Thomas Mann’s novel Doctor Faustus tells the story of the German composer Adrian Leverkühn, as narrated by his friend, the Latin and history teacher Dr. Serenus Zeitblom. Zeitblom suspects that Leverkühn has made a pact with the devil, granting him 24 years of creative genius before leading him into illness and death. But is this truly the case? What actually happens in the narrated world, and what is merely Zeitblom’s interpretation, as he frequently parallels the composer’s biography with Germany’s political developments?
This lecture focuses on the novel’s narrative techniques, examines Zeitblom’s political stance, and questions the reality of the demonic within the story. It discusses whether Zeitblom is writing a biography or a novel, and explores the relationship between literary leitmotifs and unreliable narration. Special attention is given to how Zeitblom politicizes Leverkühn’s compositions as music of a conservative-revolutionary worldview.
Presented as part of the public lecture series Thomas Mann – Milestones of His Work, organized by the Studium Generale at the University of Freiburg.
