I know my fate.

One day my name will be associated with the memory of something tremendous a crisis without equal on earth, the most profound collision of conscience, a decision that was conjured up against everything that had been believed, demanded, hallowed so far.

I am no man, I am dynamite. i

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Thomas Manns novel, Doctor Faustus, stands as a very unique adaptation of the Faust theme. From the way he interweaves the story into the historical context of pre-WWII Germany, to the alterations he makes in the role of Faust, Mann layers numerous connotations into his reworking of this classic legend. The most prominent shift I see Mann making in his novel is the change of Doctor Faustus occupation. While the original Doctor Faustus was consumed with divinity and magic, Adrian Leverkuhn, the hero in Manns adaptation, is consumed with primarily the magic of music. Coincidentally, and ironically this makes Manns hero a tragic artist, tragic because of his role in a tragedy, and an artist by occupation. This is ironic because Manns novel points a finger at Friedrich Nietzsche, and his philosophy, in a multitude of different ways, but this one parallel seems more coincidental than the rest. It seems like Mann held Nietzsche partially if not wholly responsible for the demonic shift in the rise of the third German Reich. By placing the Faust story into the context of pre-WWII Germany, by parodying Nietzsches own life through the life of Adrian Leverkuhn, and most of all by making Faust a musical composer instead of an alchemical composer, it seems like Mann is twisting a tale that parallels embracing any level of Nietzschean philosophy to making a pact with the devil. Why would anyone relate Nietzsches philosophy to acts of devilry? Well, he is the philosopher who established that, God is dead.ii Nietzsches philosophy is highly

controversial, and it is difficult to interpret exactly what Nietzsche wanted to promote through his work. Albert Camus wrote, Nietzsches philosophy, undoubtedly, revolves around the problem of rebellion. More precisely, it begins by being a rebellion.iii Like the tragic hero the tragic artist has a rebellious spirit. Nietzsches philosophy flew in the face of tradition. It broke from convention and rejected almost all accepted Truth, especially the truth of morality. Camus

calls Nietzsche, the most acute manifestation of nihilisms consciousness.iv Camus outlines nihilism as a belief system that places no value in what exists:
Christianity believes that it is fighting against nihilism because it gives the world a sense of direction, while it is really nihilist itself in so far as, by imposing an imaginary meaning on life, it prevents the discovery of its real meaning: v

Nietzsches biggest issue was the growing nihilism in European society. For Nietzsche, the selfsacrificing morality of Christianity was detestable and had to be destroyed. Accompanied by its lack of justification as manifest through the death of God, Nietzsches goal through his rebellion was to provide the necessary approach for living in a world that had just become devoid of value. Nietzsches direct antagonism towards Christian morality and traditional truth-values puts him in opposition to a large score of people. Even worse, within three decades of Nietzsches death, his philosophy was being used to promote the rising National Socialist party, who adopted him as their poster-boy as they consolidated power and jump-started a war machine that wreaked havoc, pain and loss all over Europe. [H]e was set-up, thirty-three years after his death, by his own countrymen as the master of lies and violence.vi In the mid thirties, Thomas Mann escaped the nightmare of Europe and found sanctuary in the United States while the Nazi empire tried to establish itself as the new Europe. He witnessed the programs of lies and propaganda that began the march of German National Socialism. What Thomas Mann holds against Nietzsche is impossible to interpret. Nonetheless, it seems Thomas Manns construction of his Doctor Faustus novel insinuates a relationship between Nietzsche and the devil. The Devil talks as if he were Nietzsche. In response to Platos creation of the eternal Good in the sky, Nietzsche wrote, [The creation of the eternal Ideal] meant standing truth on its head and disowning even perspectivism, which is the fundamental condition of all life.vii When Leverkuhn encountered the devil in his chamber, the devil made fun of Adrian for trying to rationalize his existence, That would truly mean to stand all logic on

its head, as one learns in academes.viii Then, in his description of Hell, the Devil uses a Nietzschean argument against the ability to use words to describe hell. When asked to describe Hell, the Devil responds, Actually one cannot speak of it in any manner whatsoever, because the actuality is not congruous with the words;[]all of them are but representative, stand for names that do not exist.ix Nietzsche published an essay called Truth and Lying in a Nonmoral Sense, that established an anthropomorphic understanding of language and truth conditions. Nietzsche questions the certainty of truth, and the viability of language to possess such a potential as truth. Are designations congruent with things? Is language the adequate expression of all realities?x Nietzsche wants to emphasize the complex causal relationship responsible for the creation of words, and the designation of human sounds as objects themselves. He accounts the transference of experiences into words, as two distinct metaphors; one that is made in the process of creating a mental image of an experience, and one that is made in order to express this mental stimulus in a verbal exchange.xi Here Nietzsche identifies the drive for Truth as the societal impulse to use the typical metaphors, to lie according to a fixed convention.xii The metaphoric nature of language eliminates the potential for truth in words. We invented two plus two equals four. When someone hides something behind a bush, and looks for it in the same place and finds it there is not much praise in such seeking and finding.xiii Mans language created the truths of mans world. Our perspective is a unique human perspective, just as the Devils perspective is a unique demonic perspective. The original Faust legend, printed by Johann Spiess, arose out of the era of the Reformation. Luthers Reformation arose in opposition to the Italian Renaissance. Witchcraft became a problem after the Renaissance because the people were inspired to reach back to the

pagan traditions insinuated by the Greek mythology they were being newly exposed to. At the crossroads of a stricter church, and the actuality of magic, the Faust legend is spawned with the same motivations that have driven society since the fall of Adam, knowledge and power. The original Doctor Faustus was a Doctor of Divinity, who concealed his practice of magic and necromancy. The traditional theme of the Faust legend follows the fine Doctor through his life, emphasis starting at the point where Faustus signs his soul over to the devil leading to his gruesome demise. The original Doctor Faustus was a deviant soul, being of naughty mind, xiv seeking greater power through his expanded knowledge and ability with magic. The tragic form of this legend is a distinct characteristic of its Protestant roots. The Catholic Church solved the tragic nature of life by offering salvation to all sinners who repented. The schism towards Protestantism emphasizes predestination and faith, but it does not guarantee salvation; only so many people can be saved. Faustus is obviously living a life that is not in pursuit of salvation. Does that mean early twentieth century Germany could not have been saved? Was that all predestined?? The Marlowe adaptation, and the Goethe adaptation of the Faust legend, both employ a similar academic-theologian-magician as the main character in their plays. While they vary a lot as far as how their stories unfold, both follow a fairly close storyline to that of the original Faust Book. Thomas Manns adaptation of Doctor Faustus is by far the most unique of the Faust legends. One could say it is made for our times. All of the traditional lines of the Faust legend are broken or skewed. The novels reluctant hero takes up the study of theology only to shove Holy Writ under the bench and pursue a career, as a composer. Music stands in for magic. Nietzsches favorite art form was music. Music is the highest art. Nietzsche makes an important distinction between the perception of the world as being versus the perception of the

world as becoming. The rational mind creates dead facts that exist in a state of stagnation, while the artist partakes in the real experience of life acknowledging creation and change. Nietzsche was trying to promote a new phase of constructive creativity, rather than partaking in lifeless conservatism. The fact that Mann made his main character a musical artist just resonates Nietzsche, doesnt it? It seems like Mann is intertwining a number of parallel scenarios: one, where Nietzsches philosophy sends a society down a dark path, another where a tragic artist makes a pact with the devil, overlaid by details about the tragic artists life that make it appear to be a similar life to Nietzsches own life. Adrian Leverkuhn lived Nietzsches dream. Exploring the realms of polyphony and dissonance to continually create new forms and transgressions in music. Mann organizes

Leverkuhns life to appear very parallel to that of Nietzsches. They were both top of their class, and studying theology. The only location that Leverkuhns path actually crosses Nietzsches path is in Leipzig, and coincidentally this is the place the devil left his burning impression on him. Both Nietzsche and Leverkuhn contracted syphilis during their lifetimes. Both enjoyed trips to Italy, a scant encounter with love (probably both French girls), and lives filled with health problems. The most fascinating crossover detail between these two tragedies is that of their

mutual pre-mature deaths. Leverkuhn collapses into gurgling silence just as he initiates The Lamentation of Doctor Faustus, his final masterpiece. Nietzsches collapse caught him in a strange move towards animal rights, hugging a horse that was being beaten by its owner. They both wrote a few small notes, and then became completely incapacitated, falling under the care of their mothers and sisters. For just over eleven years they existed as shutdown perceptual bodies, gurgling in their beds or chairs, cut off from communication with this side of the world. Nietzsche and Leverkuhn were both highly respected but not very successful during their

lifetimes. They were both reserved in disposition, and very mysterious to their compatriots. One possible reason why Mann meticulously mirrored Nietzsches life in the life of his protagonist was to insinuate that the only way Nietzsche could have experienced the success that he experienced posthumously, was through some sort of contractual agreement, which helped establish all that occurred in his novel. Maybe it is just a coincidence, but that is a whole lot of coincidence. All of the layers of Nietzsche make me question, why? I recognize that Nietzsche was highly influential during the rise of National Socialism in Germany. But, why would Nietzsche be Faust? Why would Faust be a musical composer? This seems to be a sign of the times, Nietzsches influence on society, or possibly more like Nietzsches recognition of societies progression predicted that there would be a shift towards the more abstract. Concrete things provide us with concrete values, while abstract things provide us with ambiguous value. Nietzsche called for the, Reevaluation of all values: that is my formula for an act of supreme self-examination on the part of humanity.xv Camus says the only thing we can blame Nietzsche for is the momentary justification of the claim that everything is permitted, even murder.xvi As Nietzsches approach to morality demands us to question everything, nothing becomes unquestionable.
I am by far the most terrible human being that has existed so far; this does not preclude the possibility that I shall be the most beneficial. I know the pleasure in destroying to a degree that accords with my powers to destroyin both respects I obey my Dionysian nature which does not know how to separate doing No from saying Yes. I am the first immoralist: that makes me the annihilator par excellence. xvii

All concepts that involve a beyond, or an idealization of the real, Nietzsche is going to want to annihilate immediately. He writes, The concept of the beyond, the true world invented in order to devaluate the only world there isin order to retain no goal, no reason, and no task for our earthly reality!xviii

Nietzsche directs our focus towards the Earth, the body, and the sense perceptions. Contrary to the Western Tradition, Nietzsche holds the sense experience to be the most honest experience one could have. Contrary to the opinion of certain of his Christian critics, Nietzsche did not form a project to kill God. He found Him dead in the soul of his contemporaries. He was the first to understand the immense importance of the event and to decide that this rebellion on the part of men could not lead to a renaissance unless it was controlled and directed.xix It is funny, because when you think about the vast array of contemporary interpretations of nihilism (e.g. Nietzsches a nihilist, the church is nihilistic, that approach is nihilistic), the ambiguity of the term leads to its wide use in a similar fashion to labels like evil, and Satan. Elaine Pagels, writes in The Origin of Satan that terms like satan and devil were used in the pre-Christ Jewish societies to establish otherness, or distinguish separation between ones own group and an opposing party. The changes from the original Doctor Faustus all seem to impose the idea that Mann is implying Nietzsches call to give up the pursuit of reason for the pursuit of art created a trend towards the demonic. That, shifting from the categorical ethics of Christianity, to a more selfcentered ethic like that of the Greek nobles is more of a Faustian bargain then expected. Either Mann is implying that Nietzsche is inherently demonic, and thus predestined to burn in hell; or he is implying that Nietzsche is the weight that sunk all of the humanity out of pre-WWII Germany. No matter what the specifics of Manns feelings about Nietzsche are, it seems Mann holds Nietzsche to be highly culpable for the rise of National Socialism, and the establishment of the devastatingly demonic third Reich.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Ecce Homo. translated by Walter Kaufmann in Basic Writings of Nietzsche. Random House Inc: New York, 2000all references to this text are to this edition and henceforth cited as endnotespg#- EH p782

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Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Gay Science. Translated by Josefine Nauckhoff. Cambridge University Press: New York, USA. 2001all references to this text are to this edition and henceforth cited as endnotesGS sec# GS s343 Camus, Albert. LHomme Revolte. Translated by Anthony Bower. Vintage International, New York: 1984all references to this text are to this edition and henceforth cited as endnotesR pg#- R p68 R p77 R p69 R p75 Nietzsche, Friedrich. Beyond Good and Evil. Translated by Judith Norman. Cambridge University Press: New York, USA. 2002all references to this text are to this edition and henceforth cited as endnotesBGE sec# preface Mann, Thomas. Doctor Faustus. translated by John E. Woods. Vintage International, New York, 1997all references to this text will be to this edition and henceforth cited as endnotesF pg#- F p241

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Nietzsche, Friedrich. Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense. translated by Simon Sparks. In Simon Sparks 1st ed. Boulder, CO; Giclee Publishers Unlimited. 2004 all references to this text are to this edition and henceforth cited as endnotes-TL pg3 p1
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Spies, Johann. The English Faust Book. translated by Thomas Orwin. Hackett Publishing, Cambridge. 2005-p67 EH p781 R p77 EH p783 EH p790

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