« Ein joli jésuite mit einer petite tache humide ». Naphta, la soie, le sang, la mort

Abstract

This essay focuses on the portrayal of Leo Naphta in Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. Right from the beginning, the emphasis is put on the antagonism which determines the relationship between Naphta and Settembrini and manifests itself in the syncrisis.It is a well known fact that Mann depicted the character of Naphta in order to give shape to the “synthesis of Communism and Jesuitry associated whith a Jewish ancestry”. Is Naphta, as Hans Castorp assumes, a “true Jesuit”? Castorp’s statement turns out to be largely erroneous. Thomas Mann’s literary subterfuge consists in replacing the neo-scholasticism inspired by Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas and Christian humanism, which is at the core of the Society of Jesus, by its original medieval form. This is eloquently illustrated by the Gothic appearance of the pietà in Naphta’s private lodgings and by the “black swashbuckler’s” socio-political stance (theocratic state, private property, interest-bearing loan). Every time, blood plays a decisive part, whether it is the blood of the “Mann of Sorrows”, or the bloodshed resulting from social violence legitimated in the wake of Innocent III and Gregory VII. Therefore, it should be considered together with Naphta’s carefully designed biography (genealogy). With regard to this, the traumatic performance of che’hita, similar to the “primal scene”, is of central importance. It causes Naphta’s internal fracture which generates his pretentious and aggressive behaviour towards his opponents. Thus, he cannot be part of constituted bodies. This results in “self-hatred” and eventually leads to his self-destruction.