Mountain of Magic - Works of Thomas Mann

Author: (German) Mann
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Thomas Mann is one of the most brilliant stars on the German literary scene of the 20th century, and his works have had a wide global influence. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929. This book is grand in scale, with a large cast of characters. It consists of two main threads: depicting the triangular love between the protagonist Hans, the young woman Clavdia, and the wealthy merchant Peiperkorn, revealing the contradictions between life and death, spirit and flesh; and revolving around the struggle between democrats and militarists, reflecting the spiritual outlook and ideological conflicts of German intellectuals before World War I.
A university student named Hans comes to a high-altitude tuberculosis sanatorium to visit his cousin Joachim, only to find that he too contracts the disease and must stay for treatment. The people in the sanatorium come from all over the world, with diverse personalities and thoughts. Hans is an idealistic young man, but after interacting with these people, his thoughts become confused, and his spirit declines. The Russian woman Clavdia makes him utterly captivated. He forgets his duties and responsibilities, and the high mountains become a "fairy mountain," where he is trapped and cannot escape. In the blink of an eye, seven years pass. His cousin dies, Clavdia leaves, and his close friends also go their separate ways. Life shatters his illusions one by one, leaving him in pain and solitude. The of World War I rouses him from his stupor. Looking back, Hans realizes he has been "sleeping" on the "fairy mountain" for seven years, so he resolutely sets off for the front.
Table Talk: During the meal in the gaudy dining room, young Hans Castorp feels very embarrassed because ever since he involuntarily took that walk, his head has been shaking like his grandfather's. Now, sitting at the table, this symptom recurs regularly and cannot be stopped or concealed. Besides solemnly resting his chin in his hands (though this cannot last long), he also thinks of various ways to cover up this weakness, such as moving his head as much as possible, sometimes turning left and right while speaking, or leaning his left arm tightly against the table to maintain balance when the spoon is brought to his mouth. During breaks, he rests his elbow on the table and supports his head with his hand. However, in his own eyes, this posture seems a bit rough, and only among the undisciplined patients does it not matter much. But he has no energy, and his mood is quite bad during meals. Originally, he always used mealtime to distract himself and relieve his worries, finding solace in this opportunity. The truth is—that Hans Castorp knows this very well—that the shameful head-shaking state he is trying to control is not caused solely by his body, nor can it be blamed on the air here or his efforts to adapt. Instead, it reflects some inner excitement and is directly related to his need to distract himself.
Mrs. Chauchat always sits down late at the table. Before she arrives, Hans Castorp is restless, waiting to hear the sound of the glass door slamming shut, which she always makes when she enters. He knows that the sound will startle him, and his face will immediately darken—this has become routine. In the past, when this happened, he would angrily shake his head and glare resentfully at this careless woman as she took her seat at the "upper-class Russian table." Sometimes, he would even mutter curses between his teeth, expressing his irritation. But now he is different. He just lowers his head over the bowl, bites his lips tightly, or intentionally turns his head to the other side, because his anger seems to have subsided, and he no longer wants to scold her casually. Moreover, he vaguely feels that others are also critical of her, and he feels partly responsible as well. In short, he feels ashamed.
It is not accurate to say that Hans Castorp is ashamed of Mrs. Chauchat. Rather, he feels extremely embarrassed in front of everyone—in reality, there is no need for him to think this way, because in the dining room, no one pays attention to Mrs. Chauchat's bad habits or Hans Castorp's embarrassment. Perhaps only Miss Engelhardt, the teacher sitting to Hans's right, is an exception. This poor soul has already noticed that Hans Castorp's sensitivity to the sound of the door closing suggests that the young man sitting across from her has some passion for the Russian woman. However, compared to the actual situation, this is not much. Besides, his pretense of indifference—he lacks the talent for acting and the training in this regard, so his ability to pretend is not very high—does not mean he is uninterested in the woman. Instead, it indicates that his emotions have developed to a higher level. Miss Engelhardt...