Buddenbrooks: Concerning Death, etc.

Late in Buddenbrooks (p. 633 in the Woods translation), family patriarch Thomas has an epiphany while reading a casually acquired book:

The chapter that triggers this recognition is entitled "Concerning Death and Its Relation to the Indestructibility of Our Essential Nature," and it's part of a real book (although Mann gives no clues regarding its origin).  Specifically, it's a chapter of Arthur Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation, the major expression of his thought. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy summarizes:

Among 19^th century philosophers, Arthur Schopenhauer was
among the first to contend that at its core, the universe is not a
rational place. Inspired by Plato and Kant, both of whom regarded the
world as being more amenable to reason, Schopenhauer developed their
philosophies into an instinct-recognizing and ultimately ascetic
outlook, emphasizing that in the face of a world filled with endless
strife, we ought to minimize our natural desires to achieve a more
tranquil frame of mind and a disposition towards universal
beneficence. Often considered to be a thoroughgoing pessimist,
Schopenhauer in fact advocated ways — via artistic, moral and
ascetic forms of awareness — to overcome a frustration-filled
and fundamentally painful human condition. Since his death in 1860,
his philosophy has had a special attraction for those who wonder about
life's meaning, along with those engaged in music, literature, and the
visual arts.

It's a major shock to witness this man, a model citizen and his generation's only real guardian of the Buddenbrook myth, fall under the spell of these ideas.  Mann keeps a poker face here, never drawing explicit connections between Thomas Buddenbrook's mental state and his family's many misfortunes, but the placement of the Schopenhauerian epiphany at the end of a long string of indignities leaves little doubt that events in the world have driven the head of the family to question his assumptions about life.

A hundred years later, in The Corrections, a novel likened to Buddenbrooks by a number of critics, Jonathan Franzen had his patriarch Alfred Lambert turn to Schopenhauer at a similarly low emotional ebb.  I assume this episode was meant to be an homage to the earlier book, but can't find confirmation – does anyone know?

You Might Also Like:

More from Conversational Reading:

1. This Month, We’ll Be Reading Buddenbrooks Last spring I was completely blown away by Thomas Mann's novel Doctor Faustus. On the spot I vowed to read more Mann, and then didn't...
2. Buddenbrooks: A Post-War and Peace Novel While we're reading Buddenbrooks, I think it will be useful to consider the book as a sort of work written in the tradition of War...
3. Buddenbrooks: Which Translation? Katy at Love German Books asks which translation of Buddenbrooks we're reading. I don't know which Sacha and John are reading, so maybe they'll chime...
4. Buddenbrooks: Why Woods? Like Scott, I’m reading the John E. Woods translation of Buddenbrooks.  I confess that my decision to read this particular translation was not the product...
5. What’s at Stake in Buddenbrooks? As previously discussed, Buddenbrooks' subtitle makes clear that this is a book about the decline of a great family. So, an important question: Why should...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.