Thomas Mann regarded his monumental retelling of the biblical story of Joseph as his magnum opus. The four parts--The Stories of Jacob, Young Joseph, Joseph in Egypt, and Joseph the Provider--are a novel telling of Joseph's fall into slavery and his rise to be lord over Egypt.
Mario and the Magician is one of Mann's most political stories. Mann openly criticizes fascism, a choice which later became one of the grounds for his exile to Switzerland following Hitler's rise to power. The magician, Cipolla, is analogous to the looming specter of fascism emergent in that era. The story was especially timely, considering the tensions in Europe when it was written; Mussolini was urging Italians to recapture the glory of the Roman Empire. The end of the story represents Mann's changing political views; he moved from staunch support of the Kaiser during his early life to a belief in progressive, democratic values in Europe and a desire to rid the continent of fascist influences.
The Holy Sinner explores a subject that fascinated Thomas Mann to the end of his life - the origins of evil and evil's connection with magic. Here Mann uses a medieval legend about "the exceeding mercy of God and the birth of the blessed Pope Gregory" - illuminating the notion of original sin and transcendence of evil.
Thomas Mann regarded his monumental re-telling of the biblical story of Joseph as his magnum opus, telling of Joseph's fall into slavery and his rise to be lord over Egypt.
As Joseph is saved from the well and sold to Egypt, he adopts a new name, Osarseph, replacing the Jo- element with a reference to Osiris to indicate that he is now in the underworld. This change of name to account for changing circumstances encourages Amenhotep to change his own name to Akhenaten. How Mann manages to pull suspense out of this famous Biblical story that everyone knows is just amazing. It's a page turner from start to finish!
