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Personification
Definition of Satire
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of satire, but satirists can take... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians... read full definition
Part 3, Chapter 7: But of Course—a Female!
Explanation and Analysis—Frau Stöhr,:
Through his characterization of Frau Stöhr, a patient at the Berghof who sits at the same dining table as Hans and Joachim, Mann satirizes those who feign refinement and education. The satirical nature of this character is evident in a scene in which she complains about the medical treatment that she has received at the sanatorium:
As for Frau Stöhr in her Scotch-plaid woolen blouse, she had had her checkup that morning and reported about it in her affected, uneducated way, drawing her upper lip back from her rabbitlike teeth. She complained of a rattle on the upper right, and her breathing was reduced just under her left shoulder blade, and the “boss” had told her she would have to stay another five months [...] Moreover, she declared her outrage that the “boss” was not sitting at their table again today. The “retardation” schedule (she apparently meant “rotation”) demanded that the “boss” should be sitting at their table for dinner today [...]
Before Hans meets Frau Stöhr, Joachim informs him of her frequent misuse of vocabulary and other verbal gaffes, a trait that becomes a source of amusement for both cousins. Here, the narrator describes her as speaking in an “affected, uneducated way” as she speaks at length about her own medical ailments. The “boss,” a term that she uses to refer to Director Behrens, has extended her stay for another five months. Worse, he has neglected to sit at their dining table even though the “‘retardation’ schedule” shows that it is their turn to dine with him. Here, the narrator underscores her incorrect use of language, noting that she intended to say “rotation schedule.” Throughout the novel, Frau Stöhr serves as a satirical portrait of feigned education and refinement.
Part 4, Chapter 6: Analysis
Explanation and Analysis—Psychic Dissection:
In The Magic Mountain, Mann’s treatment of psychology, and more specifically Freudian psychoanalysis, is frequently satirical. In one notably satirical scene, Dr. Krokowski advertises the benefits of psychoanalysis, which he refers to metaphorically as “psychic dissection,” to the patients at the Berghof:
It turned out that Dr. Krokowski concluded his lecture with a grand advertisement for psychic dissection—he spread his arms wide, and invited them to come unto him. Come unto me, he said, though not exactly in those words, all ye that labor and are heavy laden! And he left no doubt of his certainty that they all, without exception, labored and were heavy laden. He spoke of hidden suffering, of shame and affliction, of the redemptive effects of analysis; he praised the effects of light piercing the dark unconscious, explained that illness could be transformed again into conscious emotion, admonished them to trust, promised recovery.
Throughout the novel, Dr. Krokowski demonstrates a characteristic tendency toward self-promotion that seems to conflict with the scientific ideals of impartiality and objectivity. Here, he ends his lecture with “a grand advertisement for psychic dissection.” This metaphor, which treats psychoanalysis as a form of invasive surgery, underscores Dr. Krokowski’s belief that the mind is like any other organ and that mental health, in turn, follows the same, consistent principles as physical health. Mann’s depiction of Dr. Krokowski is, at various points, subtly satirical. The doctor’s language is both highly abstract and suffused with technical jargon. Often, he speaks in a rapturous tone that seems closer to that of a preacher than a doctor, using such terms as redemption, light, and dark, and offering salvation to patients.
Related Themes:
Part 5, Chapter 5: Encyclopedia
Explanation and Analysis—Sociological Pathology:
Though Settembrini often serves as a voice of reason in the novel, pushing Hans to recognize his growing reliance upon the stifling conveniences and ease of the sanatorium, he is also the occasional object of Mann’s satire. In his debates with Leo Naphta, Settembrini takes up an exaggerated version of his own rationalism, serving as a satirical portrait of what Mann considers to be the limitations of this philosophy when taken to extremes. When describing his work with the Sociological Pathology encyclopedia to Hans, for example, Settembrini claims that:
Humankind must be informed that certain effects can be diminished only when one first recognizes their causes and negates them [...] This is the purpose of our Sociological Pathology, an encyclopedia of some twenty or so volumes that will list and discuss all conceivable instances of human suffering [...] In short, it will list the chemical elements that serve as the basis for all the many mixtures and compounds of human suffering. Taking as its plumb line the dignity and happiness of humankind, it will supply for each and every instance of suffering the means and measures that seem most appropriate for eliminating its causes.
Settembrini boasts, somewhat absurdly, that he and the other encyclopedia compilers plan to list “all conceivable instances of human suffering” as well as “the means and measures that seem most appropriate for eliminating its causes.” In other words, Settembrini claims that the encyclopedia will use the principles of rationalism to wholly eliminate all suffering, both on an individual and collective level. In order to achieve this implausible goal, the encyclopedia will “list the chemical elements that serve as the basis [...] of human suffering.” Here, Mann satirizes the notion that some individual or group can genuinely solve all problems using reason alone. Settembrini’s argument, which treats complex social issues like simple chemical equations, is too reductive to be taken seriously.
Related Themes:
