The Literature Book

226

The plot of the novel revolves

around the various patients who

he meets, and the relationships

he develops with them.

An education in life

It is from the other patients in the

sanatorium that Hans Castorp

receives the education—in art,

politics, love, and the human

condition—that all Bildungsroman

heroes must gain. Mann uses the

characters as representatives of the

different ideas and belief systems

of pre-World War I Europe. We meet

Leo Naphta, a Jew-turned-Marxist

Jesuit; Ludovico Settembrini, an

Italian secular humanist; and

Mynheer Peeperkorn, a hedonistic

Dutchman with a tropical disease.

Each of these characters attempts

to sway Castorp toward his own

way of thinking, meaning that a

great part of the book is taken up

with philosophical debates. There

is a woman, too, called Clawdia

Chauchat, with whom Castorp

falls in love, thereby receiving his

necessary education in romance

and erotic temptation.

Where most Bildungsromans

involve a physical as well as an

emotional journey, The Magic

Mountain makes a point of staying

geographically in one place—the

Berghof; and the journey it offers

is through Western (and to some

extent Eastern) ideologies. It is

almost as if the height of the

mountain itself provides the young

Castorp with a view across all of

Europe at this crucial juncture.

THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN

The book serves as both a major

example of a Bildungsroman and a

parody of the genre. The essential

elements of the Bildungsroman are

all present: a young, impressionable

hero who is setting out in life; an

education process that is often

difficult, but which he comes

through in one piece; and at last,

a venturing forth. Castorp must go

through the experience of sickness

and recovery to arrive at a true

appreciation of life. Therefore the

book unquestionably belongs to

the genre. Yet Mann parodies or

challenges it on almost every level.

Layers of parody

On one level, there are the various

lessons that Castorp receives.

Different characters offer views

of the world that contradict each

other, and it is not clear whether

Mann approves of any of them. In

earlier Bildungsromans, the lessons

learned and the values gained by

the central character are intended

to be approved of, or agreed with,

by the reader. So, for example,

David Copperfield in Dickens’ novel

might learn not to take people at

face value. The Magic Mountain

rejects this formula. As a modern

novel it is aware that there are

many ways of looking at the world,

and none of them is necessarily

I, for one, have never

come across a perfectly

healthy human being.

The Magic Mountain

Ludovico Settembrini

represents humanism, intellect, and the

rational values of the Enlightenment.

Joachim Ziemssen

typifies faithfulness, duty, a committed

and uncomplicated response to life.

Mynheer

Peeperkorn

symbolizes hedonism,

the pleasure principle,

and the superiority of

emotion over reason.

Leo Naphta

stands for

radicalism,

irrationality,

and religious

fundamentalism.

Clawdia Chauchat

embodies love, sex,

sensual pleasure.

Hans Castorp

Hans represents the

typical blank slate of a

central character in a

Bildungsroman, who absorbs

the influences of those around

him. In his case, however, he

remains ambivalent,

passive, and unable to

commit himself.

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