Conjuring the Demonic at the Abyss of History. Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus in Context

Thomas Mann’s late novel Doctor Faustus: The Life of the German Composer Adrian Leverkühn, published shortly after World War II, is widely regarded as his most complex and challenging work. The novel’s intricate structure and rich intertextuality create a dense network of references that span multiple domains. Historically, it engages with the dual catastrophes of the First and Second World Wars; literarily, it is deeply rooted in the Faust tradition, from Renaissance sources to Goethe; and conceptually, it intertwines philosophical, theological, and music-theoretical discourses. To fully grasp the depth of this Faust retelling, it is essential to reconstruct these historical, literary, and intellectual contexts. In doing so, we can uncover how Mann converges them toward a central theme: the return of the demonic in the darkest chapter of the 20th century.

This lecture by Andreas Kilcher will explore these interwoven dimensions of Doctor Faustus, shedding light on Mann’s engagement with history, literature, and the philosophy of modernity.