8 - Interlude

Summary

THE FIRST WORLD WAR IS THE decisive break in the development of the events that are significant for the story of the novel. The change in the economic and political environment resulting from Germany's defeat leads to a realignment of forces and relationships, based primarily on the suddenly extreme importance of whether each of the characters is a Catholic humanist, a Zivilisationsliterat, or a Protestant artist. Before proceeding with the discussion of the development of Adrian's and Zeitblom's political thought in the new situation, it would be well to pause and look at some examples of Mann's light-hearted illustration of the fundamental differences between them in chapter 24, Zeitblom's report on Adrian's stay in Italy. This report establishes the date of the stay and the physical setting, but this is only marginally necessary to the development of the novel. The real purpose of the chapter lies elsewhere. For most of the chapter Zeitblom talks about himself and about his view of his relationship to Adrian, his theory of art, and various other matters. In this sense it can be described as Zeitblom's Zwiesprach, the counterpart to Adrian's observations in chapter 25.