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Work #672 · Late

The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg)

Thomas Mann
1912-24 (composed); 1924 (published) · German
Modernist Bildungsroman · German modernist literature

Mann's 1924 foundational Bildungsroman — Hans Castorp's seven years at the Berghof sanatorium

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg) (Late)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Experience
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg)

The suspended sanatorium time of seven years.

Space

The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg)

The Berghof sanatorium in the Swiss Alps.

Matter

The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg)

The embodied tubercular Hans Castorp.

Observer

The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg)

Hans Castorp's philosophical-formative education.

Energy

The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg)

Energies of philosophical-cultural formation.

Information

The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg)

Foundational German modernist Bildungsroman framework.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg)

The Magic Mountain culminates pre-WWI German culture and anticipates the cataclysm.