Names from The Magic Mountain

Abstract

ROBABLY THE SHORTEST AND BEST DESCRIPTION of the formal aspects of Thomas Mann's Zauberberg (1924) is the unusual compound Romanteppich, or tapestry novel. This term, used by Mann himself,! suggests a work of art consisting of a great number of colorful strands, skillfully interwoven in such a way that each one touches or crosses many others and contributes distinctly to the completed picture. My purpose in this study will be to focus attention on a much neglected, multicolored strand of Mann's composition -:the character names. Through the use of examples I shall try to show something of the complexity of considerations the author had in mind while naming his characters, and the relationship of the names to other elements of the novel such as plot, leitmotif, characterization, and numeric symbolism. Even a superficial reading of the novel in German leaves one with the impression that the names are generally significant on several levels, and that the oonnotations attached to them are at once subtle and playful. A rereading, with special attention to names, allows the reader, in many cases, to confirm his suspicions as to what Mann wishes to imply with a particular name. With surprising frequency he offers clues to his own attitude through the characters, through narration, and through the use of such stylistic devices as the description of dreams and the use of indirect discourse. A reasonable explanation has already been given for the name of the simple hero of the book, Hans Castorp. Wolff, doubtlessly recalling the line where Hans and his cousin Joachim are greeted as Castor und Pollux,2 concludes that Mann had the Greek myth in