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Tamara asked this question about The Magic Mountain:
I have the H.T. Lowe-Porter translation (in English). however, when we finally get to the conversation in the "Walpurgis Night" chapter, it is all in French. does anyone know why this is, and could anyone summarize what is said?
Mark Hebwood It's in French in the original German, too. This is a stylistic device - in the 19th century, French was the language of the educated classes, and it …moreIt's in French in the original German, too. This is a stylistic device - in the 19th century, French was the language of the educated classes, and it was entirely normal for other European nationals to converse in that language (compare, for example, the opening scenes in Tolstoi's War and Peace, or certain - shorter - passages in Buddenbrooks). Mme Chauchat is an educated Russian and speaks better French than German, and that is why Hans Castorp conducts his first ever conversation with her in French. But it is more than just form, it is also a stylistic device. If you examine the scene, you'll see that the HC's French contributions become longer and longer, until he delivers an impassioned monologue about his love for Chauchat, and the relationship between love, death, and the human body in general. That monologue is almost a page long, and by that time statements in German, which still shot through the French up till then, were totally crowded out. The idea here is, I think, to emphasise the "otherwordliness" of the scene, HC often makes reference to a dream, a realm in which he loses his inhibitions, and declares his love for Chauchat.(less)
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The Magic Mountain
by Thomas Mann
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