The Magic Mountain: Part 4, Chapter 10: The Thermometer Summary & Analysis

Hans’s second week at the Berghof comes and goes, and he once more pays his weekly bill. Hans tallies up the expenses and still finds the cost to be quite reasonable, even if he’s not making use of the medical facilities—though he has begun taking an evening rest cure, since that’s what everyone else does. Time passes, and eventually Hans only has a few days left. He realizes it’s true what everyone says—three weeks is hardly any time up here. Hans feels bad for Joachim, who clearly isn’t looking forward to losing his companion. Worse still, Hans gets to return to the “flatlands” and do meaningful work in the transportation technology field while Joachim must waste away up here doing nothing.

As Hans prepares to leave, he observes that he may need a period of rest to recover from his vacation—indeed, he feels run down and even seems to have come down with a cold. It’s probably from lying outside on his balcony during his evening rest cure, which he loves to do, listening to the sound of music coming from the valley in the distance. Hans reasons that Joachim must enjoy sitting on the balcony as much as he does, though he has no appreciation for music, unfortunately. 

Joachim agrees to put in a word with the “official channels” of the sanatorium and get some medical staff to examine Hans. That Friday, the head nurse, von Mylendonk (the one Settembrini doesn’t like)  comes to Hans’s room to determine what’s wrong with him. She asks him a lot of questions rather harshly. She identifies a catarrh and explains that it’s not the result of a cold but of an infection—now, the task is to determine the seriousness of that infection. The nurse is shocked to learn that Hans hasn’t checked his temperature since coming to the sanatorium. In fact, he doesn’t even own a thermometer. She produces a bag with a few different thermometers for purchase for Hans to choose from.

After Head Nurse von Mylendonk leaves, Hans takes his temperature, waiting for seven minutes, as Joachim does. The time passes slowly, but after seven minutes are up, Hans discovers that he has a fever of 99.7—a bit too high. He relays this news to Joachim when he comes to fetch Hans for dinner. He also admits to feeling feverish practically the entire time he’s been at the Berghof. Joachim insists that Hans get in bed, but Hans refuses, arguing that the fever isn’t really that high.

Hans, despite Joachim’s protests, goes down to dinner. After refusing a drink of beer, he casually explains to his tablemates that he has a slight fever. The news greatly amuses Frau Stöhr. Hans downplays his condition, but nobody believes him. Instead they laugh and tell him he should really make an appointment with the doctor. Frau Stöhr goes off on a tangent about the pleasant sensation of coughing. 

After dinner, Joachim suggests to Hans that he accompany him to his monthly checkup with Behrens tomorrow—he can give Hans a quick look-over then. Hans agrees. They run into Behrens himself not long after and explain the situation to him, and he happily agrees to examine Hans during Joachim’s appointment tomorrow. He even seems delighted to hear that Hans has a slight fever, remarking that Hans is “talented” for having that high a fever so early, especially for “a beginner.”

The next day, Hans accompanies Joachim to his appointment and watches as Behrens taps on different parts of Joachim’s body, ordering him to alternatively cough and take deep breaths. It’s clear that Joachim is very used to this procedure. Behrens remarks on a deep rattle in Joachim’s chest. Dr. Krokowski, meanwhile, sits in a corner and takes notes. Hans examines his cousin’s body and notes his toned physique. It makes sense that he wanted to become a soldier—he was always more mindful of physical health than Hans. Hans, on the other hand, was more interested in the pleasures of good food and drink. It’s ironic, then, that Joachim’s body is the one that has failed him. Illness, Hans muses, “turns [people] into only a body.”

When Behrens finishes, Joachim starts to ask him if he can go home soon, but Behrens sternly repeats what he told Joachim the other day—he’ll be there for at least another six months.

Hans gets up for his turn. Behrens spins him around as though he’s a thing, not a person. He taps around on Hans body. After he asks Hans to cough a few times, he steps back and tells Hans that, just as he’s long suspected, Hans has been “secretly one of the locals” all along. Hans and Joachim freeze. Behrens taps a few spots on Hans chest and points out a muffled sound—a clear indicator of a fresh, moist spot in the lungs. He tells Hans it would be no use for him to leave for the flatlands now, as he’d inevitably just wind up back here due to his illness. Before Hans can leave, Krokowski approaches him and, placing one hand on Hans’s shoulder, presents his other hand for Hans to shake.