Thomas Mann

Thomas Mann

Name	Thomas Mann
Birth name
Birth date	(1875-06-06)6 June 1875
Birth place	Lübeck, German Empire
Death date	12 August 1955(1955-08-12) (aged 80)
Death place	Zürich, Switzerland
Alma mater
Occupation	Novelist, essayist
Years active
Organization
Known for
Notable works	Buddenbrooks, The Magic Mountain, Death in Venice, Doctor Faustus
Spouse(s)
Website

Thomas Mann (6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas are noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Goethe, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer.

Early Life and Education

Thomas Mann was born in Lübeck, Germany, into a wealthy and influential family. His father, Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann, was a senator and a grain merchant, while his mother, Júlia da Silva Bruhns, was a Brazilian of German and Portuguese descent. Mann's early education was at the Katharineum, a prestigious school in Lübeck, where he developed a love for literature and writing.

Literary Career

Mann's first major work, Buddenbrooks (1901), was a semi-autobiographical novel that chronicled the decline of a wealthy merchant family over several generations. The novel was a critical and commercial success, establishing Mann as a leading figure in German literature.

In 1912, Mann published Death in Venice, a novella that explores themes of beauty, obsession, and the artist's struggle with his own desires. The story follows Gustav von Aschenbach, a writer who becomes infatuated with a young boy while on vacation in Venice.

Mann's most famous work, The Magic Mountain (1924), is a complex novel set in a Swiss sanatorium. It explores themes of time, illness, and the clash of ideas in pre-World War I Europe. The novel is considered a masterpiece of modernist literature.

Political Views and Exile

Mann was an outspoken critic of Nazism and fled Germany in 1933 after Adolf Hitler came to power. He settled in Switzerland and later moved to the United States, where he became a citizen in 1944. During his time in America, Mann was a vocal advocate for democracy and human rights.

Later Works and Legacy

In his later years, Mann continued to write prolifically. His novel Doctor Faustus (1947) is a retelling of the Faust legend set in the context of Nazi Germany. The novel explores themes of creativity, morality, and the role of the artist in society.

Mann's influence on literature and culture is profound. His works have been translated into numerous languages and continue to be studied and admired worldwide. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century.

Personal Life

Mann married Katia Pringsheim in 1905, and the couple had six children. His family life was often tumultuous, and several of his children became notable writers and intellectuals in their own right.

Death

Thomas Mann died on 12 August 1955 in Zürich, Switzerland, at the age of 80. He is buried in Kilchberg, near Zürich.

Also see

• Heinrich Mann
• Nobel Prize in Literature
• German literature
• Modernist literature