One of Castorp’s two main mentors throughout the novel, he stands for the ideals of Western civilization, the Renaissance, and Enlightenment — in short, reason, individual liberty, humanism, and progress. Though Mann’s sympathies lie with him rather than with his opponent Naphta, he also shows that Settembrini fails. He fails […]
Read more Character Analysis Ludovico SettembriniCharacter Analysis Dr. Krokowski
He is Behrens’ assistant. Whereas Behrens views disease as something organic, Krokowski regards it as something inorganic. This causes him to be obsessed with the idea that all disease is the result of repressed love. He is incapable of thinking about love in any other way than as in his […]
Read more Character Analysis Dr. KrokowskiCharacter Analysis Clavdia Chauchat
She represents the passivity, irrationality, slackness, and submissiveness of the “Eastern” mentality. Her casualness and sloppiness are outward signs of her inner softness. She dislikes Settembrini and Naphta because they are not “human” (emotional) enough for her, makes fun of Joachim because he is steadfast and uses foresight in his […]
Read more Character Analysis Clavdia ChauchatCharacter Analysis Joachim Ziemssen
Unlike his cousin, Joachim never loses touch with the “world below.” His uncompromising views and disciplined way of life earn him the ridicule of Clavdia Chauchat and, to a lesser extent, also that of his own cousin. To Clavdia, Joachim represents the incarnation of the German military mind, eager to […]
Read more Character Analysis Joachim ZiemssenCharacter Analysis Hans Castorp
Perhaps the greatest bit of irony in the novel is Mann’s characterization of Castorp as “simple.” All the characters around Castorp are “simpler” in the sense that they are wholly committed to some cause or idea without experiencing the complexities of reality. True reality, Mann sets out to show us, […]
Read more Character Analysis Hans CastorpSummary and Analysis Chapter 7
The present chapter is one long proof of the fact that Hans Castorp cannot or, at any rate, does not, retain the lucid synthesis of the snow dream. He continues to coast through the magic mountain world in a state of confusion. And, with Mynheer Peeperkorn, the Dutch plantation owner […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 7Summary and Analysis Chapter 6
Now that Walpurgis Night is over and Clavdia Chauchat has departed, Castorp takes off the fool’s cap she put on his head and returns to studying botany. Left with nothing but Clavdia’s farewell present and the framed X-ray portrait of her upper body, he slowly moves away from her and […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 6Summary and Analysis Chapter 5
If we stop to take a look at the course Hans Castorp’s life has taken so far, we will see that it has zigzagged between the two poles of Settembrini and Clavdia Chauchat. Torn between their extreme positions, Castorp has either reverted to the values he cherished at the outset […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 5Summary and Analysis Chapter 4
Settembrini reproaches Hans Castorp for accepting the old-fashioned view that disease is always something noble even when it affects stupid people. But Castorp claims that whenever disease or death is present in any form, he develops his faculties to the utmost. Even coffins and funerals have a peculiar appeal to […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 4Summary and Analysis Chapter 3
This chapter serves two main functions: that of introducing Hans Castorp to real life at the Berghof and its director, Hofrat Behrens, as well as to the two characters who will vie for his attention from now on — Settembrini and Clavdia Chauchat. Second, the chapter opens the discussion on […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 3