От Бергсона к Томасу Манну: опыт времени в романе «Волшебная гора»

Abstract

The article compares some features of the interpretation of time, characteristic of Thomas Mann’s novel The Magic Mountain, with the concept of time developed by Henri Bergson. In The Magic Mountain, which Mann called a novel about time, two forms of time are distinguished, as in Bergson’s Time and Free Will: objective, chronological, which can be measured, and subjective, internal, not subject to measurement and calculation. The main theme of the book is the spiri­tual maturation of the main character, Hans Castorp, who unexpectedly remains for seven years in a high-altitude hospital, where the “external” time is almost imperceptible due to the monotony of the usual forms of existence. This time is “blurred”, gradually losing its meaning for the hero. There is, indeed, the com­plex work of the soul, the understanding of life, illness and death, love experi­ences, understanding philosophy and culture in conversations with “mentors” – heir to the traditions of the Enlightenment Settembrini and Jesuit Naphtha. Berg­son associated this interpenetration of experiences, impressions, and perceptions with “duration” as an internal, subjective time. It plays a special role in Castorp’s existential experience. At the same time, along with these aspects, which encou­rage comparison with the ideas of Bergson, the novel contains other themes re­lated to time and referring to other philosophical traditions. The main ones are the themes of illness and death, and also, partly related to the first, the theme of eternity, which appears in different angles.