Zwischen höllischem Feuer und doppeltem Segen

For over 2000 years, mankind has been fascinated by the idea of genius, and the explanations of this phenomenon range from Plato''s notion of divine madness to the claim of absolute originality in the Sturm und Drang period. The protagonists of Thomas Mann''s novels Lotte in Weimar (''The Beloved Returns''), Joseph and His Brothers, and Doctor Faustus are part of this tradition: Goethe, to Mann th...