Hans’s Grandfather Character Analysis in The Magic Mountain

Hans moves in with his grandfather following the death of his parents. Hans’s grandfather was a senator and devout Christian, and he was skeptical of change and new ideas. Hans associates him with formality, respectability, and tradition. Hans’s grandfather dies when Hans is seven years old, and as Hans examines the corpse at the funeral, he muses on the simultaneous spirituality and “base physicality” of death, ideas he will return to throughout his stay at the Berghof.

Hans’s Grandfather Character Timeline in The Magic Mountain

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

...time when Hans was between five and seven years old. Hans briefly lived with his grandfather, the senator, until the senator also died. Hans’s grandfather’s house was built on the Esplanade.... (full context)

After dinner Hans’s grandfather would move to the den, and sometimes Hans would join him in the dimly lit... (full context)

Hans’s grandfather was a devout Christian. He held rigid, traditional believes and was suspicious of new ideas,... (full context)

Abstract Ideals vs. Lived Experience Theme Icon

After his grandfather had died and it was time to say goodbye for the last time, seven-year-old Hans... (full context)

Looking at his grandfather’s corpse, Hans observed that death was both spiritually and emotionally “gripping,” as well as “something... (full context)

After the death of his grandfather, young Hans moves in with Consul Tienappel, his late mother’s uncle and the executor for... (full context)

...he’ll hold some public office. It seems likely that he’d become a conservative like his grandfather. But Hans is an engineer—an embracer of modern technology—and so it’s just as likely that... (full context)

One detail from Settembrini’s story about his grandfather sticks out to Hans: he always wore black in public, out of “mourning” for his... (full context)