Exploring The Magic Mountain | Ep. 03 | Chapter 3 of Thomas Mann: The Magic Mountain

[@CarolynFahm]

You bring up things that never occurred to me in my reading. The reference to Nietzsche and the primacy of the aesthetic is something I have never encountered. Thanks for another fascinating discussion.

[@ThomasMannProject]

you're welcome, - and thank you so much for the positive comment. Kind regards from Germany, - David.

[@joanandbrandon]

Thank you, David, for your words on Chapter 3. I'll comment on one small thing: smoking. Hans loves his cigars, really lives for them, as you noted. My thought was how surprising it is that a habit which was thought natural, maybe a little elegant, even in a sanatorium 100 years ago is now seen for the killer that it is. Things change, sometimes for the better. But what interests me is pondering which things we do now, things that may be viewed positively, will be viewed as highly negative in 100 years. I don't think I'm speaking of mere fashion, but rather stages of human development that are unlikely to go backwards once progress has occurred. Aloha, Pohaku

[@ThomasMannProject]

Thank you for this well considered comment. What a fascinating thought, speculating what features of our daily life will be considered strange, ridiculous, or highly dangerous in 100 years to come 😊. Best regards, - David

[@heathereads]

David , I have reached Chapter 4, a section titled, 'Politically Suspect'. The meal called second breakfast -- the only other novel I have read where characters have second breakfast is Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and in ignorance I assumed Tolkien had invented it as a habit of hobbits. Do you know more about this meal? Is it still eaten now and where and why were two breakfasts necessary?

[@ThomasMannProject]

Hi Heather, this is not an uncommon habit in continental Europe. There are two different forms of second breakfast: a second breakfast as a simple, small snack still plays a role for people whose working day (and first breakfast) take place very early in the day. This is still a widespread tradition at least in the German workplaces: in many companies there is a breakfast break of 15-20 minutes (usually around half past nine or ten a.m.) during which a small snack is taken: a sandwich, a yoghurt, a piece of fruit. A second tradition of the second breakfast is less common today: it was a custom on particularly festive occasions, or in institutions that value particularly lavish nutrition (health clinics, etc.). This second type of second breakfast is sometimes also called a "Gabelfrühstück" in German (literally translation: ‘fork breakfast’, derived from the French term ‘dejouner a la fourchette’, - because this was a custom in some parts of the french society in the 18/19th century, to have this sort of 2nd breakfast that was actually taken standing up in and using only a fork, to pick up food items (no plates, no other cutlery). This form of the second breakfast is very lavish and consists of savoury cold or warm dishes, and light alcoholic drinks (beer, wine) are also common. The 2nd breakfast at the Berghof seems to be of the 2nd type.