Genre originality of an intellectual novel («The Magic Mountain» by Thomas Mann)

Abstract

Along with the deployment of modernist programs the literary feature innovels is being enhanced, and so is the intellectualism of literature. Seriousscientific interests of writers are becoming more common, many of themcombine the activities of a writer and a scientist. The new psychologism and anopen form made it possible for numerous modifications of the classic novelisticform. The most revealing among these modifications is the intellectual novel.This form is a result of a literature intellectualisation process.The intellectual novel is quite a rare phenomenon in literature. These arenovels, where an intensified dialogism actualise a discourse of Socrates'dialogues and medieval philosophical and theological treatises, for instance«Secretum» by Francesco Petrarch. The philosophical dialogues, which acquireparticular importance in certain works of literature of the twentieth century,actualise philosophical discourse, although unlike the medieval analogues, alsomake it an author's way of expression. However, there are not many intellectualnovels in the history of modernism.«The Magic Mountain» by Thomas Mann is a classic novel of Europeanliterature of the twentieth century. The most common definition of this work’sgenre is a philosophical novel, sometimes it is described as intellectual, mainlyas a synonym to the previous one. Our task is to find the signs of a modernistnovel in this work and to differentiate it from other forms.The novel «The Magic Mountain» contains traditional features as well asmodern, but it is important to figure out its combining principles, because ineach case the proportion of tradition and innovation is a formula of the specificartistic achievement.The novel is not an obvious modernistic work (summarising thediscussion on this subject, N.V. Yevchenko puts Mann «in between realism andmodernism»), since its narrative is too traditional; third-person narrator, whodistanced himself from the hero and carries on a dialogue with a reader;sometimes is similar to the omniscient narrator of realists; sometimes remindsof an ironic narrator of enlightenment philosophers and romantic authors. Theevents in the novel are described in scrupulous detail and are full of domesticand even naturalistic features of a particular historical time. The hero’s story isalso quite motivated and reliable. There are no obvious conventional images inthe novel, as well as no modernist stylistic accents. Instead of it, a mastery of character’s psychologisation and individualisation is demonstrated, which istypical for realists. At first, it seems like «The Magic Mountain» is a verytraditional novel, as if a continuation of genre traditions of the previous era. Inthe plot there is a story of the main protagonist, his seven-years long stay at amountain sanatorium, the story of his life (given the retrospective image), hisillness and love. One could even say it is a story of a typical representative ofits class (wealthy German bourgeoisie) on a broad background of the era,before the First World War, which means to recognise, after Soviet scientists,that despite the increased philosophism, this work belongs to realism.However… There are very few events that are developing in front of a reader,considering the significant content of the novel. This is the first thing thatbrings the novel into the sight of modernism: «how» it is described clearlydominates «what» is described.Very distinctive features of the writer’s creative style are the storydeliberation and the thoroughly detailed description of the process of themind’s reality understanding, which are combined with the analytical approach,elements of irony and emotion.«The Magic Mountain» by Thomas Mann is a kind of a philosophicaltreatise, in particular its second part, where the entire text is spent on longphilosophical debates. The conflict and the plot are the intellectual choice of themain character. Behind Hans Castorp's personality it is easy to notice someimportant viewpoints of the author. Hans Castorp by many features is anautobiographical character. Although, the closest thing that brings Castorpcloser to the narrator and the author is that the author gives him his centralphilosophical concept. Hans Castorp not only has the author's biography traits,character, appearance, but also his world view, because it is through his eyesthe reader observes the life of nature, notices the subtle details, estimates andfeels. Hans Castorp is the author’s way to solve the main questions of life anddeath using the intellectual efforts.The intellectual novel is a kind of the most informatively andintellectually saturated modernist novel, where a character’s story is a mediatedexpression of the author's philosophical search and its genre prototype isdialogic philosophical treatises of Antiquity and the Middle Ages