Rebecca SC French 602F2576 MA in German Studies - Rhodes ...

INTRODUCTION
This thesis is essentially an exploration of the similarities and differences – contextual,
philosophical, intertextual and methodological/ procedural – between the novels Doktor Faustus
(1947) and Mephisto (1936). Of great academic interest is the fact that not only are both novels
adaptations of the well-known Faust legend, but also that they were written by a father and son,
namely Thomas and Klaus Mann respectively. Furthermore, it can be pointed out that to date,
fairly little has been written about the contemporaneous allegorical portrayal by this father and
son of Hitler‟s rise to power and life in Germany during this regime. This relative lack of
comparative literature is, on the one hand, understandable, particularly since the legacy of
Thomas Mann overshadows that of his son Klaus 1 ; however, despite their differences in
approach, both authors use similar themes of artistic genius, collaboration with the devil in his
various guises and subsequent compromising success as the primary allegory for the question of
personal and national culpability in the rise and fall of Germany through its „pact‟ with Hitler.
At the outset, it is important to motivate my reference to these two novels as allegories.
Following Cuddon‟s definition (1998: 20), on the one hand, an allegory is a story (verse or
prose) of indeterminate length with two (or even more) parallel levels of meaning and
interpretation. Mikics (2007: 8), on the other hand, further identifies allegory with the tendency
to “turn abstract concepts or features into characters”. Both these definitions will apply to the
novels under discussion.
Doktor Faustus and Mephisto date from a period of seemingly inexhaustible interest in German
history – the years between 1933 and 1947. In revisiting the topic of National Socialism and its
effects on a Volk and Land, it becomes clear that it is not only of enduring significance to
academics and intellectuals (as illustrated by the dates of publication of some of the sources in
my bibliography, ranging from 1941-2008), but also to present-day German writers, who are
clearly still grappling with that period in their history, as can be seen for example, in the work of
Günter Grass and Uwe Timm 2 .
1 It is interesting to consider that, while not pursuing the same genres as his father, Klaus may well have continued
to produce prolifically, had he not chosen to end his life at the age of 43, and thus have built up a legacy comparable
to that of his father.
2 See: Grass, G. 2002. Im Krebsgang. Göttingen: Steidl. Timm, U. 2003. Am Beispiel meines Bruders (2005).
Köln: Kiepenheuer & Witsch Verlag.
1