can you trust, hen yor own rigt hnd
Stke you te breat?3
n he peruaon cene beween himef and Rudi n Pfef
fering, one of my faorie cene in he book he uie h
faal reqe wih hee word from Twlfh Nh
T ad oog quoao rom Saar audrgo om rrv ag ramuao romEg o Gma ad rom Grma a io Egppay Toma Ma dd o form aaor or Fustus o dd quoao Grma of uh d bu Nhng orga adMy g, our g o may do m good. Sapar oga "or u rd o8 Orga "Wo oud ud o' o rg ad
I rjur'd oom
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e Stor of a Noe
3 5
e w e e ea o yo wod oe o ayg
u a oee woud ay
d afewad, pupoedly lameig hi folly, he oceagai quoe fom Much Ado about Noth cig o
eblom he imge of he foolih choolboy who d a
bid e ad ou of hee j oy how i o aohe boy, whohe goe ad eal ." 5 Wheeupo Seu, o op i o,
ucociouly oi i he game of quoaio a he eplie
I o i o hame o be uig, uely; hey ae hepoio of he hef" e come peilouly cloe o ayg
lieally he ageio he eale." wa Fak ai wo hi igeiou book o Shake-
peae poied ou ha he woog moif of he oe
ecu hree ime i he play. Faustus i ake a peculia
fom of moage. dia, goeed by h pecial elo-
hip wh he wooe" Schwedfege, delibeaely ad whiie playfle epea a clch, o myh, wh dead
pupoe. O he deil igaio, wh malice afoe
hough, he bigig Rud o hi deahad eiblom
ow i. Origna "S and i br in y you
Tan n a nunio o mor gv ap. Orgna "Wo bng ovrjoyd ndng a brd n
o ompanon and a i.6 Origna "W o mak a r a rangron?
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TOA A
6
Ough I a cie a an eampe f uch an ac f mn
age ad hef fm reaiy an eeme hich may pern
hve fud becinabe; namey, Adrian Leverhn ap-prpran f Schnberg cncep f he evene
r yem f muc I uppe I mu, and frm n he b, a Schnberg eque carry a pcrp
peig u he neecua prpery righ fr he uninfrmed Th i beng dne a b again my n cnvcin
n much becaue uch an epanan c a ma
brech i he ruded, negra rd f my nve, a be
caue hin he phere f he b, h hi rd f
a pac i he dev and f bac mac he dea f heevene echnque aume a cran and a charace
hch de n pe n n rgh and hch h
n n a ene mae eay my prpery, r, rahe
he prpery f he b Schberg' dea ad my ad hoc
vern f der dey a, ade frm he yic
fau, ud have eemed am nung, my mind,
have menned hi name n e e
When I began rie ha Sunday mrning my eere cny and here a acua ren une Ye
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Stor o a Nov
37he b, nsfar as he sequence f evens as cncerned,
mus have an pany befre my eyes mus have had a
fary gd vera ve f be abe a nce ae ups nre cmpe f mfs, gve he begnnng he per
specve n dph f he he, and py he par f heremuus bgrapher s d h hs subjec ha he s a-
ays hapssy ancpang and sng hmsf n aer de-vepmens s nervusness as mn as pardyng myn verbrmng egerness. And as a bn pay
hs par e h b be ren fr me as ere be
cnscus f he ndrecness f my respnsby ang
h such nense resv acheve drecness ng nhe game reay and my prvae rd necssary he
mas and he payfunss ere n ve f he earnesness f
my asand hs I as ceary cnscus f frm he very
sar If earer rs f mne had assumed a mnumenacharacer, a eas n se, hey had dne s unepecedy
and unnennay Buddnbook, Th Magc Mounan,
he Joh sres, even Th Bovd Run had been n-
ended rgnay as eremey mdes e narraves and
had grn Ony Buddnbook n fac had been cned as a nve, and Th Bovd Run as a bes a sma
nehe rds A ma Nov sand n he e page f he
anuscrp Ths me, hever, n hs r f my d
ge, as deren. Ths ne me I ne ha I as se
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HOA A
38
ng ut t d and wat task I was ipsing upn myself
t write nthing less tan te nvel f my er, disguised as
the stry f an artists life, a trribly iperild nd snfulrtist r all y curisity and eagerness I ws nt at ese
abut the busness. prpse tt a wrk be big in every
sense t plan it s fr te start, was prbably nt right
niter fr te wrk nr fr te stte f mnd f the uthr.herefre must intrduce as uc jesting s uch ridi
cule f the bigrapher, s uc ntisefimprtnt ck-
ery as pssibles uch f al tht s ws huanly pssibe And te wife my narrating unist was t be
naed Helen lhafene very day after I had begun I again ad an ccsina
piece t write t eet te demands f the ur ne f mynthly brdcsts in Gern, tis ne t cmemrte
te b burnigs By the end f May, te mnuscript f tebk cnsistd f n mre tn tw pages une ws brken
in te idle by a lecture trip t San rncisc, whic, aside
fr the ltrry prepratin fr it, cst e r dys than
I ied. Neverteess, in the curse f that nth, during
wich d my sixtyeigt birthday, fur chapters fFauu were written And n June 28 ccrding t y
diry, cae te rst reading fr te nvl. he rnks
fr supper Later, in y study, read alud fr Docto
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e Stor of a Noel
39Faut, te rst tree cpters Ws deeply oved, nd te
erers proved receptive to te ur of exciteent tt e-
nted fro it ll
Strusss biogrpy of Ulric von utten occupied me.
Professor iic replied to my questions bout sdying fo
te inistry red Luters coentry on te Aocal
nd Berio eoirs in Engis tnstion At n eveninggtering t eucwnger's we et Miss Dodd duger
of te forr Aericn bssdor to Hiers Gerny,
te ctor Hool, nd ong oters rnz Werf wo
took occsion to tel e bout is new nove project te
utopin fntsy a of th Ubo, nd of te enoousdiculties it invoved Here ws cordeone o d
so let iself in for soeting insne, probbly ipos-
sible .
A few dys te Enst Keneks boo Muc H adNow ce y wy. t proved to be rerbly usefuwok of reference uc redi of enes �c
recurs sever ties in te diry At te se ie subled
coss soe curious infortion in soe gine con
cerning spirul usic ong te SeventDy Bptists ofPennsylvni, wit epsis on te strnge gure o onn
Conrd Beissel, wo ten nd tere decided to incude
n te ectures wit wic Kretsc te Stmerer open
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THOMA MA
up e wrld f uic yung Adian (and e eade
e bun yeaician and ce we
ery aun e we nve w l ring ee wa cncern e ecnica
uic pec f e bk w giving e ne f e
cief dend f e bk w a cnd f ee ecni
cliie e e exen a n pfeinal (and eei n re jealuly guarded pfein culd aug a e
Afer l, ad alway been very cle uic ad drawn
innie iulin and any aiic len fr i,
d a yeller de ue f i prcice nd criicl
eyi decribed i prduc uc a prineneber f e guild En c, d dened y uic
aking a bliing e bundry beween uic a pe
ciy nd univer eleen e ruble wa a i
ie e univrl eeen did n uce i wa pac
icly e e a blundeing aaeurine. e pecialy w needed. ee i ning illier in nvel bu an
ri n eey er e exience f r lk bu
geniu bu wrk, il ee nd ve bu ei ef-
fec pn e ul f eir udence ccree rliyexaciude were neededi w uery cler e I
al ve udy uic I id y brer wen d
i f y prjec And a e e ie y diy cnfeeecnical uic udie frigen and bre e a de
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h Sor o a No
n ean ha I cked he uge and indusy eneae
by eading nd eseach in he el f usica echnique
life nd creaiviy jus as hd in he inees f he Jo
f epe eneed in he wd f Orienis
riiive eigin nd yh. I culd lis a sl cgue
f bks n usic nd usicins in English nd Gean
ceriny gd w dzen wic sudd wh he encl eding wih ha eanesness nd lerness h ne e
plys nly f creive ends fr he ske f a wk in g
ess. Bu al his eiera cnc ws n cul sudy f
usc i wuld n sve e fr eposng my ignnce in
ec deils nd i did n equp e build up e lifewkf n ipn cse s h i relly seeed s if he
cpsiins culd be herd s ey were absluey
believbe (nd his is wh dmndd f ysef T d
needed uside id n dviser n eer in he subjecw ws ls cble f ge insih in my liery innins wh culd serve s e knwedgeble nsuc
hrng y ginive es. Suc help wuld be he
e wece since e usic ofr s he nve eas f
fr be sure he nvel l pcices ibu ha is ac in isefe usic ws nly fregrund nd e-
nin ny prdg f sehing e genea
ly ens expess he siuin f r in genea f
ure even f n and he inllec iself in u s iic
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HO
ea nve f usic? Yes But it ws s cceived as a
nve f te cultue nd te era t ws terefre f supree
rtnce t cieve recise reliztin f te ens dte fregrund, nd tt I suld ccept elp wit tis ws
seting tt I egrded as uttery selfevident d ntur
e elper, dviser nd syptetic instructr ws fud
ne w, trug exceptinl tecnicl nwedge ndintelectul ttients ws recisely te rigt persn
Bk Enbun m mukalcn chan [naton
Mucal aton] is rcded fr n erly dte in uly
1943 rtnt. Brugt by Dr. drn. s tter f
fct te b in qusti turned ut t ve speci i-rtnce fr y w But te n f te briger (w
ust ve wn wt I ws engged i) bbs up gin
se tw wees terit ws te tie f te tig f P
e nd f te get Russin esive d ws in teidst f te sevent cpter f Fautu Muscipt frD drn Zu Phlo o d mod n Muk [On th
hloohy of Modn Muc] . Redig drns
k . . Studying drs uscipt . n te
evenig re eadig f te nuscrit wic is very in-structive and t te se tie pints up te vst diculty f
y rject inisd reding drns essy M
ents f luinti n Adrins siti e dicultesust ec teir igest pe befre tey c be verce.
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Th Stor o Nvel
43
he desperate siuain art the st via factr. ustn se sight f the ain idea f igten inspirain, wse
ecsasy carries it beynd isef . . .Here indeed was sehing ipran. he anuscrip
deat wih dern usic bth n an arisic and n a sci
gica pane he spirit f i was rearkaby fwardk-
ing, sube and deep and he whe hing had he srangestaniy the idea f y bk, he cpsiin" in
which I ived and ved and had y being he decisi
was ade f isef his was y an
hedr iesengrundAdrn was brn in 93 in
rankfur a ain His father was a Geran ew isher, hesef a singer was he daughter f a rench ary
cer f Crsicanriginay Genesdescent and f
Geran singer He is a cusin f aer Benjain harried
t deah by he Nazis, wh ef behnd an aazingy perspi-cacius and prfund b n Geran tragedy (Deutch
aueel) which is actuay a phsphy and hisry
egry. Adnhe has taen his hers aiden nae
is a persn f siar ena cas, uncprising, trag-
y brant, perating n he highest eve. Havingwn up in an asphere enirey dinaed by thery
(iica hery as we and aisic, priariy usica,
ess, he sudied phisphy and usic In 1 9 3 e as-ed the pst f ecturer at rankfurt University and
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HOM MNN
taugt pilspy tere unt e was expeled by te Nazs
Since e as been lving n Ls Angeles s cls t us
as t be alst a neigbrAl is fe tis an f rearkable intelect s refused t
cse btween te prfssins f pilspy and usce felt tat e was actuly pursuing te sae ting in bt
diverge reals s dialectic turn f ind and bent t-ward scia istry s nterlined wit a passin fr usicte penenn is n lnger unique nwadays nd is dubt-
ess cnnected wt te le cpex f prbls f ur
te. n pursuit f tis passin e studied cpsitin and
an at rst wit usic instructrs in rankfurt ten wtAban Berg and Eduard Stuerann n Venna r
t e was editr f te Vienna Abruch and was ac-
tve prting radical dern usicBut ten w is it at tis radicalis wic te layan
tends t tink f as a kind f usical sansculttis is ac
caned by an ntense feeng fr tradtin a distncty
strica atttude and an unswervng nsistence upn tec
nca astery and craft disciplinesuc as ave fund tie
and agan ang usicans f ts type? at tey depren Wagner s nt s uc s rantcs s excess is
burges caracter r is deagguery Rater it s very
spy tat e s ften cpses badly cannt judge
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The Sy a Nvel
45Adrns cpsitins But is knwledge traditi is
astery the wle istrical bdy usic is erus
An Aerica singer w wrs wi hi said t e t is
incredible He knws every te n th wrld"
e anuscript e brugt e at te tie wse star
tlig pertinency t te wrld f y nvel instantly arrested
e, dealt largely wit Scnberg, is scl ad tetwelvetne tecique e autr presses is belie i
Scnbergs canding iprtace but te ges t
subject te syste t a prund ad searcing criticis
a pithy excessively sarpeed style tat wes uc t
Nietzsche and still re t Karl Kraus/ e sws te drecnsequeces tat ust w r te cstructive Sc -
bergia apprac t usic Hwever necessary it ay
jectively be t subject usic t rigrus ratinal aalysis
and wever illuinating tat ay e te eect s just tecnverse ratiality Over te ead te artist as itwere te art is cast back it a dark ytlgical real
Wat culd t etter int y wrld te agic square
discvered i ysel r, rater, rediscvered as a lg
filiar eleet i ysel a etal alacrity r apprpri-ting wat elt t be y w, wat belnged t e tat
Viennese stirist rt, nd po ( 874 936 one dor o e oleil reie Die Fakel.
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HOA ANN
46
t ay, t te subject. Te analysis f te rw syste
and te criticis f it tat is translated int dalgue in Cap-
te XXII f Fauu s entirey basd upn Adrns essay ae cetain ears n te tnal anguage f te ate
Beetven, suc as ccur early in te b in rescar's
sputterings: te cents n te uncanny relatinsip tat
deat estabises between genius and cnventin. Tesedeas, t, I ad encuntered in Adrns anuscipt, wt
a eeling f te strange failiarity. As f tewat wd
sa I use?serenity wit wic put y versin f te
nt te ut y staee, ave ny tis t say:
ate prlnged activity f te ind it frequently appenstat tings wic we nce upn a tie tew upn te
ates eturn t us ecast by antes and and put int di-
eent eatinsips but still reinding us f wat was nce
u wn. Ideas abut deat and f, te self and te bective wrld, ay wel be egarded by te aut a
enetan nve f se ttyve yeas ag as ecllectins
ise. Tey culd wel ave tei place in te yunge
ans usiclgical essay and at te sae tie serve e in
y canvas f persns and an epc An idea as suc wilneve pssess uc persna and pprietay vaue in te
yes an artist. Te ting tat atters is te way it func
ins witin te faewk is creatin
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The Sry a Nel
47Tward te end f Septeber 43 tug I was already
wrking n Capter IX, I was by n eans satised wit
te existing ersin f Capter VIII Kretscars lectures.One eening aftr dinner at ur use I read Capter VII
t Adrn. At table talking abut ne pints f usical
pilspy Afterward reading f te lcture capter n
tiacy wit usic glriusly cnred Questins abucertain details, se f wic are easily aended se n
s easily. On te wle reassured.
Tat reassurance did nt last Te nex seeral days were
again deted t crrectins reneents additins t te
lecture capter. Early in Octber (I ad eanwie againprceeded wit Capter IX), we spent an eening at te
Adrns Our d w grae ranz Werfel ad just ad
is rst seere eart attack and seeed t be recering
slwly and painfully I read tree pages cncerning tepian wic I ad recently interplated int y alaringly
yprtrpc capter and ur st read t us fr is stud
ies and apriss n eetenin wic a certain quta
tin fr Musaeus Rbzahl played a part Te ensuing
cnersatin passed fr uanity as te puried ct-ian eleent t parallels between Beeten and Gete
to uaneness as rantic resistance t sciety and cn
ntin Russeau and as rebellin e prse scene in
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HOA A
48
Getes Fau) Ten Adn sat dwn at te pian and
ie I std by and watced payed f e te entie
nata Opus in a igy instuctive asin. I ad nevebeen e attentive. I se ealy te flwing ning and
te next tee days iesed ysef in a tugging
evisin and extensin f te ectue n te snata wic
becae a signicant enicent and ebelisent f tecapte and indeed f te we b Int te petic itteustative pases I wte f te aietta tee I sippeddns patnyic Wud (Madowlad) by
way f swing y gatitude
nts ateit was by ten eay n te ccasin a gateing at u use I ead t i and Max k
ee is fiend and cleague f te Institute f cia
eseac te st tee captes f te nve and ten te
Opus
episde. Te eading ade an extadinay i-essinintensied it seeed by te cntast between testngy Gean basis and clatin f te k and y
wn atgete dispaate pivate attitude twad te ania
ca cunty f u igin Adn fascinated by te usical
ateia and eve tuced by te itte tibute t cae up t e and said: I cud isten a nigt
ket i cse by e enceft knwing tat I wudave need is aid f abve a in te ete eaces te nve
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Th Sy Nvl
49
VI
On Juy 4, 1943, e ceebrated y if itiet birtdayMany a penive recolection cae to ind of t rt period
of our eile in Sanary ur Mr ere we ad clbrated er
ftiet of t inc decad friend wo ad bn wit uten Rn Scickl Aong te congatultoy tlega
wa one fro our Eika no a ar corrpodnt in Cairo
e nw of Muolini fal cae around ti ti Ba
doglio ad ben appointd prir and con in cif
and furter liquidation oud certainly follow in pite ofocia aurance tat e will keep our pldg ad con
iue t war" e ary ad already takn ov te ili
tia dontation re braking out all ov county
ailing te end of Muoini and caling fo pc and nwpapr ifted teir line radicaly im ieri! wa t
cy of te Crriere dll era
a aborbed in Anton Scindle biogpy of Bee
ovn an intelectualy liied pilitin k but full o
ting ancdot and uful fact. e etcapter a well along but y day no toe dy
ak of fatgue and dprion of y dcion to put t
vel aide now for ad been forcing it pce and woktad on a ctur I ad proid to give in aington in
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HOA A
te fall. I ped tat in ts nterval y entusias fr te
deils bk" wuld be refresed After seenty pages
te stry initial ipetus s exausted I ust ake a break,but I d nt feel yself t fr anyting else eier Hw-
eer a task cae y way wc I ad n trule fullling,
setig fr a fellwwriter and ne dear t e. Te
exiles were planning a celebratin fr Alfred Dblins sity-ft birtday Bertld Viertel was getting tgeter an
albu f andwritten cngratulains, and I cered a
andse fli seet f parcent wit wrds f deeply
felt veneratin fr te pwerful talent f te autr f -
li A lada and all w was leadg a lfef altgeter unerited bscurty n Aerca I attended
te celebratin tself in te Playuse n Mntana Avenue
ere was a ne prgra f recitatins and usic y
brter Heinric spke and in cnclusn te cief gureiself ade a wellturned, sypateic speec Oer te
punc afterard, y diary recrds cnversatin wtDblin and rnst Tc n te laters usc His surprisngadratin fr Pitzners Palia T uc fuss is ade
abut atnality e sad. It s unprtant Te etrnallyrantic quality f usic . "
Ntes n e lecture d its rganizatin ccupied es s te lecture tat later appeared in te AlaiMoly under te title f Wat is Geran I dictated te
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The Sory o a Novel
5 1
st daft t y wfe, apled t by hand nshed te d-
ttn, and afte an nteuptn f tw wees nce aga
went bc t the nvel, ng cectns and vnghead. I ead alud seveal eale chptes, wth Bun ad
esl n as eceptve lstenes, wth the dea f spung
mysel nwd Dstubng eectwhch s the ght, the
nnt eect f the b Outwad ccustances weels dstubng, hwevthe pltcl undecuents f the
w a subject whch n tl wth fends t pecedence
pesnal dcltes Talng wth u fends f te
eltnshp t Russa, te dsunty, the dstust nu
shed by the absence f a eal secnd fnt the ecll fLtvnv and Msy Ipessn that what s gng n sccely cncened wth ths w any lnge, but wt the
epatn f te next. That was wtten n August
The agnets f a cncen tat lls the whle sul swefl and ysteus Ang peple t wl wtut
cnscus ntentn f the pesn cncened, gde the
vestn daw t esstbly nt ts sphee f attac-
t gvens fs, and cls extenal expeences, s-l nuntes. The scal ccasns tht at tht te nte d the even ten f y lfe ad, s f by hzd a
cl cast Dnng wth the Schnbegs n Bentwd
llent Vennese cee Talng wth Sch at length
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HOA ANN
5 2
but music . " Siree t te erfels' wit Strvinsy
ted ut Scnberg. . uet dinner t Scn
bergs t clbrte is sixtynint birtdy. Mny guestsled wit Gustv Arlt Klemperer ru eisRein-
rdt Spent sme time wit Klemperer nd Scnergled t c "
At tis tie Scnberg sent me is b n ry teHamonele nd te librett f is rtri Jacob'
Ldde, wse religius petry fund impure On te
ter nd ws ll te mre impressed by is extrrdi-nry tet wse pedggic ttitude is ne f sm cn-
servtis te strngest mingling f piety twrd trditinnd revlutin
At tis perid t we begn t see muc f Artur Rubin-stein nd is fmily. ere is smeting bslutely rejuve-ntig fr me in bserving te life f tis frtunte virtus
Curted nd led fr is enrmus tlent wic verleps
ll diculties pssessed f urising useld mrvel-
us elt ll te mney e wnts ting intellectul nd
sensuus plesure in is cllectins is precius bs nd
pintingseveryting cnspires t me ne f teppiest persns ve ever met He s cnd f six
lngugesif nt mre. His csmplitn merry cnver-
stin lng wit is nc f giving te drllst imittins
f peple mes im sine in slns s e sines n te
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Te Str f a Novl
5 3stage. His tremendus artstry makes im a success in every
part te glbe. He des nt deny is gd rtune and
certainly s cnscus wat it means. I ve nted dwns caracteristic i te instincive mtual espect r
te ter a wc came ut in a ew wds we nce ad
He and is wie, ang wit te Stravinskys nd a ew ter
guests, ad spent an evenng wt us, and I sid t m npartng Dear Mr. Rubnsten, yu must knw w greatl
nred I ee t ave ad yu ere wt us e urst nt
lugter. Yu d Nw tat wil be ne my unny
tries!"
e wrk n te capter te ur lctres wre nep int September, te mnt te cpture Srrent,
Cpr, and Isc te German evacuatin Sardina and
te retreat tward te Dneper ine in Russia, te prpara
ns r te Mscw cnerence Our minds were mucccuped wit specuatn n te uture Germany, r
wc te Russans bviusy ad ne pan and te West
ter. But te abt slatng te rst urs te day
ltgeter rm te pressure events, and rcgnzng
ny ne cncern durng tese urs, elped me t cn-trate Ardently at wrk n Capter VIII New md
wrk r tese srange and extremely persnal abrs I am gng aead and bldy wrtng Kretscmar'stures ut n ul, wt te certanty tat tey will be able
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HOA ANN
54t stand as they are Wred eagery n the chapter
(Beethoven Did st re n the nve in the afternn
(dicult . h literary event of these days was public reading by
Brun ran at which a large part of the Gern colny
was present t ade e wnder alented and ne, as
always oreover, excelenty read. But what stries e dd is this: he uses the huanistic narrative stye f eitbl
with cplete seriusness as his wn n atters f style
realy n onger adit anything but pardy. n this, clse t
J,oyce . .
was reading the eirs f Hector Berliz His cery f Palestrina His contept for the talian teper in
usic and, incidentally, fr the rench vein as well. hetaians lc of feeling fr instruental usic (Verdi He
lso qetions their sense f harony Mere songbirds. Hehiself, with his incessant nave basting, reinds e stri
ingly f Benvenuto Cellini"
he overbriing ecture chapter was povisinaly
opleted during the rst twenty days f Septebr in in-
fernal heat, and began n the nineteenth in which Adriansusical education is carried forward n this chapter his de-
scriptin f the Leonre Overture No 3 gave e the ostpleasure recall an evening with Lenhad ran, wh was
wring on his delicate nve of a wans life, Mathild
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he Sy a Ne
5 5fr wic e read aud t us y surprise e spke a
tabe f w stirred e ad been by wat e ad eard
octo Fautus He was sure, e said, that e wud ike tis
bk re than any f y ters it tuced at te rts f
is nature understd ery we what e eant ciais
in is piica beifs and an ader f Russia, e was at te
e tie ed wi a new feeing fr Gerany and itsidiisibiity. Gien te tenacity wit wich Hiters trps
ee si in tis was a patritis tat seeed curi
usy preature. Yet it was beginning t deep ang te
Geran exies and was t be gien igy petic epressi
ite ater in ranks utch Noll (A Gemaoy. His etina ineent wit Faustu was we-
e t e but at te sae tie wrried e cud nt
p taing it as a warningagainst te daner f y nes
ing its part in creating a new Geran yh attering teans wit teir denis I saw y ceagues
ise, terefre as being e t prceed wit cautin- thees f te bk, crisis tees, ad an extreey an cratin ust attept as uch as pssibe t
te in te uniersaities f te era and f Eurpe And_ cud nt keep fr incuding te wrd Gema i te
tite . At te tie f wic a speaking tis subtite ad
t visina and ratr inapprpriate fr Th tac o Ada Lekh a told by a fed A year ater
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HOMA MA
s 6te cress tae lfe was t and I ad nstead The Lifeof the Gem Comoe
ee wre aways te deands f te day ntevenngupn y an task. Nw I wud ave t wte a new ad
badcast for Geany nw a ectue f te ews
wens rganzatn, Hadassa, a speec f a eetng
f Wrters n Exe ed eary n Octber befe a ageaudence n the Educatn Budng n te Westwd
capus. An Engshwan pesded. Ln euctwange
spke as a rencan naed Pgd a Geek by te
nae f Mts, Prfessr Gstav At and ysef Once
e I fund that pubc actvty a vst t te wd fuanty fr th kes f e s prne t take n a caactef fantasy da, and buney s tat wen I descrbe
c an aa n y bks I a nt addng ts eeent f
teay eect rathe, tat s just w tese aas appea te Mns wfe was n bed at e sueng fr pe
tnts. e an sef was vey pae and wre ournng,
as f s wfe wee aready dead (I ave n dea whethrse ded s was te cef pessn tat I cared he
f te eetngOne f te wdest gaps n te wtng f Fautu was
ased by a ney t te East and t Canda, t wc I
ad ctted ysef sete ag. Begn n Octbe 9t was a trp arked by any stps and t ed p y wk
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The Sy Nvl
5 7or a ful wo months However, I did not part with the
nuscript the as yet meger pages cme along with me in
brief case which aso contained my ecture notes nd which
never eft in the care of a porter No sooner had reached
Chicgo on my way through to the East, than received
via my broherinaw the physicist Peter Pringsheim, a
ighly signicnt gift from collegue of his te univery t ws nothing ess thn the appratus for mking os
otic growths" of the kind ather Leverkhn dbbles in ate begining of the novel vesse contining solution of
ter glss and the necessary crystas for sowng cr
id this curious gift with me for weeks to Washington,ew York, Boston, and Montrel And one evening in our
ew York hotel, after a supper at Voisin's, wih mny a
ck shudder, we had crck at the pseudobiologica e
iment By we mean ourselves nd a group of our friends,ong them dear Annette Kolb, Mrtin Gumert, ritz ndsho, nd our Erika. had just read oud the tpters of Dc Fauu and now we actully wchd
muddy water sprouting those colored shoots which o
n Leverkhn had found so melanchoy while Adrin been moved to lughter
n Wshington we stayed, as always, with our odest
erican friends and ptron, Eugene and Agnes Meyer r handsome house on Crescent Pce, a center of the
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HOM MANN
s citys soci life e news o f ty's coing over to te side
of te Allies er declrtion of w ginst Gerny
eced us tere. Once gin spoke t te Lbrry of Con-gress introuced by McLei nd two dys ltr tlked
t unter College in New York t se evening we
went on to Boston ere it ws Getno Svemini wo
ws overoyed to see gin wo introduced e to te pub-lic in ost engging ddress. e udience ws rge
undreds d d to be turned wy nd te utterly quiet
ttentiveness of tose wo istene to y one nd qurter
ou reding d s lwys soeting overweling
bout it for me. Wt brings tese people to er e? sk myself. A Cruso? t do tey expct? An do
tey nd teir xpecttions in te sigtest fulled? "
t wou see so. But of course te strngest mispce-
ments nd isunderstnings lso occu for s stopgpgents wi soeties sel one to plce were one s no
business being n cuts te oddest gure t ws ow it
ws in sll industril town were soe sort of povincil
public eeting ws being ed in te goo cuse of collect
ing oney for id to te wrtorn counties. e woleir took plce wit oors open i te coming n
going of te crow wt plenty of bnd uic rousing
speeces nd populr oks. My lecture copletely out of
plce s it ws ws evidently te windup of te vrigted
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Stor of a Nov
59ogr. At sort notice cut it down to lf n our n
nuscript, nd in spekng condensed it to twenty inutes.
u tis ws stil fr too long, nd, boe l, not word wsble All te wle spoe people were pouring ut ofe ll to ctc teir busses nd trins." At te en te
irn ssured e tt te wole ting d been ery
uig tougt so, too. ut te orgnizer serous-nded lttle tron wo d trougout regrded e wit
ey worried expresson, too dierent iew Se ws so
ed tt we could not ssure er suciently of ow
d we were to e prticipted Een fter we were n-
led in our tiny otel roo se tleponed to s weter could not send us qurt of il by wy of refreent.
Ater isit to Montrel, we returned to New or
ere busy tie wited e On te spot tis tett
sy dircty fro C edquters d to dr; Gern brodcst. ere ws lso lecture to be gien
; Colubi Unersity, nd speec to be prepred for celebrtion of Ain onsons seente bitdy. Minrdt d died Bcue of sere cold ws unble
< e prt in te N ew or ril eeting ws lso cry of ppeing bcuse Gern exile
es, supported by Aericns of Gern descent like
ur, wee uc concerned wit te re Gerny
eent nd ws being sked to prticipteeen to
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HO NN
6
take te leading le Te iea was t eae a decatic
Gean gvenent tat wuld be eady t take ve afte
Hitle's inevitable cllase Telgians wites scialistand Catlic statesen belnged t te gu and it was
sggested tat I be laced at te ead f it Idealists wte
elix Lange in is bk St Sto to Pac dea
f Tas Mann as te esident f te secnd GeanReublic a st tat e iself wul bably st de
cidedly efuse
He was igt Te idea f etuning t a Geany be
ce s lien t e educd by wa t a state I culd
etty well iagine and tee laying a ltical at abs-lutely cunte t y natue and fessin was antiatetic
t e t te dets f y sul. But I cncued witte lannes tat any citte ing t aticiate i
te saing f Geanys futue needed te snssif te Aeican gvenent just as te Pauus gu in
Rssia te Czc gvenent in exile in ngland enjyed
suc tectin. And igt at te utset I exessed gave
dubts as t wete te State Detent wuld fav
any ganizatin tat even etely esebled a Geangvenent in exile Neveteless I eed t g t as-
ingtn t claify tis cucial uestin I did s and in a cn
vesatin wit Assistant Secetay f State Bele fund y
negative exectatins cned. Wit ixed feelinsf
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The Sy a Nv
6 1
desite al my esect f wat my felw cutyme
we tying t d, tis dnueent was a lf t e
eted te falue f my ssin at a secnd metingAt te teate we saw Pau Rbesn as Otelgd
nd cnvncing i te beginng, inadequate ate wechas etuns His Desdemda was nexistent te ag
ug, inteliget, but t ade f tat alst alegicalyudicus incanati f absute ev cany wit u
iend Cane Newt we as saw a mden play. was
nce again stuck by te efected natualness f te Ameian teate t is nt a questi f natuasm, wic is a
e O te cntay, it is utte unstyizti te ey-et f eality, and is me ack f inibitins tan at A
uean act, eve a secndak ne, stands ut in such
tue as a fascinating feig bdy ust als nt fget
glius matinee efance by the Busc Quatet atw Halthey layed Beetves Ous 1 3 , tat sueme wk wc, by wat migt be caled te kindness f
videce ad te cace t ea at east ve times dug te yeas was wkng n Fautu
ly i Decebe we set ut f te Middle West ging st t Cincinnati s tat culd kee a eading engagement
t the unvesity, ad tetaveng i watime discft
t St Luis ad Kasas City Tee, at te use f Me esident f te Univesity f Kansas City, we
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HOM MNN
6
were ined by ur edest sn aus a sldier in the Aeri-
can ary n the pint eaving r verseas tat is t say
r the urpean teater war. He preceded is brtherG w was still at the stage basc trainig. Eria was
with us se t was deterined t return t Eurpe t resue her activity as war crrespndent S we were t-
gether with tese dear cdren r ne last tie bere aparting that presuaby ight be r very lng.
And s at ast ater any adventures erts acive
ents we returned e by the st direct rute. Durig
all tat tie in al te places we ad been tin ay say
tat the nve had nt been absent r y thugts evena ent. r Dr Martin Gupert had btained
dica wrs n sypiis the central nervus syste As
ed ver tese bs during te trip was again re-
inded w ng tis prject had ad t stand in inewaiting its turn waiting r te ulness tie re
calld tat as early as 1 ur years that is ater te ear-liest nte abut a aust stry had ased te bseer
Scer n aiilianstrasse in Munic abut such litera
ture reebered that y query had started the gdan r t way he raised his eyebrws it was car ethugt ad an all t persna interest in te subject.
Atgeter y readig n trains and in te rs was
entey reated in se way r ter t the b. Nting
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The Sy a Nve
63else cceed e r culd d y aeiexce if i
ay be called a excei, ewsaer accus f curre
aeigs wic were eibls aair as well as ie:e scw cferece f Hull, Ede, ad lv say
ad crresdig liiciliary eergecy eeigs f
arsal Keiel ad is cries. A vlue f sixeece
uy urus ales ad accaied efr y arraivelways sd wi e f i a ceury ars f i wuld
ave be cas i e laguage f e erid, ad i leisure
urs e rue I busied yself exracig lder Ger
wrds ad rases. I read arlwes Fauu ad a Ger
Rieesceider i e Peasas War I is gd, ifwe are be up serius acievee i arrai, kee
i uc w grea eical wriig, seep urselves iswaers s seak Ad s I read ereas Gelf,
seSchwa Snn ( Th Black Sd)
I adire alsre a ayig else i wrld lieraue I read is Ul dnch ( U h Hd Man) wi is fe Heric vr
s ad is paler pslude d Pch (Ul h Tn-
n Fam)
usic, , f cuse, culd be lef aside I ad e e b Berliz eirs ad Ads auscp
berg His rigrus aer f verai e ragi
ly cerebral relelessess f is criicis f e ce
orary usical siuai was recisely wa I eeded r
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HO
64wat culd draw fr it and wat I arriated fr it
in rder t prtray te wle cultural crisis in additin t te
crisis f usic was te fundaental tif f y bk teclseness f sterility, te innate desair tat reares te
grund fr a act wit te devi. Mrever tis reding
nursed te usical cnceptin wic ad lng been y
ideal f fr and fr wic tis tie tere was a secialestetic necessity. felt clearly tat y bk itself wuld
ave t bece te ting it dealt wit naely a usical
cpsitin
Wit se astnisent, but nt witut etin, re
read wat ad written in y jurnal n te jurney frDenver t s Angeles wile te trin rcked under eay te nvel clrify and take rper fr tis winter
rt task is t reve all errrs fr te lecture ca
ter A dicult wrk f art, like battle, eril at sea r danger
t life brings us clse t Gd in tat it fsters a religiusd and akes us raise ur eyes reverently in an appeal
fr blessing el, grace."
/
Hecing is a lvely adventure, esecially ecing
tis Pacc Cast I was encanted by te ligt by te
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h Sr Nve
6ssecia fragrance f the ar, by the blue f the sy, te sun
te exhilaratg cean breeze the sruceness ad cleness
f this suthlad. ide ce me ver the stetc fm
lad statn t hme (lmst an hurs urey wit as
much imedng as when yu went the same way n te re-
vese diecti has smethng mrbabe abut t u
never wuld hve tugt f it qute lie tat funegbrs wh had bee eeng an eye n ur ts ad
tg cae f the mil bugt a uge sac f lettes alng
wt ceam ca ad wers. he Alfred Neums delvered the dle wh had bee left wth tem d w
nw wavered, bewdered, between tw sets f msts nder t se n tme uttg tigs n an dely bss yuertire yurself siftig trugh and destrying te ccu
muated rinted matter classifyng leers brugt alg r
witng at hme One etter was frm Bert Bect tingme t tas f my lac f faith in Germn demcracy Int wy ad sw t ts lc f fit? Ad ws te
cge usted? Pers my thugt ws tt terrble
mut had stl t be de befre tee wuld be y Ge
m demcacy t discuss be sue Hitle ws te lye w dd nt w that he was lst desite te fct tat
ll Eure excet fr Ity ws sti n s ands Cse
]uently we had the rght t ti beyd s feseeabe
d But hw shud we g abut t?
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HOA A
66
ry after y return I ad t dea wt a etter fr a
news syndicate ey wised e t d an artce fr te
London Enng Standad n te questn f Wat t Dwit Gerany My nner nlgue ran Precarus,
carrying uc respnsbiity, and at te sae te unneces-sary Very ikey tis partcular cncern wl be einated
by unfreseen develpents. Wat revlutinized, pre-tarianized, naked and sripped, sattered sses beleving n
nting we sall ave t dea wit after ts war. Prcaa-
tn f a natna Blsevis and a ging ver t Russa
are nt ut f te questin. s cuntry is lst fr a decent,
lberadecratic repubic. . .I did nt write te artice. My next task, undertaken
gadly and wit feelings f tankfu reebrance, was twrk up a speec fr te Max Reinrdt era etg,
wic tk place n Deceber n te Wisre Ebeeatre n Ls Angeles. at ws prbably te rst te
tat te tw wen w ad sared s lfe, Heene i
and Else Heis, fund teseves tgeter n te sae
r Krngld and zigeti played. Parts f te l f A
Mdumm Nght' Dam were swn. elw rtists andpups spke, ang te an Aercan squrt eeven r
tweve years f age, fr Renardts Hllywd teater
sc, w gave us a sape f typca Arican ngenu-
usness and straigtfrwardness n pubic speakng wc
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The Sor o a Novel
67was ast cedy. dnt knw w t speak abut Max
in a sen way We sipy were gd friends . We
cncuded t evening wit te ranks at te Brwn
Derby but neiter private nr pubic aairs seee abe t
prvide bigtr ateria fr ur cnvesatin ranz
Werfes cnditin was causing us te gravest cncern. And
prspects fr te war in Eupe nce again seeed dakand dubius. e disastrus episde at Bari ad just been
ade pubic. Winstn Curci was i in Egypt suering
fr is secnd but f pneunia. ad begun wrk again n te revisins f Capter V,
gave it a new na f, and decided tat ad it rigt atast. resued Capter X wic ad begun ny t turn
back nce re t ake furter reviins n te earier
capter. My estetic cnscience was never t be fuy satis
ed wit tat bterse sectin. Muc ater again rewrte te na diague At te end f te year was in te
idst f te next capter. Wrking n X and cut Dubts
abut te cpsitin be canged Reincences f
teatic ateria. . . . rigtfu bbing f Berin
Reading Scnbergs Hamony Begun t write Geran bradcast . . . . e ai as brugt a surprise rdert appear fr naturaizatin exa Read parts f Le
on n nh"
On Deceber : We unite in te eartfet wis ta in
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HOM M
68
te wld year t ce ur sns ay t e safe On te rst
day f te new year ust agan take up wrk n te per
aps pssle ne. May setng wrty e adef t
Oy a few days f 19 ad passed wen a eraeletter fr Werfe arred. Dctated fr s scked
wc gt e s deated He spke f Buddbookwc e ad ust reread n tree days and wc e calle
te mst earnest anner, an mmrtal sterpece.
tug ts wrk f y yut ad fr s ngalst a
a century nween eadng ts wn lfe ndependent
me, and altug t scarcey seeed t pertan t e anyngr, was deepy aected y ts essage, reacng e
as t dd under suc curus crcustances. r y presen
udrtkg was setg lke a elated return and e
cmg t te ldfasned Geran and usca spere
tt t nel at Buddbook suld nce re ae
captd a rstrate artsts nd ke Werfes at ts f a
tes was und t tuc e deepy r te rest, te cn
sderatns arused y te etter were far fr arrgant. "
a wnderng wrte weter ts k ay nt e teery ne ang al y wrks wc s destned t sure
Peraps y ssn was fullled n te wrtng f t, and
as een y lt nly t te rest f a lng lfe n a ter
ay dgned and terestng anner I d nt wan t e
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r f Nve
69ungrateul and denigrate te urse f my lie after that
yutful ast te die as it develed thrugh
and But this iht
be a ase like that the that era alone hs reained alive amng the ele although the moser fl-
lwed it u by a god deal f musi that was even bter
nbler Still and all, and are als n tereertire
A ew days later I went t see Werfel w loked vey
ad ut immediately egan t lay ral variatins uon the
eulogies in his letter I std at te ft f is bed beside
wi the xygen aaratus was munted With eyes xedun me he exlained tat it seemed almst inredible to im
t see te autr f standing s materially e
fre him.
Hw arateristi f him was the hildlkeness tis entusiasm I ave always een very fnd f ranz Werfel I
ave admed is great lyrial git as a et and herised isalways interesting narrative art altug at es it ak
artiti selfntrl I ad my doubts aut his laying wit
irales in intelleually tere is someting iure abut it But I uld never really lame his nave and
hly talented artisti nature r te mystial inlinatins
hat mre and mre to r n im r is irting wit
me is ius weakness fr r and Vatian Nne
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THOMAS MANN
0
tat botered e excet at toe unfortunate oent
wen e ecae aggreivey arguentative about it At
botto e wa a gure out of oera e coud even ooke an opera inger (wic it ad once been i abition to
e) toug at te ae tie e ad te ook of a Catoic
prit. He ad teadfaty rej ected te teptation to becoe
a convert on te ground tat it woud not do for i todey i udai at a tie of ewi artyrdo Wie e
w ieraby recovering fro ti i econd eart at-
tak and wa pending ore or e oitary tie in Santa
bara niig i utoian novetat tane and a it
wre potuou worI wa abe to ake i acquaintedwit oe part of te growing Fauu and to e wared
by eagr ypaty We ad dined at Roman wit
Aa Mar and ten joined i e aving eatn at oe
wit i perona yician. Lying on te ofa e itened toy rt tree capter and I a not forget ow truc e
waor a I ay reonitivey diturbedy Adrian
laughe in wic e intanty recognized oeting of te
uncanny an eeent of reigiou diaboi He aked about
it again and again. e augter! e aid Wat are yougetting at tere? O know I know . We wi ee.
Wit inigt and foreit e tu icked out one of te
a otif of te book te ind I ot enjoy working
witike ay te erotic otif of te bue and back eye;
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T f Nv
te mte mtf te arallelsm f te landscaes r, me
sgncant and essntal rangng trug te wle b
and aearng n many varatns te mtf f cld wc
s elated t te mtf f laugter
n tat laugter te devl as e secret er f te bk
s nvsbly resent. He s tere t n te exerments f
Leverkn's fater ad my tsk was slwly t rvde utlnes fr wat culd be sensed fm te begnnng t allw
t mre and mre t assume frm and resence, as s dne n
te capters n telgy at Hallerst f all by Prfessrumf's crcature f Luter (wc s at te sme tme a
cmc relude t te lgustc devces f te bk, s tatlate n te Old German s really n every case a qute frm
umf) ad ten by clefuss' sdy cleague ad
advanced t ts regn f te bk by te mddle f eb-
ruay. And altug an artcle ayng trbute t ru Wal-ter n s ftet annversary as a cnductr was nt teoy nterrutn t te bk, ad te wtc stry dne
d als Cter X by te begnng f Marc My cm
ment: Lttle satsfactn n te wrk, wc seems t be ds
lvng under my nds Certanly t s an rgal enterrsebut I dubt tat my strengt wll suce. A msguded deat let t assume frms and dmensns ak t e Mai
oua e bass f tat s fatgue and sluggsess
s wrry ver te bks frmlssness crs u reet
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HOA A
edly n te accanyg nte and te aance eet I
dew u f y wn enet. Cyi Cnnlly nce c
ened peceively at ne ut nt e t vain t d aing adly and n t caven t adi it Well I a ave
enug t adit at I was ied at te spect f un
gling a maj wk nd a I ften sueed t e pin f
despai f e belief t I was actually ding s Uliately it as is vanity wic cnqueed te fatigue and
luggishness and ade f e nvel te slid ceent suc
tue at it is.
I ald wi Adn weneve we et scially and
tug tese cnvesains I ateped get e gin usical pbls f e bk. I was aleady cn
cened u e idea f e beaktug wic wa
gealy in need f claicatin Wi sypaeic inteest
and eageness t elp in any way e culd Adn uge a ighly petinent bk n Alan Bg w was n n
te same yea as Adian and wit w, inciden-tally I d nce cespnded I ad cpleely fgtten
tis pably ecause I ad nt en clealy gasped is
ce Alma Male ad t eind e tat afe te ub-lcain f e st vlue f Joeh ad Hi Brother e
d wien a vey cdial lee t e f Vienna andta ad eplied gaefully. I wuld give a gat deal
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r f Nv
7 ave i letter till Wit mc ele it wa left by te
wayide
A memable literary event ccrred wile wa wrking
n Capte XVte tdent talk f wic incidentally
I ed a dcment tat I fnd amng my vai ld pa-
per a German yut magazine publied by te Wander-
vgel r me milar grp. e literary event wic frday cncerned me in te deepet and mt pernal way
wa te arrival frm witzerland bt vlume Her
mann Hee Magit Ludi. After year wrk my fried
in ditant Mntagnla ad cmpleted ti diclt and beau
tiful nvel f i ld age wic I ad itert een nlyte mgnicent intrdcin tat ad cme ut in te u
Rundchau ad ten aid tat ti writing wa a cle t
me a if it were part melf" a it ge in te ld pem
I Had a Comad. Nw eeing te wle ting I wa al-mt alarmed at it kinip wit te tak ad elected te
ame idea f ctinal bigrapywit te dae f pardytat ti fm necearily invlve te ame cnectin wit
muc Al a criticim f culture and r era altug
frm te pint view f a viinary cltural utpia andtey clture ater tan a painate and telling
dramatizatin r tragedy Wit all te dierence tere
emained a ditrbing imilarity My diay nte e e
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THOMAS MANN
74mnded tat ne s nt ane n te wrldalways unea
ant" bluntly renders ts asect f my feelngs t s anter
versn f te questn n Getes Wlcr DwaD we ten live f ters lve?" and s as reminscent f
certan remars by Saul itelberg n te unwillngness f
artsts t knw abut ne anterrearks tat ater
wrte witut ayng te t mysef admt t a weearted cntemt fr medcrty e
medcre knw ntng f excence and terefre lead an
easy, stud life y mnd, t many ele wrte. But
wit tse w tread te same dicult at, tink may
cl mysef a gd cleague w des nt k grudgnglyat te gd and great tngs tat are being dne angsde
, and w s far t fnd f admratn, and beeves n
it far t deely t reserve s wn fr te dead.
was face t face wt mature ecelence ere Certanlymuc er deely cncealed and carefully aled, adgne nt ts wrk Wt wat umr and artistry ad tese
cntrved t kee te ntelectuazatn tat cms wit
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