1 (1989 Winter) The abstract states that the Parkes-Perret speculates that the viola d'amore in Doctor Faustus serves 'as a symbol for Zeitblom's love of Leverkühn.” But it also functions as a metaphor for the way Zeitblom conceives his relationship with Leverkühn.'įor me, the appearance of the viola d'amore in Doctor Faustus raised not the why question but the how: how did Mann come by an acquaintance to the viola d'amore, and especially to the repertoire, with dates, even that he made references to through the novel. However, the appearance of the d'amore in the novel has attracted comment in the scholarly literature: please see Thomas Mann's Silvery Voice of Self-Parody in Doktor Faustus, by Parkes-Perret, The Germanic Review LXIV, No. As the biography of Leverkühn is a labour of love by Zeitblom, is it not appropriate he plays the instrument 'of love?'Ī literary analysis of Dr. Maybe Mann liked the sound of the d'amore, and that is the kind of writer Mann is. In the newsletter, David asks the question, why does Serenus play the viola d'amore, instead of the violin or flute, or any number of other instruments? And he posits several possible answers, all having to do with the internal workings of the novel among them, then is that 'the d'amore is a graceful instrument, less bold and assertive than the violin, and that is the type of character Zeitblom is. In the novel, the narrator, Serenus Zeitblom, plays the viola d'amore as an amateur in social music settings, albeit among professional musicians like Adrian Leverkuehn, who is a composer, conductor and the hero of Mann's book. Thomas Mann (1875-1955) published Doctor Faustus in German in 1947, and a year later, an English translation by H. In the November 1993 issue of the Viola d'amore Society of America Newsletter, David Troutman wrote an interesting article about the appearance of the viola d'amore player in Thomas Mann's novel, Doctor. Thomas Mann Thomas Mann The Viola d'Amore in Thomas Mann's novel Doctor Faustus, A literary connection to a 1772 Eberle viola d'amore. 28: Rachel Stott Compositions for viola d'amore.

3: Galanteries, The Living Room Sessions.

Dr faustus thomas mann