The Magic Mountain: Part 6, Chapter 4: An Outburst of Temper/Something Very Embarrassing Summary & Analysis

It’s August now, and Hans’s one-year anniversary of his arrival at the Berghof comes and goes without incident. It’s an unspoken rule that nobody mentions arrival anniversaries—for long-term residents, it’s more noble to not rely on measuring time. So, not even Joachim mentions the occasion to Hans.

One day in September, it inexplicably starts to snow, a turn of events that greatly upsets Joachim. Upsetting Joachim further is Hans’s seeming acceptance of the premature winter weather—he accuses Hans of being so content at the sanatorium that he’s even content when the weather is horrible. Then he storms out of the room. Joachim’s outburst confuses Hans, and it forces him to consider an unsettling notion: Joachim clearly wants to leave this place, and he might even leave Hans behind there. And it’s also possible that Joachim will die.

That afternoon, during an examination with Behrens, Joachim confirms Hans’s fears, announcing with finality that he has decided to leave the Berghof one week from today. Behrens tries to argue with him, but Joachim has made up his mind. His stay here was only supposed to last three months, he complains, but Behrens has repeatedly pushed back his release date. Though his condition hasn’t meaningfully improved, he's done waiting and will accept whatever consequences come his way.

Behrens assumes that Hans will accompany Joachim, but Hans replies that he’ll only leave with Behrens’s approval. Behrens tells Hans he can go—he’s cured. This shocks Hans, who assumes the director is joking. Behrens erupts with rage, going off about how he doesn’t “own anything here” and is only a doctor—anyone is free to leave whenever they like. Then he walks out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Immediately, Joachim makes arrangements for his departure. Behrens gives him “semiapproval” for his exit, and Joachim stops tracking his temperature. Joachim arranges to take a train “down to the lowlands” and then live among people who have no sense of how life is at the Berghof—that is, he plans to live among “ignorant people.” Overall, he’s happy to leave. To Hans, such a situation is unfathomable. Gradually, Hans accepts that he’ll go on living here without Joachim—he has to, he realizes, because he’s waiting for Clavdia’s return, though he doesn’t know when or even if that’ll happen.

Finally, the day of Joachim’s departure arrives. It’s the first beautiful, sunny day in a while. Hans accompanies him to the train station and remarks, in awe, that this is where he arrived. Joachim acknowledges this fact casually, apparently not sharing Hans’s sentimentality. The cousins shake hands. Hans tells Joachim to “swear that oath fervently,” and Joachim assures him he will. Then Joachim takes Hans’s hands firmly. Addressing him by his name (something the cousins rarely if ever do, normally using nicknames), Joachim orders Hans to “come soon.” Then he boards the train, closing the door behind him. And Hans begins the walk back to the Berghof alone.