Thomas Mann und Ägypten

Jan Assmann explores the groundbreaking insights into religion and cultural studies presented by Thomas Mann, particularly in his novel cycle "Joseph and His Brothers." In a fascinating way, he allows his readers to see not only the literary masterpiece of the Joseph novels with fresh eyes but also the writer and cultural scholar Thomas Mann himself. In his encounter with Ancient Egypt, Thomas Mann uncovered a cultural depth dimension of time. His Joseph novels revolve around the question that also preoccupied Proust, Bergson, and Freud: in what ways does the past shape our present, and they provide some of the most insightful answers. Particularly in his insights into the nature of myth, the emergence of monotheism, cultural memory, and historical anthropology and psychology, Thomas Mann proves to be one of the most significant cultural and religious scholars of the 20th century. In his new book, Jan Assmann delves into the yet underexplored dimensions of Mann's work. He describes the depiction of Egypt in the Joseph novels and compares Mann's Joseph story with the biblical narrative and its Egyptian prototype. The concluding comparisons with contemporary works such as Arnold Schönberg's "Moses and Aaron" and Sigmund Freud's "Moses and Monotheism" are also highly revealing.