Image and Autonomy: Woman Figures in Thomas Mann's Work
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Image and Autonomy Women Figures in Thomas Mann’s Work Gerta Valentine University College London PhD Thesis ProQuest Number: U642585 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest U642585 Published by ProQuest LLC(2015). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT Critical orthodoxy tends to perceive Thomas Mann as an intellectual or cerebral writer; and, in consequence, it is often argued that he is interested not in individual characters as convincing, engaging, human entities, but rather in stereotypical figures who embody certain values or attitudes. And - so the argument runs - this limitation is particularly evident in respect of the women figures. The publication of the diaries has led critics to invoke his latent homosexuality as further evidence for his inability to create credible women characters. This thesis seeks to challenge this orthodoxy by arguing that time and time again Thomas Mann’s women figures challenge - or, at the very least, call into question - the stereotyping that is foisted upon them by their socio cultural context and lay claim to a measure of human autonomy. Of course Thomas Mann understands the omnipresent workings of the stereotypifying agencies - the family, male desire (as enshrined in a resolutely male culture), patriarchal myths, and so on. But he reflects upon these stereotypes on frequent occasions. And he seems to take profound narrative and human delight in instances of emotional, psychological and cognitive freedom on the part of his women figures. The thesis concentrates on Tony and Gerda Buddenbrook, Clawdia Chauchat, Lotte Kestner, Mut-em- enet and Rosalie v. Tümmler. In the complex, often surprising, and sometimes painful processes by which these characters free themselves from the roles wished upon them, they challenge that particular and prevalent function, which is assigned to women in Western European literature - to advance (or to hinder) the male self in its quest for self-realization. Perhaps Mann’s repressed (homo-)sexuality helped him to understand states of inhibition and repression, and, by this token, the female predicament. In any event, this thesis seeks to suggest that the women figures are some of the most credible and appealing creations in Thomas Mann’s fictional universe. List of contents Page Abstract..............................................................................................2 Table of contents .......................... 3 Foreword ............................................................................................5 Schone Charaktere - An Introduction ..........................................7 Family and Selfhood - Tony Buddenbrook Preface.......................................................................................... 31 The Characterization of Tony Buddenbrook ......................... 33 Gerda, ‘die Mutter zukünftiger Buddenbrooks’ ...................47 Tony and Gerda............................................................................59 The family as concept................................................................. 65 Tony in Love ................................................................................. 73 Tony and her Siblings................................................................ 82 Tony and Hanno...........................................................................90 Marriage and Motherliness....................................................... 95 Epilogue ...................................................................................... 101 From Image of Desire to Moral Presence - A study of Clawdia Chauchat Introduction .............................................................................. 104 A femme fatale and Venus...................................................... 109 The Symbol of the Veil ............................................................. 124 Hippe............................................................................................136 ‘Schamlos und liederlich’: The Teachers’ Opposition Settembrini’s Reservations about Clawdia.................143 Settembrini and the Dw-address............................................. 151 Settembrini’s Defeat........................................................159 Naphta............................................................................... 163 The Other Side of Clawdia..................................................168 Peeperkorn ..... 176 The Russian Kiss..................................................................191 Life after Clawdia Der grofie Stumpfsinn................................................ 195 Fiille des Wohllauts..................................................... 198 Conclus] on ..... 202 Lotte Kestner - Poetry and Truth ‘Ein Lustspiel - An Introduction ..........................................205 Mother and Daughter.............................................................211 Lotte’s Reception .....................................................................215 Werther’s Lotte .......................................................................220 Goethe’s Genius and Lotte’s Creativity.............................. 229 The Kiss and its Implications............................................... 242 Lotte the Pilgrim or the Beloved returns ...........................246 Mut-em-enet and Rosalie von Tümmler Introduction ...............................................................................253 Inversion or Perversion ...........................................................256 The Mask of Mut-em-enet........................................................ 264 The Black Swan - Rosalie von Tümmler.............................. 277 Dignity and Indignity...............................................................288 Conclusion .............................................................................................290 Bibliography........................................................................................293 A Declaration on Context and a Note on Sources It was about thirty-five years ago when I first came across Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks. And I remember still the sheer fascination that I felt for his writing; it led to a life-long reading experience of all his work. Later, as an undergraduate, I involved myself with some minor research projects concerning Thomas Mann but promised myself that I would one day find the time and space to return to his novels and find a subject for a thesis. I could not have known that I would have to wait such a long time and then would write about his women characters. If, however, I have kept faith with him, what is even more important is that he has kept faith with me. The prose he writes seems to me as exciting now as it did in my youthful days, moreover, my appreciation of his work has deepened and I never fail to find a new aspect or angle that will spark some inspiration for discourse or writing. This thesis owes much to the careful advice of my supervisor, Martin Swales, who helped me over the years to articulate my ideas and saw me through some rough patches, when it could have been all too easy to close the books and give up. My thanks go to him for his faith in me and his unfailing support. Still further, I am very grateful for the encouragement and willingness to debate my points of my husband and our five children, who with patience and affection listened to my numerous musings and argumentations and who are by now quite versed in Thomas Mann’s novels. Quotations from TM’s literary and discursive work are taken from the following edition: TM Gesammelte Werke, Vol. 1-13, (Frankfurt a. M., S. Fischer, 1974). The source is given in a footnote and itemizes the volume number (in Roman) and then the page, thus: GWI, p. 58. Quotations from correspondence edited by Erica Mann (see Bibliography p. 292) is abbreviated as follows Br. I, Br. II, Br. III. Quotations from Dichter über ihre Dichtungen are abbreviated DüD. Was Sprache vermag, im Sinnlichen wie im Geistigen: sein Werk gibt mir jeden erdenklichen Aufschlu/5 darüber. Aber das 1st nicht der einzige Grund fiir meine Hingezogenheit. Als Leser, glaube ich, hat man ein Recht, zu generalisieren, und worauf ich, ganz generell, bei ihm ans bin, das ist eine Wiederbegegnung mit seinen Personen. Es ist eine Art Vergewisserung: ich mochte zum Beispiel herausfinden, oh Settembrini und Peeperkorn, ob Hans Castorp und Frau Chauchat, oh Naphta und die unmogliche Frau Stohr noch immer so sind, wie ich sie in meiner Erinnerung trage, oh sie sich womoglich verandert haben. Klar, dal3 ich dabei eigene Veranderungen überprüfen mochte. Und jedesmal bin ich entzückt bei der Feststellung, dah sie die alten geblieben sind und mir von neuen die Augen offnen fur eine eigene Art zu sein. Sie haben sich nicht gewandelt, nicht überlebt. Sie werden sich Solange nicht überleben, wie wir uns fur die Wahrheit des menschlichen Herzens interessieren und darauf ausbleiben, im individuellen das allgemeine Schicksal zu erkennen.i ‘Schone Charaktere’