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The Southern Israelite
Page 67
Wasserman, the Great Story-Teller
\ Characterization of Jakob Wassermann, Noted
Novelist
By THOMAS MANN
Thomas Mann is one of the immortals of contemporary litera-
, , , r ) lo i s expected at any time to receive the Noble Prize. His
\j (l( ,ic Mountain,” his “Death in Venice” and other novels have
‘used him to a pinnacle in Germany rarely attained by any other
f/r. In this character sketch Mann has described that great Jew-
novelist, Wassermann, who has done much to elevate the stand
ard of German letters. In the sketch Mann refers to an incident in
which Mann and Wasserman were jointly named as u destroyers of
German culture,” the first because he is a liberal, the second be
lt < is a Jew.—THE EDITOR.
nationalist association for the preser
vation of onr culture; and on it the
names of Wasserman and myself stood
out boldly as those of despoilers of cul
ture and destroyers of souls. I felt con
siderably flattered by this juxtaposi
tion, and regard it as an additional
bond between us.
As I mediate upon his artistry, that
magnificent mixture of virtuosity and
holy fervor, 1 can hardly avoid the
danger of losing myself in contempla
tion of the beautiful mystery of artis
try in general, with its primitive quali
ties and loftiness and the spirituality
whose source is instinct. Nietzsche al
ways seems inclined to regard acting
as the paradigm of all art—which, for
that matter, he sees in a more than pro
blematic light, calling the artist “an
ape vain and sensual beyond all meas
ure.” And is it not true that precisely
in its highest instances dramatic art re
veals its fundamental primitiveness
most clearly and naively? Its root, its
instinctive basis is play-acting, mim
icking, shamming, pretense; this is its
indispensable essence—without it no
actor can become great. But coeval
with it is the intellectual element, the
ambitious urge toward investing the
primitive with dignity, toward the ful
filment of a solemn mission of lofty
meaning; and it is thus that elements
truly deserving of recognition arise
from the roots of apish mimicry.
Here, however, we have the artist,
the gifted entertainer who cheers the
soul, in another form—that of the
story-teller. I love this word, which
can mean so much and such great
things despite its simple and unpre
tentious sound. But with the great
story-teller we also have the primitive
root, the basic instinct which we call
play-acting in the case of the dramatic
artist. Here, however, we style it the
spinning of yarns. Without this, with
out the fundamental instinct of spin
ning yams no narrator can become
great. I do not mean primarily the
gift and joy of invention, the capacity
for fabricating complicated adventures
and webs of lies; all this is secondary.
The important thing is something ele
mental and personal, something con-
this' positive “occasion 'for nected inton*ti°n, m.n-
fication w« recently followed bv ' ner - The ar ‘ of narration .3 simply the
“° ,her of a negative nature: The two art forcing people to listen regard-
; e close neighbors on a pros- W !* . ■ 111 j", . ... ,
l'« published not long ago. Who and what la Jakob Wasserman t
ran st
It pve- me particular pleasure to
ir;! , „f onr Jakob Wasserman—my
Jakob Wasserman. For he is my friend
hit- always been fair and loyal to
m ,. t a , | have been to him. He knows
v attitude, and I trust that he never
imibtcd me, not even when he was told
• hat 1 then far away in America—
in ,| on. i* made a wry face over some
fvcptionally emotional note that he
,,d -truck. It i- natural that one should
iiitkf a wry face over something one
mint duplicate. But I would be in
a wry >ad state indeed if anything of
i- -nrt could ever make me forget my
ulmiration; for I know only too well
how much there is for me to admire in
him. I mean hi- personality and charac-
vr rather than merely his talent—his
n-n|u!e. pcrscvcrant pursuit of his aim,
incredible industry, his complete
innocence of even the temptation to
lc-ccnd to polemics with his oppon
ent-. in- consistent adherence to his
•i.aniier. the audacity of his fancy,
profound seriousness and prolific
pr< iductivcness.
I>'t me recall our first meeting: It
•k place at the office of the then new-
tounded Simplicissimus, whose as-
■uite editor lie was. We were both
very young at that time. I had
i -tory published, and was calling
r my honorarium—I must have been
i pre—ed. Benevolently he handed
: to tne—cash, ringing gold coins the
,1M ' of which 1 am afraid we shall
■v» r -ee again. This first meeting
'-"ul,| have inspired me to think of
,l *'> ^ic legendary name that occurs
'Kasper Hauser,” IJuhttus.
H* tween that day and the present
' ~"Ht career and my road. Our
have been very different; our at-
tud,- toward life are unlike; we do
hv< in the same rhythm. Yet our
’ id- are parallel and somehow related,
that one is tempted to compare
'•cm. hor they are the roads of two
’•ntemporaries who are both German
v-e!i-1- and who have found different
*a\- ot solving the difficulties of the
,p rman >tory-teller. I would never have
larv, l tu discuss the two of us in this
• u ! *t had not he himself given me
»ut orization in a beautiful public
lrt °°ngratulation which he dedi-
me "hen I was fifty years old
"hieh he called me a brother
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