Elly Brand Character Analysis in The Magic Mountain

Elly Brand is a young woman from Denmark who becomes a resident at the Berghof sometime after Joachim’s death. She appears quiet and unassuming on the outside, but the other patients soon realize that she’s concealing a remarkable and unsettling talent: she is clairvoyant and can communicate with the spiritual realm via a spirit named Holger, who functions as something of a guardian angel to her. Dr. Krokowski immediately takes an interest in Elly and begins seeing her for private hypnosis sessions. Krokowski proposes that if his theory of physical illness as a manifestation of repressed negative emotions is true, then it follows that Elly’s extrasensory perception would allow her to project the spirits she communicates with into the physical realm. Krokowski’s theory proves correct, and he eventually invites residents to participate in seances in which Elly manifests apparitions of the deceased. Hans attends one such séance and, despite his better judgment, asks Elly make Joachim appear. When the figure of Joachim as he appeared on his deathbed suddenly materializes in the room, the experience deeply disturbs Hans.

Elly Brand Character Timeline in The Magic Mountain

The timeline below shows where the character Elly Brand appears in The Magic Mountain. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Abstract Ideals vs. Lived Experience Theme Icon

...it’s worth noting, the narrator adds, that Krokowski was talking about such manners long before Ellen Brand entered the picture. (full context)

Ellen Brand, whom everyone calls Elly, is a sweet, 19-year-old patient from Copenhagen. She appears childish and innocent on the outside,... (full context)

Everyone accuses Elly of cheating, and she apologizes. Though she hadn’t been listening outside the door, she can’t... (full context)

From that night on, Krokowski forbids anyone from performing any unofficial experiments on Elly. Meanwhile, he starts inviting her for sessions in his “analytical dungeon” in the basement. Hermine... (full context)

Everyone learns, through Hermine, that the “voice” who whispered things to Elly that night in the lounge was a boy named Holger, who is something of a... (full context)

Hans agrees to participate in a séance the others are holding with Elly. It will be a secret from Krokowski, of course. On the night of the séance,... (full context)

...in the room, and eventually the glass spells out H-O-L-G-E-R, confirming the presence of Holger, Elly’s supposed guardian angel. The group uses the wineglass to ask him questions, but he doesn’t... (full context)

When Hans later tells Settembrini about the séance, Settembrini scoffs and calls Elly a fraud. Then Settembrini goes off on Hans for believing in such nonsense. He tells... (full context)

Later, Dr. Krokowski starts inviting select residents to the sessions he holds with Elly in his office. Hans doesn’t attend the sessions himself, but he hears bits and pieces... (full context)

Krokowski even manages to coach Elly to materialize Holger, who it turns out “really did have ‘beautiful brown, brown locks.’” Elly... (full context)

...the attendees have arrived, Krokowski asks his assistants—Frau Magnus and Fräulein Levi—to accompany him and Elly to the adjacent office, where Elly will receive a preliminary exam before the main session... (full context)

Ten minutes later, Elly, Krokowski and the two assistants return from the examination room, and the session begins. Krokowski... (full context)

Elly squeezes Hans’s hands, which means that Holger is present. Krokowski asks Holger if he’s still... (full context)

...mediator, but Krokowski refuses his request, and Hans sits back down in his seat facing Elly. The gramophone is turned on again, and Elly reenters a trance state, and then more... (full context)