posted on 2024-11-18, 14:38authored byInaugural addresses
Inaugural lecture--Department of German Literature, Rand Afrikaans University, 1 April 1971@@In the works of the German novelist Thomas Mann much attention
is given to the description and analysis of the phenomenon of decadence, a thematic preoccupation similar to the one that can be found in 19th century German philosophy. The reason for this importance attached to the phenomenon of decadence can be found in the apparent connection which exists between the decline of biological vitality on the one hand and the rise of an intellectual and artistic unfolding on the other hand.
However, the fact must not be lost sight of that in Thomas Mann's writings the attempt at defeating decadence is at times dominating the mere description of the phenomenon. Three phases of the struggle to overcome the fascination of decadence can be clearly distinguished:
Firstly a heroic phase which is characterised by an awareness, on the part of the main characters, of the temptation exerted by the whole complex of decadence, and by a struggle to steer clear of this temptation.
Secondly an ironic phase in which the dogma of a connection between decadence and spiritual refinement is being questioned
in a light, ironical manner.
Thirdly a mythological phase in which Mann shows vitality and intellectual heightening, which had hitherto been considered as mutually exclusive, to be capable of reconciliation. Such reconciliation is symbolically represented in Mann's later works by the myth of death and second birth.
The overcoming of decadence in Mann's work is not shown as an accomplished fact but rather as a continuous process.
History
Date of creation
2009-11-16
Date submitted to repository
1971-04-01
Copyright information
University of Johannesburg
Original repository
Vital
Language Translation
The defeat of decadence in the works of Thomas Mann