Thomas Mann’s Lotte in Weimar

Between Autobiography and Fiction

The following article focuses on the manner in which the novel Lotte in Weimar was
conceived and debates several aspects from the novel in order to emphasize whether this
novel is mainly a fictional one, or it reflects the author’s self experience and relates itself
to an autobiography.

In 1939, Thomas Mann published his “Goethe novel”, Lotte in Weimar ( The Beloved
Returns ), which is based on the historic visit of Charlotte Kestner to Weimar in 1816, 44
years after the love affair which has become famous through the European success of
Goethe’s early novel The Sorrows of Young Werther.

Mann, who was fascinated with the concept of genius and found in Goethe the
embodiment of the German hero, uses him in order to emphasize his belief that he is
related to the artistic genius of his predecessor. Thus, by using Goethe as a character,
Mann “allows himself-at least, on a fictional level-to walk in the great writer’s shoes”1
and mainly to reveal several conceptions of his own -“Goethe himself is made to express
sentiments which are clearly those of Thomas Mann”2. Therefore, the essay definitely
presents a strong identification relationship between Mann and Goethe.

To begin with, Mann did not write a historically precise account of the meeting
between Charlotte and Goethe; instead of that, he combined historical elements with his
own artistic view to create a novel, a fictional text. Hence, by using his imagination he
designed a “new” Goethe, a Goethe who can convey perfectly Mann’s thoughts. He is
portrayed from many different perspectives but on a closer look there is an evident
depiction of Mann’s himself.

Perhaps one of the most obvious evidence which confirms Mann’s desire of
identification with Goethe is the fact that he attributes to Goethe the following statement
<<“Sie meinen, sie sind Deutschland, aber ich bins”>>3. By this statement Mann repeats
what he himself has expressed approximately the same time when he wrote the novel
about Goethe “Where I am there is Germany“.

In addition, by means of his character, Mann emphasizes his own political

conceptions. For instance, Mann’s Goethe states the following <<“Nicht feindliche
Absonderung von anderen Voelkern darf unser Ziel sein, sondern freundschaftlicher
Verkehr mit aller Welt’’>>4 and he also ensures that there will be successful
relationships with the French culture. So, these are Mann’s ideas about the future

1
Bartle, Gamin, Displacing Geothe: Tribute and Exorcism in Thomas Mann’s The Beloved Returns
2
Glebe, V. William, The “Diseased” artist achieves a new “Health”. Thomas Mann’s Lotte in Weimar
3
Mann, Thomas, Lotte in Weimar, Fisher Publishing House, 1990, pp 292, line 25 <<” They believe, they are
Germany, but I am”>>
4
Mann, Thomas, Lotte in Weimar, Fisher Publishing House, 1990, pp 148, line 7 <<” Not hostile seclusion of other
people may be our aim, but friendly traffic with all world”>>
development of the social relationships between European countries; despite the fact that
these seem to be Goethe’s prophecies, in fact, those concepts are the result of the tragic
experience that Mann himself has lived during the Great War.

Moreover, Mann depicts himself in Goethe’s personality through certain statements

such as <<“ich denke auch mit heiterster Offenheit des artigen blonden Kellner”>>5 or by
saying that <<” denn das rein Maennliche, Geist, Freiheit, Wille, ist Unnatur”>>.6
Consequently, he considers that for a better understanding of the nature there should not
miss the feminine element. By claiming this, Mann reveals his own secret about his
sexual orientation.

Another fact which emphasizes the similarity between the character and the author is
their attitude toward children and education. Mann’s Goethe, as described by the other
characters from the book, does not seem to give great importance to education, as it is
well known the fact that Mann himself despised school:-“Speaking to Lotte of Goethe’s
idea on education, Riemer says that Goethe thinks of it as a process of “ripening” which,
in the right circumstances, may be left more or less alone.” 7 As far as August, Goethe’s
child, is concerned, he resembles to Mann’s own children due to the fact that he could
never grab his father attention; he merely had direct contact with his father and his
education was being taken care of by Herr Doktor Riemer.

Despite these remarkable similarities between Mann and his main character, which
may be strong arguments in favor of an autobiography, there is certainly another fictional
side of this novel. Mann creates his own literary style and conceives his own story based
on Goethe’s work; thus, he imagines a fictional reunion and a fictional Goethe, his own
harmonious Goethe. He felt like he owed to Goethe his entire career, but even though, he
decided that he had to affirm his own identity in German literature in order to distinguish
himself from the Germany’s great author, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Taking into consideration the above mentioned, Lotte in Weimar may be regarded as a
fictional story, in which Thomas Mann “substantiated the historical meeting of Charlotte
and Goethe, and projected onto it his own twentieth-century interpretation”8 or it may be
considered a novel through which Mann has perfectly expressed his own experience and
has highlighted his personal opinions by using Goethe as covering for his own identity.

5
Mann, Thomas, Lotte in Weimar, Fisher Publishing House, 1990, pp 315, line 27 <<” I also think with the most
cheerful openness of the well-behaved blond waiter”>>
6
Mann, Thomas, Lotte in Weimar, Fisher Publishing House, 1990, pp 256 , line 3 <<” the purely male, spirit, freedom,
will, is unnatural”>>
7
Glebe, V. William, The “Diseased” artist achieves a new “Health”. Thomas Mann’s Lotte in Weimar
8
Bartle, Gamin, Displacing Geothe: Tribute and Exorcism in Thomas Mann’s The Beloved Returns