Thomas Mann, Doktor Faustus [Doctor Faustus]

Hannelore G. Mundt (University of Wyoming)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1947

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

On 23 May 1943, while living in exile in Southern California, Thomas Mann began writing Doktor Faustus: Das Leben des deutschen Tonsetzers Adrian Leverkühn erzählt von einem Freunde [Doctor Faustus: The Life of the German Composer Adrian Leverkühn as Told by a Friend]. Mann’s plan of a Faust-novel was conceived in 1904 when he contemplated turning the Faust theme, famed in German literature through the chapbook about Dr. Johann Faust (1587) and Goethe’s drama Faust (1808/32), into the narrative of an ambitious artist who, in contracting syphilis and conspiring with the devil, overcomes creative stagnation and produces innovative art. Mann’s desire to emulate Goethe, to underscore his own reputation as …

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2513 words

Citation: Mundt, Hannelore G.. "Doktor Faustus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 September 2003 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11472, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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