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

philosophical connection, including phrases like “das Demonische und Widervernünftige”, “eine
leises Grauen erweckende Verbindung [mit] dem unteren Reich”, “verderbliches [Genie]”, “de[r]
sünd-und krankhaften Brand natürlicher Gaben” (Mann, Th. 1948: 11). Mann has Zeitblom
describe a dispute between Inez Rodde and her soon-to-be fiancé Helmut Institoris 37 on this
topic, citing the “immer prekäre[s] Gleichgewicht von Vitalität und Infirmität, das offenbar das
Genie ausmacht” (Mann, Th. 1948: 445). Kemal (1998: 270) also attributes to Nietzsche the
description of a genius as being no different to the rest of us in terms of possessing a unique gift
or talent not available to others, but rather by virtue of his single-minded and determined use of
the talent. Nietzsche would also require of the genius that for his work to be aesthetically
valuable, it would have to be accessible enough for its audience to actively engage with it.
(Kemal 1998: 270) Both these ideas feature prominently in Doktor Faustus, with descriptions of
Leverkühn‟s absolute dedication to his art and disciplined work ethic, although Zeitblom insists
that Leverkühn was different from the start, not like anyone else he knew – a man set apart by his
innate coldness, his “Mangel an „Seele‟, […] sein „Unmenschtum‟ und „verzweifelt Herz‟” and
tendency towards isolation. (Mann, Th. 1949: 81) The question of the accessibility of his art is
an important one – there are references to the audience‟s (specifically Zeitblom‟s) reproachful
reception of Leverkühn‟s unfamiliar and sinister music. (Mann, Th. 1948: 570) These negative
reactions mirror comments passed after hearing a performance of Schönberg, Webern or Berg‟s
music – words like “hideous”, “joyless, gloomy‟, “tragicomic spectacle”, “as disquieting an
experience as meeting a respected family found in a state of half-maudlin, half-truculent
intoxication”, and many others which describe the sense of general “emotional disturbance”
aroused by this music. (Butler 1994: 77) There is even an account of a doctor giving his
judgement that “such music was damaging to listeners‟ nervous systems, and could lead to
„severe depression‟” (Butler 1994: 77). An exception to this is what Zeitblom describes as the
“spürsinnige[ ] Aufgeschlossenheit jüdischer Kreise für das Schaffen Leverkühns” (Mann, Th.
1948: 15). Was this because the Jews, as a people, had insight into what this music represented?
Daniel Barenboim, world-renowned pianist and conductor, in a recent interview, refers to his
belief that “Juden hatten immer eine Hochachtung vor der geistigen Kreativität des Menschen”
and that “die Musik etwas Besonderes war für das europäische Judentum”. (Der Spiegel
34/2008, p. 141) Following the allegory of music representing the Nazi regime, one could say
that Mann might have been suggesting that the Jews, unlike other audiences who could not move
37 The name of this character is so similar to that of Heinrich Institoris, one of the (in)famous German inquisitors
and witch-hunters of the Middle Ages, that I immediately set off in search of biographical connections. I am,
however, not convinced of the plausibility of any such.
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