2 - The Reception of Die Betrachtungen eines Unpolitischen

Summary

SOME CRITICS REJECT DOKTOR FAUSTUS on the grounds that it does not reflect the realities they themselves see as underlying the rise of National Socialism in Germany. But what if the novel was never intended to reflect such realities? It seems more reasonable to expect to find, not a broad historical account, but a specific, more personal account. Paul Egon Hübinger's historical study of the events surrounding the granting in 1919 and subsequent withdrawal in 1936 of Mann's honorary doctorate, Thomas Mann, die Universität Bonn und die Zeitgeschichte (1974), looks specifically at Mann's relationship with the academic community in Munich during the 1920s. Since Adrian's relationship with this very group is the setting of the plot of Doktor Faustus, it seems advisable to explore the incident in some depth.

The Bonn Literary Society was founded in 1905. From its inception this group studied Thomas Mann's works more than those of any other author (TMUB, 26). It was unusual at the time to study living authors; moreover, Mann was still quite young, only thirty, really just beginning his career as a writer, when he became the center of attention of this society. The result was a close relationship between Mann and this circle (28). In 1919 the Society proposed Mann as candidate for an honorary degree (32) at the instigation of Ernst Bertram, Mann's very close friend at the time (51). Recognizing Mann in this way was quite extraordinary, because only once before, in 1856, had the University of Bonn given an honorary doctorate to a writer (35–36)