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While writing Doctor Faustus, Thomas Mann studied all European Faust literature. Starting from the folk legend Historia von D. Johann Fausten, he benefited from the books of Lessing, Goethe and Marlowe, who reflected this subject in their books.
In the novel, which can be described as a biography, Dr Phil tells the life of the composer Serenius Zeitblom Adrian Leverkühn.
Adrian Leverkühn makes a deal with the devil due to his creativity concerns and the cultural crisis of his age.
While Adrian Leverkühn represents the German people, he identifies with the history of Germany, which was dragged in the storm of National Socialism.
Especially after the part where he talks to the devil, the chapters on politics and war increase in the book.
In his book published in 1949, two years after Doctor Faustus, Thomas Mann explains the political environment in which he wrote Doctor Faustus. He specifies the sources he used: Theodor W. Adorno's philosophy of music, Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Doctor Faustus folk art. legend and some events experienced by Friedrich Nietzche are among these sources.
In all Thomas Mann books, I benefited from Gürsel Aytaç's studies on Thomas Mann. Gürsel Aytaç is a great guide on this subject.
Doctor Faustus was the most difficult Thomas Mann book for me. I got bored while reading it, especially in the parts related to music. If I didn't have an obsession with never leaving a book unfinished, I wouldn't have finished it.
The book is a masterpiece, of course, but it was way above my reading level.
I may read the book again one day, but I don't think it will happen anytime soon.
