Ms. Brief mit eigenh. U.

Mann, Thomas, Schriftsteller und Nobelpreisträger (1875-1955).

Published by Pacific Palisades, 5. August 1942.

About this Item

1 S. Gr.-4to. Mit ms. adr. Kuvert. An Franklin Rouda von der Harvard University mit some information about the chapters which puzzle you": You ask me whether the author is willing to vouch for the reality of the scene in question. Of necessity, the answer to that must be somewhat fluid and follow a middle course between yes and no which will perhaps not be to your liking. When I wrote those chapters of the Magic Mountain I was under the influence of personal experiences which I had had at the occultistic experimental sessions of the famous late occultist, Dr. Schrenk-Notzing in Munich. Personally, I have learned that there is something true and undeniable to the occult sphere which does not prevent me, however, from regarding it as spiritually uninteresting and unworthy of human exploration. I have expressed this attitude also in an essay wherein I give a detailed account of these experiences to which I have referred. The article is published in English under the title ,Experiences in the Occult in a volume ,Three Essays , brought out by A. Knopf. The hero of my novel stumbles into this dubious atmosphere influenced by the rather unsympathetic figure of Dr. Krokowski, and you have seen how he finally reacts to it with a certain moral indignation he interrupts the session and walks out. There may be something like a temporal television in what he has seen, namely, the vision of his cousin with the equipment of the then still imminent World War I, which I do not consider as theoretically altogether unthinkable […]". Auf Briefpapier mit gedr. Briefkopf; alt auf Trägerpapier montiert. Seller Inventory # 13344

Bibliographic Details

Title: Ms. Brief mit eigenh. U.

Publisher: Pacific Palisades, 5. August 1942.