Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Magic Mountain, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Time
Coming of Age
Death and Illness
East vs. West
Abstract Ideals vs. Lived Experience
Summary
Analysis
It’s August now, and Hans’s one-year anniversary of his arrival at the Berghof comes and goes without incident. It’s an unspoken rule that nobody mentions arrival anniversaries—for long-term residents, it’s more noble to not rely on measuring time. So, not even Joachim mentions the occasion to Hans.
Celebrating arrival anniversaries would suggest that the amount of time a resident spends at the Berghof correlates with their health, but this isn’t necessarily the case, hence the tradition of ignoring arrival anniversaries altogether. It is a choice to believe that the accumulation of time automatically holds any significance.
Themes
One day in September, it inexplicably starts to snow, a turn of events that greatly upsets Joachim. Upsetting Joachim further is Hans’s seeming acceptance of the premature winter weather—he accuses Hans of being so content at the sanatorium that he’s even content when the weather is horrible. Then he storms out of the room. Joachim’s outburst confuses Hans, and it forces him to consider an unsettling notion: Joachim clearly wants to leave this place, and he might even leave Hans behind there. And it’s also possible that Joachim will die.
This passage establishes just how much Hans has changed over the past year. When he first arrived at the Berghof, he couldn’t fathom staying more than three weeks. Now, he struggles to understand Joachim’s urgent desire to leave the sanatorium.
Themes
That afternoon, during an examination with Behrens, Joachim confirms Hans’s fears, announcing with finality that he has decided to leave the Berghof one week from today. Behrens tries to argue with him, but Joachim has made up his mind. His stay here was only supposed to last three months, he complains, but Behrens has repeatedly pushed back his release date. Though his condition hasn’t meaningfully improved, he's done waiting and will accept whatever consequences come his way.
Joachim’s choice to leave against Behrens’s orders might be foolish, but it also demonstrates his admirable ability to translate his ideals into actions. Joachim values honor above all else, and so he behaves honorably, returning to his military service instead of hanging around the Berghof and waiting for Behrens to release him.
Themes
Behrens assumes that Hans will accompany Joachim, but Hans replies that he’ll only leave with Behrens’s approval. Behrens tells Hans he can go—he’s cured. This shocks Hans, who assumes the director is joking. Behrens erupts with rage, going off about how he doesn’t “own anything here” and is only a doctor—anyone is free to leave whenever they like. Then he walks out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
This is a major turning point in Hans’s story. Behrens has plainly told him there is nothing about his condition that requires him to remain at the Berghof. He has effectively put the ball in Hans’s court. Now, Hans must either choose to leave the Berghof or come to terms with the disturbing possibility that he wants to stay because he is drawn to its atmosphere of decadence and abandon.
Themes
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Immediately, Joachim makes arrangements for his departure. Behrens gives him “semiapproval” for his exit, and Joachim stops tracking his temperature. Joachim arranges to take a train “down to the lowlands” and then live among people who have no sense of how life is at the Berghof—that is, he plans to live among “ignorant people.” Overall, he’s happy to leave. To Hans, such a situation is unfathomable. Gradually, Hans accepts that he’ll go on living here without Joachim—he has to, he realizes, because he’s waiting for Clavdia’s return, though he doesn’t know when or even if that’ll happen.
Thermometers and the act of taking one’s temperature symbolize residents’ acclimation to the Berghof. The fact that Joachim no longer takes his temperature signals the finality of his decision to leave and return to ordinary society. Meanwhile, now that Hans can no longer pretend that he is staying at the Berghof out of concern for his health, he finally admits to himself the embarrassing truth that he has stuck around so long out of hope that Clavdia might return.
Themes
Finally, the day of Joachim’s departure arrives. It’s the first beautiful, sunny day in a while. Hans accompanies him to the train station and remarks, in awe, that this is where he arrived. Joachim acknowledges this fact casually, apparently not sharing Hans’s sentimentality. The cousins shake hands. Hans tells Joachim to “swear that oath fervently,” and Joachim assures him he will. Then Joachim takes Hans’s hands firmly. Addressing him by his name (something the cousins rarely if ever do, normally using nicknames), Joachim orders Hans to “come soon.” Then he boards the train, closing the door behind him. And Hans begins the walk back to the Berghof alone.
Joachim’s choice to addresses Hans by name underscores the seriousness of his concern for Hans. He recognizes that the longer Hans stays at the Berghof, the harder it will be for him to re-enter society. Unlike Joachim, who has never abandoned his sense of duty, Hans is more vulnerable to the seductive allure of the Berghof.
Themes
