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* Week 5 -- September 9 - 15. Read from “Research” p. 318, until Chapter 5 “Walpurgis Night” (Walpurgisnacht) p. 382.
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Kalliope
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Jul 15, 2013 08:19AM
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"What was life, really? It was warmth, the warmth produced by instability attempting to preserve form, a fever of matter that accompanies the ceaseless dissolution and renewal of protein molecules, themselves transient in their complex and intricate construction. It was the existence of what, in actuality, has no inherent ability to exist, but only balances with sweet, painful precariousness on one point of existence in the midst of this feverish, interwoven process of decay and repair. It was not matter, it was not spirit. It was something in between the two, a phenomenon borne by matter, like the rainbow above a waterfall, like a flame. But although it was not material, it was sensual to the point of lust and revulsion, it was matter shamelessly sensitive to stimuli within and without-existence in its lewd form. It was a secret, sensate stirring in the chaste chill of space. It was furtive, lascivious, sordid-nourishment sucked in and excreted, an exhalation of carbon dioxide and other foul impurities of a mysterious origin and nature. Out of overcompensation for its own instability, yet governed by its own inherent laws of formation, a bloated concoction of water, protein, salt, and fats-what we call flesh ran riot, unfolded, and took shape, achieving form, ideality, beauty, and yet all the while was the quintessence of sensuality and desire. This form and this beauty were not derived from the spirit, as in works of poetry and music, nor derived from some neutral material both consumed by spirit and innocently embodying it, as is the case with the form and beauty of the visual arts. Rather, they were derived from and perfected by substances awakened to lust via means unknown, by decomposing and composing organic matter itself, by reeking flesh."
And:
"He learned pathological anatomy from a volume he was now holding to one side to catch the reddish glow of his table lamp; the text, with a series of illustrations, discussed parasitic cell fusion and infectious tumors. These were tissue formations-and very luxuriant formations they were caused by foreign cells invading an organism that proved receptive to them and for some reason offered favorable conditions (although, one had to admit, rather dissolute conditions at that) for them to flourish. It was not so much that the parasite deprived the surrounding tissue of its nourishment, but rather, in exchanging materials with its host cell, it formed organic compounds that proved amazingly toxic, indeed ultimately destructive, to the cells of the host organism. Researchers had been able to isolate and concentrate the toxins from several such microorganisms and were amazed to find that, if injected into an animal's bloodstream, even tiny doses of such materials, which could be classified as simple proteins, produced the most acute toxic effects, leading to rapid demise. The external form of this contamination was a rapid growth of tissue, a tumor, pathologically speaking, which was the cells' reaction to the stimulus of bacilli having taken up residence among them. The cells of the mucus-like tissue between which or in which the bacilli resided formed millet-seed-size nodules, some of which were very large indeed and extraordinarily rich in protoplasm containing numerous nuclei. This riotous living, however, soon led to ruin, because the nuclei of these monster cells began to shrink and break down, their protoplasm began to congeal and decompose; other tissues in the vicinity were affected by the same foreign stimuli. Inflammation spread to adjacent blood vessels; lured to the scene of the accident, white corpuscles now arrived ; death by congealing proceeded apace. Meanwhile the soluble toxins from the bacteria had long since intoxicated the nerve centers; the organism was already feverish, and with heaving bosom, so to speak, it reeled toward its disintegration."
And his research leads him to a vision of Chauchat:
"The books lay piled high on the table with the lamp, but one was on the floor mat next to his lounge chair and another, the one Hans Castorp had last been reading, lay across his stomach, its weight making it very difficult for him to breathe, although his cerebral cortex had sent no order to the appropriate muscles to remove it. He had read to the bottom of the page, until his chin rested on his chest and his eyelids fell over his ordinary blue eyes. He beheld the image of life, its voluptuous limbs, its flesh-borne beauty. She had loosened her hands from the back of her neck, and her arms-she spread them wide now, revealing the inner surface, especially the tender skin at the elbow with its blood vessels, two large bluish branching veins-her arms were of inexpressible sweetness. She bent toward him, bent down to him, over him, he sensed her organic aroma, sensed the lace-like pounding of her heart. He felt an embrace, hot and tender, around his neck. Melting with lust and dismay, he laid his hands on her upper arms, there where her grainy skin stretched taut over the triceps and was blissfully cool to the touch. He felt the moist suckle of her kiss on his lips."
What did you all think of this section?
My reaction, albeit an unfair or even inappropriate one: "on and on and on. Get out the blue pencil for editing, or is it the red one for needed deletions, please."In fairness, I do think our knowledge of bodily function and of medicine has moved considerably since Mann wrote these passages. He would probably write them much differently today.
And some of the sentences are great, like the one about the too heavy tome on his stomach with the appropriate muscles still waiting for directions to move it!
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Haha... a bit long.
As Lily says, a bit of a dangerous thing to write because it ages fast, but to me the interest was in learning how much they knew then given how outdated their treatment of TB seems to us now.
It is also typical of the way autodidacts display their knowledge, and Thomas Mann was somewhat of an autodidact. He did not do his Abitur, so all this section must have been the result of his own "Research".
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"Fifty Shades of Grey" has made it into The Magic Mountain...
LOL....
Now I can skim these parts when I reach this section!
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No, don't... as Kris says, it does have some interesting parts that show you the way Mann thought...
This part is interesting, the moralistic and self-punishing aspect:
So much for pathology, the study of disease,...disease was life's lascivious form.... The first step toward evil, toward lust and death.....
No I won't skip it. I realized I shouldn't have said that and went back and edited it to "skim" as I know that there will be parts of this which will reach out and grab me.
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Good... It is a peculiar section, so it fit in well with the rest of the novel... LOL...
Actually so much of the conversation that began in the director's quarters is odd and interesting and almost perverse-sounding simultaneously. I wonder whether to look at it as a window on the knowledge of another age or not. Or is Mann once again using his ironic ways to fill us with half blown ideas of medical "facts"? I don't know enough of medical and philosophical history to answer this. Perhaps theories of the past always have this flavor.
Kris wrote: "It was rather a relief to get to "Danse Macabre"!"Ha! I know what you mean. The biology/physiology lesson was exhausting. I nearly went ZzzzzzzZZzz.
I can understand that. I did love it, but that sort of thing is up my alley. The philosophical crap, though? Not so much.
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There's something for everyone!
I suppose! But I am very self-absorbed, Kris Rabberman. A book needs to be aaaaaaaaall for me. Or else I get bored.
Oh dear. I had quite a lot of reading time today, and was intending to get up to Walpurgisnacht. After skipping the physiology (in German for crap's sake) last night, and then reading Kal's clear instructions this morning that I wasn't allowed to, I was so reluctant to pick up TMM that I avoided the problem and read something else entirely.
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·Karen· wrote: "Oh dear. I had quite a lot of reading time today, and was intending to get up to Walpurgisnacht. After skipping the physiology (in German for crap's sake) last night, and then reading Kal's clear i..."That has me laughing aloud Karen. I'm a bit intimidated too but should get to my reading.
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"Fifty Sha..."
This made me laugh, Kall, as did Behrens' Christmas impersonation of Fafnir. Nothing like some Wagnerian humor. :)
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Karen, as in the Proust group, anybody can read up to wherever they feel comfortable, it is just that the comments have to go to the right thread. Otherwise the discussion becomes confusing for others and/or spoilers lurk in.
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Kris, thank you for the hint on Behrens and Wagner. I missed that one (Wagner is a big pending for me).
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"This evening their gathering was given added dignity and vitality by the presentation of the gift to the director, who stopped by for half an hour with Knut and Head Nurse Mylendonk. The ceremony took place in the social room with the optical toys. The Russians' special present consisted of a very large, round silver plate with the recipient's monogram engraved in the middle-an object whose utter uselessness was immediately obvious. One could at least lie down on the chaise longue the other guests had given him, although it was covered with just a cloth, since it still lacked both cushions and upholstery. But the headrest was adjustable, and Behrens tried it for comfort, stretching out on it with his useless plate still under one arm; pretending to be Fafnir guarding his treasure, he began to snore like a sawmill. Cheers on all sides. Even Frau Chauchat laughed very hard at this performance, so that her mouth stood open and her eyes drew close together, exactly like Pribislav Hippe's whenever he laughed-or so it seemed to Hans Castorp."
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"This evening their gathering was given added dignity and vitality by the presentation of the gift to the director, who stopped by for half an hour with Knu..."
Thank you Kris.. I have either missed this entirely or not there yet. I should leave the computer and go and read....!!!
Kalliope wrote: "Karen, as in the Proust group, anybody can read up to wherever they feel comfortable, it is just that the comments have to go to the right thread. Otherwise the discussion becomes confusing for others and/or spoilers lurk in. "I am on the right thread. Leave me alone.
Oh alright I'll go back and read ALL of the Research section. (Mumble, moan, rhubarb rhubarb)
Oh the Christmas gifts to Herr Behrens, priceless! The utter uselessness of the plate, but a chaise longue that is missing cushions and upholstery!
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Making me happy is one of the best things a person can do with his time.
I absolutely cannot imagine reading this book alone. These conversations are priceless and rewarding (not sure which order).
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"This evening their gathering was given added dignity and vitality by the presentation of the gift to the director, who stopped by for half an hour with Knu..."
I got to this section this morning.. Between Proust and Mann I certainly have to tackle Wagner soon..!!
Kalliope wrote: "Sue wrote: "No I won't skip it. I realized I shouldn't have said that and went back and edited it to "skim" as I know that there will be parts of this which will reach out and grab me."Good... It..."
I'm in the midst of it now and actually not finding as laborious as I'd anticipated. Parts are actually interesting for me. (but I'm glad the entire novel isn't a philosophical treatise) I still get a kick out of everyone referring to the plains below or the Flatlanders as if it was a foreign land. I suppose it is since it's not dependent on the mighty thermometer.
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I am glad to hear, Sue...
Some passages in this novel could be read almost on their own.. similarly (albeit in a lower scale) to the Grand Inquisitor in Karamazov. They seem to stand on the way of the plot development, but they are well-crafted units.
I was thinking of that comparison too Kalliope.
I read "Research" yesterday night and I entered this discussion thread with precaution. I'm actually relieved to see I'm not the only one who struggled with this section (I'm sure I must have skipped pages of this chapter when I read the novel for the first time). I also kind of dozed off while reading, Samadrita! :)
In any case, do you think that Hans is trying to unveil the way sickness "physically" works so he can draw spiritual conclusions about death? Or is he preparing the terrain for a kind of science vs philosophy debate?
I've worked my way through "Research"and now am in the midst of "Danse Macabre" which is also a strange one in it's own way. Perhaps the thin mountain air addles some brains.:)
I'm not up for re-finding it right now, but there at least has been a good PDF in the .edu domain (Google advanced search) that has a number of pictures from the charnel house in Paris that had a danse macabre painting stretching from under one arch to the next. Google will also provide a picture of another famous danse macabre, I believe in Berlin, destroyed in the war. Both portray Death as the great equalizer of king and slave.Somehow the term always reminds me of Poe's short story, "Red Death," if I remember correctly.
Lily wrote: "I'm not up for re-finding it right now, but there at least has been a good PDF in the .edu domain (Google advanced search) that has a number of pictures from the charnel house in Paris that had a d..."Thanks for mentioning that. I just googled it and looked at an image gallery.
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The frieze is framed on its the end with the visit at the Cemetery with the shocking realization that the average of the life spans incised on the gravestones is just under twenty.
And having reached the end and stepping back into real life, a little scene – Mann’s ironic touch again—reminding us of the futility of Vanitas .
A couple of samples from elsewhere.
Wasn't the original "Danse" a result of eating ergot-molded bread (ergot contains a considerable amount of LSD)?
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Could be, and that would be interesting, but I wonder whether we can be certain that there was one single original Danse. We may be able to date the earliest surviving representation we have but there may have been earlier ones. This sort of thing tends to be the result of a confluence of several traditions or motives. It is a huge, and fascinating, topic.
I remember back in school a friend of mine wrote her BA thesis on the one in the Chaise-Dieu Abbey in the Auvergne area. The following fragment is from there.
Googling around one of the earliest ones was at the Marienkirche in Lübeck, the Mann's original home town. Sadly, destroyed during WWII. By Bernt Notke.
May be the one in Lübeck is the one Lily refers to above in #36.
So the iconography must have been clearly in Thoms Mann's mind.
May be Kris, our Medieavalist, has a view on this.
This was a very interesting section and particularly Hans Castorp's musings (and the narrator's) on HC's motivations for visiting the very ill.
I might be on the wrong but I had the impression that Hans was in some way challenging Mr.Settembrini's advice. In the passage where he calls Hans "Life's delicate child" he openly disapproves of Han's charitable quest to visit the dying, but Hans ignores him and goes on experimenting with the notion of death. Macabre, indeed (also darkly funny, specially that laughing lady, Frau Zimmermann).
Dolors wrote: "I might be on the wrong but I had the impression that Hans was in some way challenging Mr.Settembrini's advice. In the passage where he calls Hans "Life's delicate child" he openly disapproves of H..."Indeed, Hans seems to almost enjoy flaunting Settembrini's advice in devising his plan with all its intricacy---starting with anonymous flower delivery, knowing his and Joachim's identities will become known, planning on discreet visits. And the motivation--that still eludes me. Is it charity, experimentation of a sort into other people, or a combination, or something else entirely. I don't know whether Hans can admit charity as a cause to himself.
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I agree with Kall that it's very difficult to date the earliest representation. It does seem likely that poetic representations predate the artistic representations in church frescoes, on tombs, etc. And I think many of these kinds of traditions could in turn link back to oral traditions that are very difficult to trace back far in the historical record. Any discussion of origins is always tentative. (In grad school I wrote a paper exploring the medieval origins of mumming and morris dancing, and lost the written record in the late Middle Ages. It's clear that the traditions started much earlier. )
I have read theories about ergot poisoning playing a role in recorded instances of unusual communal behavior in the Middle Ages and early modern period -- including some arguments that ergot poisoning could account for witchcraft trials and accusations. Ergot is a fungal disease affecting rye, wheat, etc. Ergot generates, among other chemicals, lysergic acid, which is also a component in LSD - so some scientists and historians suggest that ergot poisoning outbreaks could account for mass hallucinations, convulsions, etc. in some villages. (See for example http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/previ....) I think it could be a factor, but from my perspective as a social and cultural historian, I'm much more interested in the meaning that Europeans, colonists in New England, etc. attached to these outbreaks.
In the case of Mann's use of Danse Macabre in TMM, I think the lure of death, the role of music, the ways that death and the living are joined and dance together are powerful thematic elements that Mann develops very effectively in this section.
"the lure of death" --- yes that seems to be what fascinates Hans, doesn't it.
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Dance of Death, also called danse macabre, medieval allegorical concept of the all-conquering and equalizing power of death, expressed in the drama, poetry, music, and visual arts of western Europe mainly in the late Middle Ages. Strictly speaking, it is a literary or pictorial representation of a procession or dance of both living and dead figures, the living arranged in order of their rank, from pope and emperor to child, clerk, and hermit, and the dead leading them to the grave. The dance of death had its origins in late 13th- or early 14th-century poems that combined the essential ideas of the inevitability and the impartiality of death. The concept probably gained momentum in the late Middle Ages as a result of the obsession with death inspired by an epidemic of the Black Death in the mid-14th century and the devastation of the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453) between France and England. The mime dance and the morality play undoubtedly contributed to the development of its form.
The earliest known example of the fully developed dance of death concept is a series of paintings (1424–25) formerly in the Cimetière des Innocents in Paris. In this series the whole hierarchy of church and state formed a stately dance, the living alternating with skeletons or corpses escorting them to their destination. The work was a stern reminder of the imminence of death and a summons to repentance. The Paris danse macabre was destroyed in 1699, but a reproduction or free rendering can be seen in the woodcuts of the Paris printer Guy Marchant (1485), and the explanatory verses have been preserved.
All other picture cycles on the theme were derived directly or indirectly from that of the Innocents. The dance of death frequently appears in friezes decorating the cloisters of monasteries (the open courtyards of which usually contained cemeteries) and the naves of churches. There are also numerous German woodcut versions. In 1523–26 the German artist Hans Holbein the Younger made a series of drawings of the subject, perhaps the culminating point in the pictorial evolution of the dance of death, which were engraved by the German Hans Lützelburger and published at Lyon in 1538. Holbein’s procession is divided into separate scenes depicting the skeletal figure of death surprising his victims in the midst of their daily life. Apart from a few isolated mural paintings in northern Italy, the theme did not become popular south of the Alps.
The proliferation of literary versions of the dance of death included a Spanish masterpiece, the poem “La danza general de la muerte,” which was inspired by the verses at the Innocents and by several German poems. Late Renaissance literature contains references to the theme in varied contexts.
In music the dance of death was performed frequently in compositions associated with death. Mimed representations were performed in Germany, France, Flanders, and the Netherlands, and the music of one German Totentanz (“dance of death”) has survived from the early 16th century.
The concept of the dance of death lost its awesome hold in the Renaissance, but the universality of the theme inspired its revival in French 19th-century Romantic literature and in 19th- and 20th-century music. In 1957 it was effectively used as the visual climax of Ingmar Bergman’s motion picture The Seventh Seal.
Thanks for that Kris. I was struck by the living arranged according to rank and the dead leading the living - it seems there's a reversal here in the novel, with the living - or at least the less ill - leading the 'moribund'. And no hierarchy of rank, or is there? We do finish with my poor namesake who is in a cheap bed and breakfast place down in the village, because her relations begrudge her the money.
Thanks for sharing this information Kris. I join Sue in liking the idea of Hans being attracted to the "lure of death".As for Hans' motivations, after thinking a bit about the issue, I don't think it's morality or charity that compels Hans to visit the dying. I see it like some kind of "responsibility" he takes upon himself (dragging along his poor cousin), he feels it's the "proper" thing to do. To me, his intentions are most in form but not really in content. At least not yet.
Kalliope wrote: "Googling around one of the earliest ones was at the Marienkirche in Lübeck, the Mann's original home town. Sadly, destroyed during WWII. By Bernt Notke.May be the one in Lübeck is the one Lily refers to above in #36...."
Thanks, Kalliope. Took a little time to find a replica again, I tried to find something besides Wiki, but gave up. However, it is so long, the images are hard to see. Still haven't gone looking again for the PDF for the charnel house at Cimetière des Innocents in Paris -- not a topic I enjoy researching.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia...
"A danse macabre painting may show a round dance headed by Death or a chain of alternating dead and live dancers. From the highest ranks of the mediaeval hierarchy (usually pope and emperor) descending to its lowest (beggar, peasant, and child), each mortal's hand is taken by a skeleton or an extremely decayed body. The famous Totentanz by Bernt Notke in Lübeck's Marienkirche (destroyed during the Allied bombing of Lübeck in World War II) presented the dead dancers as very lively and agile, making the impression that they were actually dancing, whereas their living dancing partners looked clumsy and passive. The apparent class distinction in almost all of these paintings is completely neutralized by Death as the ultimate equalizer, so that a sociocritical element is subtly inherent to the whole genre. The Totentanz of Metnitz, for example, shows how a pope crowned with his mitre is being led into Hell by the dancing Death."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cha...This does give a sense of how the danse macbre was presented in Paris; the following may be reproductions of the woodcuts by Guy Marchart that Kris refers to @46.
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Guy-Ma...
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