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The artist at the turn of the century as a “citizen on the wrong path”: Munich modernism in Thomas Mann's early work in search of its identity

Title	The artist at the turn of the century as a “citizen on the wrong path”: Munich modernism in Thomas Mann's early work in search of its identity
Author	Akkoc, Pınar
Publication Date:	2018
Subject	Thomas Mann, Munich's modernist movement, decadence, identity crisis, Munich modernity, Gladius Dei, decadence, identity crisis
Type	Periodical
Language	German
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Library:	Özyeğin University
Library Asset ID	1303-9407
Record ID	e72fd76e-1fa9-4743-bf06-ccc391e78b3d
Library Location	Modern Languages Programs
Date	2018
Sample Text	The period of upheaval at the end of the 19th century, marked by crises, brought social and economic changes cultural upheavals. Questioning the basic building blocks that make up civil society put together, according to which the bourgeoisie got to the bottom of itself and thus its own nature tried to illuminate. This questioning, which can also be described as the identity crisis of the bourgeoisie, is reflected in the literary works that were created particularly between 1870 and 1914. Thomas Mann's early work includes the identity crisis of the bourgeoisie and focuses on the artist. His novella Gladius Dei (1902) deals with the encounter between a citizen and an unusual work of art and reflects the tragic situation of the artist. The artist, who is himself a part of the bourgeoisie, tries his hand at profound to break away from social ties as much as possible during the upheaval. The artist is also a member of the bourgeoisie, which he considers reprehensible. This essay deals with the novella Gladius Dei with the intention of Based on the contradictory situation of the artist in the work, the situation of Munich modernism described above take a closer look at the connection. The aim of this article is to show that Gladius Dei is a covert criticism the art scene in and around Munich. For this purpose, this article presents the artist and the so-called Munich Modernism is discussed in Gladius Dei, with the focus on the relationship between the artist and of the society to which the work of art is aimed., The turn of the 20th century was affected by the process of modernization: new areas of production emerged which coincided with deepening financial crises. This especially affected the nature of the bourgeois life at the time, and caused unique social and cultural transformation. This profound changing process resulted in the questioning of the basic elements that had made up the bourgeois society. In effect, the period ended with the “burgher” trying to illuminate his own nature and to redefine himself. This situation has also been referred to as “the identity crisis of the individual citizen”, which can be seen as a major topic in the literary works published from 1870 to 1914. The early stories of Thomas Mann examine the issues arising from these identity crises, particularly regarding the new bourgeois man. In this context, importantly, Mann mostly concentrated on the lives and problems of artists. His novella Gladius Dei(1902) includes these important themes, such as confrontations of burghers, extraordinary artworks, and by that, it also reveals a tragic situation of an artist. The artist, who is part of bourgeois life himself, is trying to transcend his everyday life through art, and in so doing, aims to get rid of the banalities of social life. However, at the time, the artist as a member of the bourgeois society was also inevitably involved in the process of decadence, which society was going through. Against this background, this article analyzes Gladius Deiwith the intention of showing the situation in Munich’s modernist movement in the fin-de-siècle. In the context described above – starting from the contradictory position of the artist – the major aim of this study is to show that Gladius Deican be seen as an implicit criticism of the modernist circles of Munich.
Cilt	1

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The artist at the turn of the century as a “citizen on the wrong path”: Munich modernism in Thomas Mann's early work in search of its identity

Author Akkoc, Pınar

Publication Date 2018

Subject Thomas Mann, Munich's modernist movement, decadence, identity crisis, Munich modernity, Gladius Dei, decadence, identity crisis

Type Periodical

Language German

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Library Özyeğin University

Library Asset ID 1303-9407

Record ID e72fd76e-1fa9-4743-bf06-ccc391e78b3d

Library Location Modern Languages Programs

Date 2018

Sample Text The period of upheaval at the end of the 19th century, marked by crises, brought social and economic changes cultural upheavals. Questioning the basic building blocks that make up civil society put together, according to which the bourgeoisie got to the bottom of itself and thus its own nature tried to illuminate. This questioning, which can also be described as the identity crisis of the bourgeoisie, is reflected in the literary works that were created particularly between 1870 and 1914. Thomas Mann's early work includes the identity crisis of the bourgeoisie and focuses on the artist. His novella Gladius Dei (1902) deals with the encounter between a citizen and an unusual work of art and reflects the tragic situation of the artist. The artist, who is himself a part of the bourgeoisie, tries his hand at profound to break away from social ties as much as possible during the upheaval. The artist is also a member of the bourgeoisie, which he considers reprehensible. This essay deals with the novella Gladius Dei with the intention of Based on the contradictory situation of the artist in the work, the situation of Munich modernism described above take a closer look at the connection. The aim of this article is to show that Gladius Dei is a covert criticism the art scene in and around Munich. For this purpose, this article presents the artist and the so-called Munich Modernism is discussed in Gladius Dei, with the focus on the relationship between the artist and of the society to which the work of art is aimed., The turn of the 20th century was affected by the process of modernization: new areas of production emerged which coincided with deepening financial crises. This especially affected the nature of the bourgeois life at the time, and caused unique social and cultural transformation. This profound changing process resulted in the questioning of the basic elements that had made up the bourgeois society. In effect, the period ended with the “burgher” trying to illuminate his own nature and to redefine himself. This situation has also been referred to as “the identity crisis of the individual citizen”, which can be seen as a major topic in the literary works published from 1870 to 1914. The early stories of Thomas Mann examine the issues arising from these identity crises, particularly regarding the new bourgeois man. In this context, importantly, Mann mostly concentrated on the lives and problems of artists. His novella Gladius Dei(1902) includes these important themes, such as confrontations of burghers, extraordinary artworks, and by that, it also reveals a tragic situation of an artist. The artist, who is part of bourgeois life himself, is trying to transcend his everyday life through art, and in so doing, aims to get rid of the banalities of social life. However, at the time, the artist as a member of the bourgeois society was also inevitably involved in the process of decadence, which society was going through. Against this background, this article analyzes Gladius Deiwith the intention of showing the situation in Munich’s modernist movement in the fin-de-siècle. In the context described above – starting from the contradictory position of the artist – the major aim of this study is to show that Gladius Deican be seen as an implicit criticism of the modernist circles of Munich.

Cilt 1