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Değişen Kafalar - Bir Hint Efsanesi
Thomas Mann’ın 1940’ta Stockholm’de yayımladığı Değişen Kafalar, 12. yüzyıldan kalma bir Hint efsanesine değişik bir açıdan yaklaşıyor. Şridaman ile Nanda, farklı kastlardan gelmelerine, zihnen ve fiziki olarak birbirlerinden çok farklı olmalarına rağmen, ayrılmaz iki dosttur. Şridaman, Brahman soyuna dayanan tüccar bir aileye mensup narin yüzlü, çelimsizdir; Nanda ise demircilik yapan, inek güden güçlü ve yakışıklı bir gençtir. Birbirlerini tamamlayan bu iki gencin dostluğu, güzel Sita’yla karşılaşmalarıyla yeni bir boyut kazanır. Şridaman ve Sita evlenir. Ancak Sita’nın, seçimiyle ilgili pişmanlıkları vardır. Hayatları, Sita’nın ailesine birlikte yaptıkları bir yolculukta geçen olaylarla çok ilginç bir biçimde yön değiştirir. Thomas Mann, Değişen Kafalar ile çok nadir bir olaya, kültürlerarası etkileşime neden olur. Hint efsanesinden yola çıkan Mann’ın romanı, Hint oyun yazarı Giris Karnad’ın ödüllü oyunu Hayava¬dana’yı esinler. Mann eserinde, kelimenin tam anlamıyla mitolojik bir Hint fantezisi yaratmıştır. Doğu ve Batı, zihin ve beden, dostluk ve aşk, erotizm ve ruhsal uyum gibi motifler üzerine çok şey söyleyen Değişen Kafalar, mitolojik ve fantastik bir öykü.
124 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
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1014 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Mann
1,798 books5,186 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
See also:
Serbian: Tomas Man
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate in 1929, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Goethe, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer. His older brother was the radical writer Heinrich Mann, and three of his six children, Erika Mann, Klaus Mann and Golo Mann, also became important German writers. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Mann fled to Switzerland. When World War II broke out in 1939, he emigrated to the United States, from where he returned to Switzerland in 1952. Thomas Mann is one of the best-known exponents of the so-called Exilliteratur.
See also:
Serbian: Tomas Man
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate in 1929, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Goethe, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer. His older brother was the radical writer Heinrich Mann, and three of his six children, Erika Mann, Klaus Mann and Golo Mann, also became important German writers. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Mann fled to Switzerland. When World War II broke out in 1939, he emigrated to the United States, from where he returned to Switzerland in 1952. Thomas Mann is one of the best-known exponents of the so-called Exilliteratur.
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October 20, 2023
Thomas Mann'ın, 12. yüzyıldan kalma bir Hint efsanesini yeniden yorumladığı romanı "Değişen Kafalar", zihin ve beden arasındaki ikiliğe dair epey ilginç bir kitap. Bizi biz yapan kafa mıdır beden mi sorusunu oldukça beklenmedik bir biçimde (spoiler vermemek adına belirtmiyorum o biçimi) didikliyor. 1940'ta yazılmış olan roman, bugünden bakınca bence olduğundan daha da ilginç bir hale bürünüyor; zira bugün bedenlerimizi türlü müdahalelerle baştan aşağı değiştirme şansımız var ve fakat bence kitabın sorduğu soru hala geçerli; vücudumuzun yerine şu veya bu biçimde başka bir vücut koyduğumuzda biz kim oluruz?
Arzunun çalışma dinamiklerine dair de pek çok soru bırakıyor Mann kucağımıza. Tensel arzunun ne kadarı zihne, ne kadarı vücuda yöneliktir, güzeli ve çirkini salt estetik üzerinden mi ölçeriz, tinsel / zihinsel olana ne biçimde bakarız? Arka kapakta dediği gibi; "Doğu ve Batı, zihin ve beden, dostluk ve aşk, erotizm ve ruhsal uyum gibi motifler üzerine" çok şey söylüyor roman sahiden. Ben kendisini çok sevdim.
Bu arada kitap enteresan bir kültürlerarası etkileşime de yol açmış; Mann'ın Hint efsanesinden yola çıkarak yazdığı roman, Hint oyun yazarı Giris Karnad’a ilham olmuş ve kendisi ödüllü oyunu Hayavadana’yı yazmış. Bir anlamda öykü kendi coğrafyasına geri dönmüş diyebiliriz.
Edebiyatın seyyahlığını izlemek ne güzel bir şey. ❤️
Arzunun çalışma dinamiklerine dair de pek çok soru bırakıyor Mann kucağımıza. Tensel arzunun ne kadarı zihne, ne kadarı vücuda yöneliktir, güzeli ve çirkini salt estetik üzerinden mi ölçeriz, tinsel / zihinsel olana ne biçimde bakarız? Arka kapakta dediği gibi; "Doğu ve Batı, zihin ve beden, dostluk ve aşk, erotizm ve ruhsal uyum gibi motifler üzerine" çok şey söylüyor roman sahiden. Ben kendisini çok sevdim.
Bu arada kitap enteresan bir kültürlerarası etkileşime de yol açmış; Mann'ın Hint efsanesinden yola çıkarak yazdığı roman, Hint oyun yazarı Giris Karnad’a ilham olmuş ve kendisi ödüllü oyunu Hayavadana’yı yazmış. Bir anlamda öykü kendi coğrafyasına geri dönmüş diyebiliriz.
Edebiyatın seyyahlığını izlemek ne güzel bir şey. ❤️
September 13, 2021
Μια ερωτική ιστορία ανάμεσα στην Ροζαλι και έναν νεαρό
May 10, 2020
Μία εκπληκτική γραφή που περιγράφει μία πεζή,αλλά τελικά συμβολική θεματική.
Read
February 12, 2024As Cabeças Trocadas
Duality and the conflict between Body and Mind are the first impressions I retained when I finished reading this novella.
The philosophical moral seems to me, to be the conflicted choice between the desires of sensuality versus the repression of rationality based on social conventions. Monogamy, friendship, identity beauty and desire are recurring themes in Thomas Mann: Love (heart) and Sensuality (eye).
Thomas Mann was inspired to write this story after, reading a book about the Indian goddess Kali by the Indologist Heinrich Zimmer, who, in his turn, based it on the" Kathasaritsagara", an 11th-century collection of Hindu legends, fairy tales and folk tales compiled by Somadeva for the amusement of Sūryavatī, wife of King Ananta of Kashmir, at whose court Somadeva was the official poet. Some scholars state that this book was the source and inspiration for "One Thousand and One Nights".
The story that Mann used as a background for his novella is about a love triangle that takes us through a journey of friendship, love, lust, guilt and regret. One of the characters lives life through the mind, while the other express himself through his powerful physique, and in their dissimilar qualities they search in the admiration of each other's qualities to become "Complete"; the female member of this tragic trio is the archetype of sensuality... "La Femme Fatale".
From there Mann builds a parable with a complex and subtle analysis of the psychological devastation that follows when friendship and love mix uncontrollably. To achieve this, he unleashes his creativity wits powered by his amazing intellect to give berth to a written classic tragedy whose deep symbolism is revealed at each turn of a page.
The story suggests that the clash between two contrary beliefs or conclusions, which are both true, creates a paradox in human character and relationships and can produce thence unexpected but inevitable results; moral tension pulsates constantly through the story's shocking events in a crescendo that leads to inevitable tragedy.
One of the most interesting features of the book is the psychological speculations, typical of Thomas Mann: Like the gap between self-awareness and the unsuspected projected image; what we think we are to those who observe us and what others really see.
all beings have a dual existence, one for themselves and one for the eyes of others. They are what they are and what they show, they are soul and image and it would be a sin to let ourselves be impressed by the image, forgetting the soul.
At some point in the story, the male protagonists have their heads switched (how? sorry, no spoilers...) and that is the starting point to the debate about whether a person’s intellectual characteristics take precedence over the physical being; a question clearly expressed: in one of them it was the body that served as an accessory and appendage to a noble and erudite head, the centre of everything, in the other it was the immaculate body in its physical perfection that was the centre of everything and the head a mere detail. Again as in other works of Mann the debate between intellect and beauty.
But the tragic/comic trade of heads raises the question of Identity: what are we? Where do we find our identity? in our physical expression or in our mental qualities and flaws? What is the feature that confers that exclusive personal condition that will identify each of us as a unique individual?
At this point of the story the only fixed point, the gravity centre of the tale is the female protagonist. If both male characters are a bit amused with the situation she needs to determine exactly which one is which and she has her own agenda. Where the males think they are in "control" (don't we all males do it? Wait until you meet my wife...) actually they are not aware they are there just to serve a purpose.
There is also some misogyny mixed in the text, if it was expressed with intent to create some effect or if it was an unconscious reflex of the author's subliminal conscience I can not say. I had the feeling that Mann played with a certain women's subversiveness to create a conflict in the reader's mind, because the female character plays the wife and mother, as traditional Indian society would dictate (and western societies expect), but she is not complacent, quiet, or docile. She is an openly sensual woman who pursues her ambitions and desires. Almost selfish and for sure independent-minded but absolutely determined. And in her deceitful softness, she possesses many of the qualities the goddess Kali admires.
Arundhuti Singhal, the co-founder of the Mythology Project says that Kali, the goddess is, probably the oldest feminist icon of human history and embodies the boundless and existential freedom of "To Be", without seeking permission. She is a monster as she is both frightening and awe-inspiring; not shallow, not manageable, not comfortable, Kali, couldn’t care less if she is likeable or not. She isn’t the kind of deity that can be found on a sitting room shelf for contemplation, and that’s just fine, because she is a scary, bloodthirsty personification of destruction, and, at the same time, the ultimate protector against evil (duality again). She is spiritual and bodily erotic, Singhal explains.
To sum up Kali, like this novella by Thomas Maan is duplicity and multiplicity, is the Whole and the Incompleteness, traits associated with female divinity, and this is embodied by the female character who searches to merge all the "parts" to create a complete identity.
This is Thomas Mann at his best. He was beyond being likeable like Kali. Unfortunately, he doesn't "Is" anymore but his work will stay forever.
Duality and the conflict between Body and Mind are the first impressions I retained when I finished reading this novella.
The philosophical moral seems to me, to be the conflicted choice between the desires of sensuality versus the repression of rationality based on social conventions. Monogamy, friendship, identity beauty and desire are recurring themes in Thomas Mann: Love (heart) and Sensuality (eye).
Thomas Mann was inspired to write this story after, reading a book about the Indian goddess Kali by the Indologist Heinrich Zimmer, who, in his turn, based it on the" Kathasaritsagara", an 11th-century collection of Hindu legends, fairy tales and folk tales compiled by Somadeva for the amusement of Sūryavatī, wife of King Ananta of Kashmir, at whose court Somadeva was the official poet. Some scholars state that this book was the source and inspiration for "One Thousand and One Nights".
The story that Mann used as a background for his novella is about a love triangle that takes us through a journey of friendship, love, lust, guilt and regret. One of the characters lives life through the mind, while the other express himself through his powerful physique, and in their dissimilar qualities they search in the admiration of each other's qualities to become "Complete"; the female member of this tragic trio is the archetype of sensuality... "La Femme Fatale".
From there Mann builds a parable with a complex and subtle analysis of the psychological devastation that follows when friendship and love mix uncontrollably. To achieve this, he unleashes his creativity wits powered by his amazing intellect to give berth to a written classic tragedy whose deep symbolism is revealed at each turn of a page.
The story suggests that the clash between two contrary beliefs or conclusions, which are both true, creates a paradox in human character and relationships and can produce thence unexpected but inevitable results; moral tension pulsates constantly through the story's shocking events in a crescendo that leads to inevitable tragedy.
One of the most interesting features of the book is the psychological speculations, typical of Thomas Mann: Like the gap between self-awareness and the unsuspected projected image; what we think we are to those who observe us and what others really see.
all beings have a dual existence, one for themselves and one for the eyes of others. They are what they are and what they show, they are soul and image and it would be a sin to let ourselves be impressed by the image, forgetting the soul.
At some point in the story, the male protagonists have their heads switched (how? sorry, no spoilers...) and that is the starting point to the debate about whether a person’s intellectual characteristics take precedence over the physical being; a question clearly expressed: in one of them it was the body that served as an accessory and appendage to a noble and erudite head, the centre of everything, in the other it was the immaculate body in its physical perfection that was the centre of everything and the head a mere detail. Again as in other works of Mann the debate between intellect and beauty.
But the tragic/comic trade of heads raises the question of Identity: what are we? Where do we find our identity? in our physical expression or in our mental qualities and flaws? What is the feature that confers that exclusive personal condition that will identify each of us as a unique individual?
At this point of the story the only fixed point, the gravity centre of the tale is the female protagonist. If both male characters are a bit amused with the situation she needs to determine exactly which one is which and she has her own agenda. Where the males think they are in "control" (don't we all males do it? Wait until you meet my wife...) actually they are not aware they are there just to serve a purpose.
There is also some misogyny mixed in the text, if it was expressed with intent to create some effect or if it was an unconscious reflex of the author's subliminal conscience I can not say. I had the feeling that Mann played with a certain women's subversiveness to create a conflict in the reader's mind, because the female character plays the wife and mother, as traditional Indian society would dictate (and western societies expect), but she is not complacent, quiet, or docile. She is an openly sensual woman who pursues her ambitions and desires. Almost selfish and for sure independent-minded but absolutely determined. And in her deceitful softness, she possesses many of the qualities the goddess Kali admires.
Arundhuti Singhal, the co-founder of the Mythology Project says that Kali, the goddess is, probably the oldest feminist icon of human history and embodies the boundless and existential freedom of "To Be", without seeking permission. She is a monster as she is both frightening and awe-inspiring; not shallow, not manageable, not comfortable, Kali, couldn’t care less if she is likeable or not. She isn’t the kind of deity that can be found on a sitting room shelf for contemplation, and that’s just fine, because she is a scary, bloodthirsty personification of destruction, and, at the same time, the ultimate protector against evil (duality again). She is spiritual and bodily erotic, Singhal explains.
To sum up Kali, like this novella by Thomas Maan is duplicity and multiplicity, is the Whole and the Incompleteness, traits associated with female divinity, and this is embodied by the female character who searches to merge all the "parts" to create a complete identity.
This is Thomas Mann at his best. He was beyond being likeable like Kali. Unfortunately, he doesn't "Is" anymore but his work will stay forever.
March 10, 2022
Thomas Mann subtitled the novella An Indian Legend as the story is based on an old folk tale from India.
Two friends Nanda and Shridaman see the lovely Sita bathing in a local pool and each of them falls in love with her. She marries Shridaman and has a child with him, but she also loves Nanda, so there is a love triangle in operation within the story.
Six months after the wedding, the married couple set off to visit her parents accompanied by Nanda. On the way they stop at a temple to the goddess Kali where Shridaman goes to pray. In a fit of religious fervour, he commits suicide by chopping off his own head. When Nanda finds Shridaman in this state, he is bereft and does the same thing.
The goddess Kali appears to Sita and informs her what to do to bring them both back to life. The title of the book tells you what happens and the ending is traditional though still shocking.
Two friends Nanda and Shridaman see the lovely Sita bathing in a local pool and each of them falls in love with her. She marries Shridaman and has a child with him, but she also loves Nanda, so there is a love triangle in operation within the story.
Six months after the wedding, the married couple set off to visit her parents accompanied by Nanda. On the way they stop at a temple to the goddess Kali where Shridaman goes to pray. In a fit of religious fervour, he commits suicide by chopping off his own head. When Nanda finds Shridaman in this state, he is bereft and does the same thing.
The goddess Kali appears to Sita and informs her what to do to bring them both back to life. The title of the book tells you what happens and the ending is traditional though still shocking.
November 26, 2019
Πολύ ωραία και ιδιαίτερη η αναβίωση του εξωτικού μύθου, αλλά είναι δυνατον να το έγραψε ο Τόμας Μαν; Τίποτα δεν τον θυμίζει...
December 16, 2023
Şüphesiz 20.yy’ın en önemli yazarlarından biri Thomas Mann’dır. Onun anıtsal nitelikteki hacimli romanlarını çok sevmeme ve hep saygıyla anmama; hatta ‘Büyülü Dağ’daki Hans Castorp ile edebiyat tarihinin en önemli karakterlerinden birini kaleme aldığını düşünmeme rağmen; novellalarına hep biraz mesafeli kaldım. Mann’ın lokomotifi ‘Venedik’te Ölüm’ gibi, ‘Değişen Kafalar’ da çekinik okur beğenimle hafızamda kalanlardandı. Elbette seneler geçmiş ilk okumamın üzerinden. Şimdi bir okuma grubu ile konuşmak için tekrar okumam değişik bir tecrübe oldu.
Birbirlerinden kast, yaş ve fiziksel görünüm açısından farklı olan Nanda ve Şridaman isimli iki Hint erkeğinin aynı kadına yönelen aşkları sonucunda, Tanrıça Şiva’nın da yardımıyla sonlanan mitolojik ve fantastik öyküsü anlatılıyor ‘Değişen Kafalar’da.
‘Değişen Kafalar’ 1940 senesinde Stockholm’de kaleme alınıyor Mann tarafından. Yazarın Almanya’dan ayrılmak zorunda kaldığı ve dev eseri ‘Yusuf ve Kardeşleri’ dörtlemesinden sonra yazdığı bir dizi görece hafif anlatılardan biri olarak bibliyografisinde yerini alıyor. Aslı Sankskritçe olan bir öykü derlemesinden esinlenilen hikayenin ana hatları, Thomas Mann’ın hakim entelektüel kültürünün getirdiği yaklaşımla, izleklerinin etrafında döndüğü, Batı bakışlı bir metin olarak okunuyor bana kalırsa. Hikayenin Hint mitolojisinden beslenmesi ve olayların Hindistan’da geçmesi; hatta kitabın sunuluşundaki ‘Bir Hint Efsanesi’ başlığının altını çizdiği özgürlük; Mann’ın öyküsünü Doğu’ya özgü görülen bir sürreallik içerisinde kaleme almasını sağlıyor. Diğer yandan izlekleri de Mann’a özgü bir düzlemde, burada da kendini apaçık gösteriyor: Beden ve ruh, yaşlılık ve gençlik, hastalık ve sağlık, aşk ve cinsellik ikilemlerinin Mann’ca yaklaşımı rahatlıkla okunabildiği gibi, estetik ve kadının doğasına dair de tanıdık yaklaşımlar görmek de mümkün.
Masalsı bir anlatı olan ‘Değişen Kafalar’ öte yanda Masalsı bir anlatı olan ‘Değişen Kafalar’ öte yandan Avrupa’nın en karanlık zamanında hayatta kalmaya çalışan bir yazarın kaçış anlatısı olarak da okunabilir. ‘Büyülü Dağ’da her zaman kaçtığı politik görüşün içine düşen Thomass Mann, ‘Yusuf ve Kardeşleri’nde artık yaşadığı, tanık olduğu politik evrenin ve tarihin çarpıcı bir edebi karşılığını yaratmıştı. Yurtsuz kalmış, cinsel kimliği ve ailesiyle çatışan; artık kendisinden beklenilen temalar üstüne söyleyecek bir şeyi kalmamış bir yazarın fantazya denemesi olarak kendine has bir yer ediniyor Alman Edebiyatında.
Eseri Thomas Mann’ın yazın tarihinden bağımsız ele alacak olursak, tatmin edici bir üslupla kaleme alınmasına rağmen içerik açısından sakil kalmış bir metin olduğunu söyleyebilirim. Zira Doğu’nun hikayesini anlatmak, tözden uzak oryantal bir merakla ve amaçla anlatılmanın ötesine geçemiyor bana kalırsa. Mann, kendi femme fatale algısına göre yarattığı kadın karakteri Sita ile dostluk, aşk, erotizm, arzu temaları üstünde Doğu kültürünün özünün çok uzağında, kendine has Batılı bir öz yakalıyor. Haliyle bunun gibi ayrıntılar üzerinden, eseri nerden okuduğumuz, eserin niteliğini belirleyen şey oluyor.
Thomas Mann’ı es geçmemek lazım. Her okur bir ara kendini ‘Büyülü Dağ’a atmalı, sonra diğer anlatıları da kendine yer bulur kitaplığımızda diyerekten yorumumu sonlandırıyorum
April 1, 2021
Ένα βιβλίο όμοιο με θεατρική αναπαράσταση του βυσσινόκηπου και με έναν αέρα από τον γυάλινο κόσμο. Ο κύκλος της ζωής, άνδρες και γυναίκες, το Γιν και το Γιάνγκ, σχέση ψυχής και σώματος, η πρώτη νιότη και το γήρας, το οποίο ... ου γαρ έρχεται μόνον ... αλλά παραμένει και νικά τελικά η δίψα για τη ζωή. Ευρωπαϊκή ιστορία και γεωγραφία μαζί με την αποδόμηση του αμερικανικού ονείρου.
Ένας Thomas Mann διαφορετικός από τον «θάνατο στη Βενετία».
https://youtu.be/Sm0ggPnp35U
Ένας Thomas Mann διαφορετικός από τον «θάνατο στη Βενετία».
https://youtu.be/Sm0ggPnp35U
November 14, 2023
«Μα γιατί θέλεις να συνδέσεις αυτό που ονομάζεις νοσταλγία μου, αυτή την άνοιξη της θηλυκότητάς μου, αυτό που προξένησε η ψυχή στο σώμα μου, με την έννοια της αρρώστιας; Η ευτυχία είναι.. αρρώστια; Κι ούτε επιπολαιότητα είναι βέβαια, αλλά ζωή, ζωή με ηδονή και πόνο, και ζωή με ελπίδα, με εκείνη την επίδα για την οποία δεν μπορεί να μας διαφωτίσει η λογική».
Οι ήρωες – ειδικά η Ροζαλί Φον Τίμλερ - χαρακτηρίζονται από μια εσωστρέφεια και μόνιμη αναζήτηση του εαυτού τους και έτσι συχνά αυτοί οι μονόλογοι, που σήμερα θα ήταν ταιριαστοί στο ντιβάνι, καταλήγουν σε μερικές παχυλές παραγράφους, πραγματικά ιδιαίτερες. Περισσότερο σου αφήνουν την αίσθηση σαν να παρακούς κάποιον που μονολογεί ενώ μοιράζεστε ένα σπίτι και πλέον το μουρμουρητό τους αρχίζει και παίρνει κανονικότατη μορφή, η αστική ντροπή του να ‘να μην μιλάς στον εαυτό σου σα τρελός’ αρχίζει και ξεθωριάζει και πλέον τους ακούς κανονικά, να έχουν συντροφιά την ψυχή τους.
Σε κάποια σημεία ένιωσα άβολα, σε κάποια το αποδέχτηκα, όπως ακριβώς νιώθω όταν συναντώ το χαρακτηριστικό αυτό και στη ζωή εκτός βιβλίων.
Μητέρα και κόρη θυμίζουν μια θερμή απεικόνιση της φθινοπωρινής σονάτας του Bergman (ή πονεμένη άνοιξη ή άνοιξη της θηλυκότητας για να είμαστε πιστοί στο κείμενο): Η Ροζαλί παθιάζεται συχνά με την πνευματικότητα της φύσης και αφήνεται σε μια παιδική ντροπή των αισθήσεων, ενώ η Άννα περιφρουρείται από την περηφάνια και την χαρά του πολέμου της διαλεκτικής, βέβαιη πως ο έρωτας πρόκειται για την παραπλάνηση των αισθήσεων (ε και;).
Η Άννα εάν και νεαρή, έχει μια σφιγμένη καρδιά (ο Μαν υπονοεί πως η πηγή αυτού είναι το 'κακό' της πόδι) και αφιερώνεται στην αναζητηση της πρακτικής πλευράς των πραγμάτων, ίδια με παιδί που μιμείται ενήλικα – έναν κυνικό στριφνό ενήλικα που χαραμίζει τα χρόνια του, υπηρετώντας τη γραφειοκρατία και αστυνομεύοντας το φουντωμα της μητέρας, ζώντας στο ‘έτος δείνα’, πάντα σε ένα μέρος που περιμένει να ξεσπάσει πόλεμος. Η Άννα δοσμένη στους παγερούς χειμώνες και η Ροζαλί στην φρεσκάδα των αισθήσεων, παλεύουν η μία την άλλη, ενώ και οι δύο 'στερούνται' όσα η κοινωνία υμνεί, την αιώνια νεότητα και την παραδοσιακή "υγεία".
Οι ήρωες – ειδικά η Ροζαλί Φον Τίμλερ - χαρακτηρίζονται από μια εσωστρέφεια και μόνιμη αναζήτηση του εαυτού τους και έτσι συχνά αυτοί οι μονόλογοι, που σήμερα θα ήταν ταιριαστοί στο ντιβάνι, καταλήγουν σε μερικές παχυλές παραγράφους, πραγματικά ιδιαίτερες. Περισσότερο σου αφήνουν την αίσθηση σαν να παρακούς κάποιον που μονολογεί ενώ μοιράζεστε ένα σπίτι και πλέον το μουρμουρητό τους αρχίζει και παίρνει κανονικότατη μορφή, η αστική ντροπή του να ‘να μην μιλάς στον εαυτό σου σα τρελός’ αρχίζει και ξεθωριάζει και πλέον τους ακούς κανονικά, να έχουν συντροφιά την ψυχή τους.
Σε κάποια σημεία ένιωσα άβολα, σε κάποια το αποδέχτηκα, όπως ακριβώς νιώθω όταν συναντώ το χαρακτηριστικό αυτό και στη ζωή εκτός βιβλίων.
Μητέρα και κόρη θυμίζουν μια θερμή απεικόνιση της φθινοπωρινής σονάτας του Bergman (ή πονεμένη άνοιξη ή άνοιξη της θηλυκότητας για να είμαστε πιστοί στο κείμενο): Η Ροζαλί παθιάζεται συχνά με την πνευματικότητα της φύσης και αφήνεται σε μια παιδική ντροπή των αισθήσεων, ενώ η Άννα περιφρουρείται από την περηφάνια και την χαρά του πολέμου της διαλεκτικής, βέβαιη πως ο έρωτας πρόκειται για την παραπλάνηση των αισθήσεων (ε και;).
Η Άννα εάν και νεαρή, έχει μια σφιγμένη καρδιά (ο Μαν υπονοεί πως η πηγή αυτού είναι το 'κακό' της πόδι) και αφιερώνεται στην αναζητηση της πρακτικής πλευράς των πραγμάτων, ίδια με παιδί που μιμείται ενήλικα – έναν κυνικό στριφνό ενήλικα που χαραμίζει τα χρόνια του, υπηρετώντας τη γραφειοκρατία και αστυνομεύοντας το φουντωμα της μητέρας, ζώντας στο ‘έτος δείνα’, πάντα σε ένα μέρος που περιμένει να ξεσπάσει πόλεμος. Η Άννα δοσμένη στους παγερούς χειμώνες και η Ροζαλί στην φρεσκάδα των αισθήσεων, παλεύουν η μία την άλλη, ενώ και οι δύο 'στερούνται' όσα η κοινωνία υμνεί, την αιώνια νεότητα και την παραδοσιακή "υγεία".
July 25, 2022
Ένα πολύ ενδιαφέρον μοτίβο έρωτα, ανθρώπινων παθών, θανάτου, σχέση γυναίκας με την φύση.
Φλυαρεί αρκετά ο συγγραφέας για να μας βάλει στο νόημα, να βιώσουμε ο,τι βιώνει η Ροζαλί που νοιώθει την ερωτική έλξη μετά από χρόνια "ύπνου", με έναν νεαρό. Όμως προσωπικά δεν με ενοχλεί καθόλου, βρήκα το βιβλίο να διαρκεί όσο έπρεπε, ώστε να κατανοήσω την ιδιοσυγκρασία της πρωταγωνίστριας, να καταλάβω τους ενδοιασμούς της, να μπω εν μέρει στις σκέψεις της - άλλωστε το διάβασα μέσα σε λιγότερο από 24 ώρες.
Η οικογένειά της φυσικά ανησυχεί για την έκβαση αυτού του έρωτα, η κόρη της την νουθετεί με τρόπο που η μητέρα της δηλώνει πως θα την μισήσει για τις τόσο συντηρητικές της απόψεις.
Το βιβλίο δεν έχει καλό τέλος, όπως θα περίμενε κανείς μάλλον. Η Ροζαλί εξαπατήθηκε από την ίδια της την φύση.
Φλυαρεί αρκετά ο συγγραφέας για να μας βάλει στο νόημα, να βιώσουμε ο,τι βιώνει η Ροζαλί που νοιώθει την ερωτική έλξη μετά από χρόνια "ύπνου", με έναν νεαρό. Όμως προσωπικά δεν με ενοχλεί καθόλου, βρήκα το βιβλίο να διαρκεί όσο έπρεπε, ώστε να κατανοήσω την ιδιοσυγκρασία της πρωταγωνίστριας, να καταλάβω τους ενδοιασμούς της, να μπω εν μέρει στις σκέψεις της - άλλωστε το διάβασα μέσα σε λιγότερο από 24 ώρες.
Η οικογένειά της φυσικά ανησυχεί για την έκβαση αυτού του έρωτα, η κόρη της την νουθετεί με τρόπο που η μητέρα της δηλώνει πως θα την μισήσει για τις τόσο συντηρητικές της απόψεις.
Το βιβλίο δεν έχει καλό τέλος, όπως θα περίμενε κανείς μάλλον. Η Ροζαλί εξαπατήθηκε από την ίδια της την φύση.
March 9, 2014
If this is a real Indian legend, there's something deeply unsettling about Indian culture. At the same time, it's fascinating to see how different motives are found all around the world.
Those "transposed heads" in the title refer to exactly that - the exchange of heads (or bodies, however you want to see it) between two of this short story's main characters. The two men fight over a woman that they're both in love with. One of them first saw her when she was little, and helped her with an Indian ritual, while the other one first saw her while she was bathing, naked, and fell in love with her beautiful body, her perfect breasts, her strong hips and long legs, fragile hands and beautiful, almond-shaped face, with hazel eyes looking from between long lashes.
After cutting their own heads in a godess' temple in order to profess their love for her, Sita is called upon by the goddess and receives a harsh lecture, because the goddess sees in her the root of all problems: she is a woman, a beautiful creation, for which she receives attention from men, and she is also stupid, so as she never understands the implications of her appearance. Sita is commissioned to put their heads back together and is warned to not place them backwards on their bodies. After she finished the job, she realizes that, in her haste, she has put the wrong heads on the wrong bodies and blames the goddess for not telling her about that possible mistake too! (that's how shallow she is).
The problem is, Sita was in love with both of them, but for different reasons: from her husband (the one who first saw her bathing) she wants his head, but from Nanda she wants the masculine body. Now, she has both of them on her hands. Even so, she still doesn't feel happy and soon realizes their love only functions when there's three around, not just two of them.
The legend ends with a burning sacrifice and a promise of better lives.
Those "transposed heads" in the title refer to exactly that - the exchange of heads (or bodies, however you want to see it) between two of this short story's main characters. The two men fight over a woman that they're both in love with. One of them first saw her when she was little, and helped her with an Indian ritual, while the other one first saw her while she was bathing, naked, and fell in love with her beautiful body, her perfect breasts, her strong hips and long legs, fragile hands and beautiful, almond-shaped face, with hazel eyes looking from between long lashes.
After cutting their own heads in a godess' temple in order to profess their love for her, Sita is called upon by the goddess and receives a harsh lecture, because the goddess sees in her the root of all problems: she is a woman, a beautiful creation, for which she receives attention from men, and she is also stupid, so as she never understands the implications of her appearance. Sita is commissioned to put their heads back together and is warned to not place them backwards on their bodies. After she finished the job, she realizes that, in her haste, she has put the wrong heads on the wrong bodies and blames the goddess for not telling her about that possible mistake too! (that's how shallow she is).
The problem is, Sita was in love with both of them, but for different reasons: from her husband (the one who first saw her bathing) she wants his head, but from Nanda she wants the masculine body. Now, she has both of them on her hands. Even so, she still doesn't feel happy and soon realizes their love only functions when there's three around, not just two of them.
The legend ends with a burning sacrifice and a promise of better lives.
March 8, 2017
Efsaneyi daha önceden bilmiyordum. Thomass Mann daha önce okumama karşın ilk 30 sayfada anlatımına zor alıştım, sonrasında akıp gitti. Malum olay yaşandıktan sonra kişilerin karakterlerinde beklemediğim belirgin değişiklikler yaşandı. Beğenmediğim ana unsur buydu.
July 24, 2022
THE TRANSPOSED HEADS:A LEGEND OF INDIA-THOMAS MANN
✒"Yet the teller has here but one wish: that the hearer may not accept the fact with thoughtless indifference, as something quite common and nat ural, simply because it has been often told and stands in the records, that people practise cutting off their own heads."
💆♂️Jedna komična filozofska novela za vrelo nedeljno popodne. Sa motivima iz indijske mitologije a na temu -pazi šta želiš,možda ti se ostvari 😁
💆♂️Dvojica prijatelja,jedan sav snaga i mišići i jedan kontemplativni i tanan... jedna žena. Ljubav, požrtvovanje,zrtvovanje....
💆♂️Hram boginje Kali,jedan reši da sam sebi otfikari glavu i žrtvuje je boginji,a drugar ko drugar,aj i on isto. Šta žena sama,još trudna,da radi u toj situaciji. 🤷🏻♀️ Da se obesi.
💆♂️"Ne skrnavi moje sveto drvo,you stupid woman"-dreknu boginja. Ili nešto u tom stilu. Ćiribu, ćiriba i ode žena da slaže slagalicu. Pomisli kako joj je eto upala sekira u med pa kao slučajno stavi glavu muža na sexy telo njegovog bff,i obrnuto-glavu drugara na džgoljavo telo mužića pužića. 💆♂️Elem... ko je tatko na bebu koja treba da se rodi? Ko je sad ko od njih dvojice-i da li je glava važna ili je važno sve ostalo? I kako tuđa glava utiče na telo ispod ili kako tuđe telo menja glavu koju nosi? 🤔
💆♂️I tako,ima tu još svasta da se desi,moraćete sami da otkrijete kraj. Preporučujem.
#7sensesofabook #bookstagram #knjige #literature #classicliterature #thomasmann #readingaddict
✒"Yet the teller has here but one wish: that the hearer may not accept the fact with thoughtless indifference, as something quite common and nat ural, simply because it has been often told and stands in the records, that people practise cutting off their own heads."
💆♂️Jedna komična filozofska novela za vrelo nedeljno popodne. Sa motivima iz indijske mitologije a na temu -pazi šta želiš,možda ti se ostvari 😁
💆♂️Dvojica prijatelja,jedan sav snaga i mišići i jedan kontemplativni i tanan... jedna žena. Ljubav, požrtvovanje,zrtvovanje....
💆♂️Hram boginje Kali,jedan reši da sam sebi otfikari glavu i žrtvuje je boginji,a drugar ko drugar,aj i on isto. Šta žena sama,još trudna,da radi u toj situaciji. 🤷🏻♀️ Da se obesi.
💆♂️"Ne skrnavi moje sveto drvo,you stupid woman"-dreknu boginja. Ili nešto u tom stilu. Ćiribu, ćiriba i ode žena da slaže slagalicu. Pomisli kako joj je eto upala sekira u med pa kao slučajno stavi glavu muža na sexy telo njegovog bff,i obrnuto-glavu drugara na džgoljavo telo mužića pužića. 💆♂️Elem... ko je tatko na bebu koja treba da se rodi? Ko je sad ko od njih dvojice-i da li je glava važna ili je važno sve ostalo? I kako tuđa glava utiče na telo ispod ili kako tuđe telo menja glavu koju nosi? 🤔
💆♂️I tako,ima tu još svasta da se desi,moraćete sami da otkrijete kraj. Preporučujem.
#7sensesofabook #bookstagram #knjige #literature #classicliterature #thomasmann #readingaddict
April 24, 2025
Erste Hälfte quatsch iwie, zweite Hälfte Leib-Seele-Problem in Bestform 🌬️
August 24, 2021
saw that I have only one Mann's work left in my library, so I thought now that reading Avoid the Day resurrected Magic Mountain memories, why not?
This novella is a short and entertaining work in the manner of old telltales from India, Persia and also Africa (as least as far as I know, because I was so immersed in old tales from these regions in my childhood).
There were some personal reviews online that said "oh what a disturbing culture", "what a gruesome story". Sometimes these comments are more racist that literature itself can be!
Anyhow, the story is engaging, although you will find Mann as his pure self; putting characters in deep philosophical conversations with each other. This time, though, it was not so hard to follow their trains of thought. The main theme deals with the dichotomy between mind and body which I feel Mann means to say that there should not be a binary in the first place because neither one means anyhing without the other.
This novella is a short and entertaining work in the manner of old telltales from India, Persia and also Africa (as least as far as I know, because I was so immersed in old tales from these regions in my childhood).
There were some personal reviews online that said "oh what a disturbing culture", "what a gruesome story". Sometimes these comments are more racist that literature itself can be!
Anyhow, the story is engaging, although you will find Mann as his pure self; putting characters in deep philosophical conversations with each other. This time, though, it was not so hard to follow their trains of thought. The main theme deals with the dichotomy between mind and body which I feel Mann means to say that there should not be a binary in the first place because neither one means anyhing without the other.
January 16, 2022
Ich mag die Werke von Thomas Mann eigentlich, aber dieses Buch war unfassbar mühsam
September 23, 2025
Neuken = de liefdesvereniging gestalte geven. Enkel een homoseksueel kan dit schrijven (vgl. Reve). Haha
Ook het woord “veelmannerij” bijgeleerd
Ook het woord “veelmannerij” bijgeleerd
May 1, 2025
Mann’s jaunty, surreal narration gives a light comic tone to a tragic tale about personal identity, desire, and sacrifice.
September 8, 2018
İnsanın "keşke olsaydı" biçimindeki isteği, sonunda "olmaz ki" yanıtına ve yaşamın "bu kadarına razı ol" diyen kuru öğüdüne çarpar.
“Dünya da iki tür mutluluk vardır; Biri vücudun zevkleri sayesinde, diğeri de ruhun sonsuza değin huzura kavuşmasıyla ulaşılan mutluluktur."
Thomas Mann'dan biraz etkileyici ve biraz sürükleyici biraz “aldatıcı” bir kitap.
Kitabı okurken Hindistan ve Hint Mitolojisine yakın unsurlar üzerine durulmuş kurgular olabildiğince Hinduizm içerse de aslında Thomas Felsefi bir kitap ortaya çıkarmış, Hindistan sever birisi olarak beni içine çekti.
Güzel Sita ihanette de çok güzeldir. Şiridaman ve Nanda'yı aldatır, birinin kafasıyla diğerinin vücudunu aldatır, içinde bulunduğumuz dünya, bugün, ya da 1930’da olsa, MÖ 1930’da olsa Sita’lar hiç bitmiyor.
“Bütün canlıların iki türlü varoluş biçimi vardır. Biri kendileri için, diğeri de başkalarının gözleri için."
“Dünya da iki tür mutluluk vardır; Biri vücudun zevkleri sayesinde, diğeri de ruhun sonsuza değin huzura kavuşmasıyla ulaşılan mutluluktur."
Thomas Mann'dan biraz etkileyici ve biraz sürükleyici biraz “aldatıcı” bir kitap.
Kitabı okurken Hindistan ve Hint Mitolojisine yakın unsurlar üzerine durulmuş kurgular olabildiğince Hinduizm içerse de aslında Thomas Felsefi bir kitap ortaya çıkarmış, Hindistan sever birisi olarak beni içine çekti.
Güzel Sita ihanette de çok güzeldir. Şiridaman ve Nanda'yı aldatır, birinin kafasıyla diğerinin vücudunu aldatır, içinde bulunduğumuz dünya, bugün, ya da 1930’da olsa, MÖ 1930’da olsa Sita’lar hiç bitmiyor.
“Bütün canlıların iki türlü varoluş biçimi vardır. Biri kendileri için, diğeri de başkalarının gözleri için."
November 15, 2020
Κακή η ελληνική μετάφραση.Σε πολλές προτάσεις δεν μπορούσα να βγάλω νόημα.
January 5, 2024
Si bien "La Montaña Mágica" es una dádiva reservada solo para selctos y "La muerte en Venecia" es apreciada por pocos, con esta novelita de Mann se nos abren las puertas al reino. Un libro que cualquiera puede leer, ideal para conocer a este apasionante y reflexivo genio de las letras.
Read
July 29, 2025Skikkelig trekantdrama det her!
Jeg tror jeg likte den, skulle ønske jeg visste mer hva de ulike gudene og kreftene betyr da.
Dette er Nobelprisvinner på bingo
Jeg tror jeg likte den, skulle ønske jeg visste mer hva de ulike gudene og kreftene betyr da.
Dette er Nobelprisvinner på bingo
November 11, 2024
2.5
why did I read this
why did I read this
July 10, 2023
Passende titel
December 29, 2017
Değişen Kafalar, orijinal ismiyle Die Vertauschten Köpfe, Thomas Mann'ın tuhaf, kısa romanı. Romanı, anlattığı hikaye ve Thomas Mann'ı bu hikayeyi yeniden yorumlamakla bize anlatmak istedikleri olarak iki kısımda inceleyebiliriz. Değişen Kafalar uzun bir analizi hak ediyor. Ama ben kısa bir tanıtım yazacağım.
Hikayenin kendisi, isminden anlaşılabileceği gibi 12. yüzyılda geçen bir Hint efsanesi. Yüzeyde, Türkiye'deki yapımcılardan birine verirseniz size üç sezonluk bir yerli dizi çıkartacakları klasik bir aşk üçgenimiz var: Üst kasttan, hali vakti yerinde, zeki ve konuşmayı iyi beceren ama çelimsiz ve hatta çirkin bir vücuda sahip tüccar Şridaman; Şridaman'ın tam negatifi, yani güçlü ve çevik bir vücuda sahip fakat "keçi burunlu" ve kelimelerle arası Şridaman kadar iyi olmayan çoban-demirci Nanda ve ikisi arasında kalmış çekici Sita.
Değişen Kafalar hem Sita'ya hem de bize şunu soruyor: Eğer Şridaman ve Nanda'nın kafaları değişseydi; yani Şridman'ın narin kafası Nanda'nın kaslı vücudunu, Nanda'nin gürbüz kafası da Şridaman'ın zayıf vücudunu almış olsaydı, kime Şridaman kime Nanda derdik? Belki daha da önemlisi bu durumda Sita kimi seçerdi?
Değişen Kafalar, zihin felsefesinin yüz yıllık problemi 'zihin - beden' ikiliğine kafa yoranlar için harika bir beyin jimnastiği.
Ama Mann bununla kalmayıp aşk, cinsel çekim, kadın olma hali, arkadaşlık, güç/statü ilişkileri, kimlik ve toplumsal imaj üzerine de günümüz okuyucusu için anlamlı ve düşündürücü cümleler kuruyor.
Thomas Mann'ın diğer romanlarına kıyasla hızlı okunan, eğlenceli ve şaşırtıcı bir eser.
Hikayenin kendisi, isminden anlaşılabileceği gibi 12. yüzyılda geçen bir Hint efsanesi. Yüzeyde, Türkiye'deki yapımcılardan birine verirseniz size üç sezonluk bir yerli dizi çıkartacakları klasik bir aşk üçgenimiz var: Üst kasttan, hali vakti yerinde, zeki ve konuşmayı iyi beceren ama çelimsiz ve hatta çirkin bir vücuda sahip tüccar Şridaman; Şridaman'ın tam negatifi, yani güçlü ve çevik bir vücuda sahip fakat "keçi burunlu" ve kelimelerle arası Şridaman kadar iyi olmayan çoban-demirci Nanda ve ikisi arasında kalmış çekici Sita.
Değişen Kafalar hem Sita'ya hem de bize şunu soruyor: Eğer Şridaman ve Nanda'nın kafaları değişseydi; yani Şridman'ın narin kafası Nanda'nın kaslı vücudunu, Nanda'nin gürbüz kafası da Şridaman'ın zayıf vücudunu almış olsaydı, kime Şridaman kime Nanda derdik? Belki daha da önemlisi bu durumda Sita kimi seçerdi?
Değişen Kafalar, zihin felsefesinin yüz yıllık problemi 'zihin - beden' ikiliğine kafa yoranlar için harika bir beyin jimnastiği.
Ama Mann bununla kalmayıp aşk, cinsel çekim, kadın olma hali, arkadaşlık, güç/statü ilişkileri, kimlik ve toplumsal imaj üzerine de günümüz okuyucusu için anlamlı ve düşündürücü cümleler kuruyor.
Thomas Mann'ın diğer romanlarına kıyasla hızlı okunan, eğlenceli ve şaşırtıcı bir eser.
March 2, 2018
“Nowhere does the magic of Maya the preserver, life’s fundamental law of illusion, deception, imagination, which holds all creature in thrall- nowhere does it more show its deluding, teasing power than in love, in that tender craving of one single creature for another, which is so precisely the pattern and prime content of all the attachment, all the involvement and entanglement, all the delusions on which life feeds and by which it is lured to perpetuate itself.”
A fine piece of literature dealing with the very complicated nature of man-woman relationship and the endless connection between body and mind. The author has successfully connected the both and has convinced the reader of the importance of the same. The story revolves around three character Shridamana, Nanda & Sita and their Love Triangle of endless lust for body and mind, which end in their unfortunate demise. Now it’s for the reader to find out whether it was justified or not. ☺️☺️
A fine piece of literature dealing with the very complicated nature of man-woman relationship and the endless connection between body and mind. The author has successfully connected the both and has convinced the reader of the importance of the same. The story revolves around three character Shridamana, Nanda & Sita and their Love Triangle of endless lust for body and mind, which end in their unfortunate demise. Now it’s for the reader to find out whether it was justified or not. ☺️☺️
July 20, 2016
To be honest I was a bit disappointed when the serenity had come to an end at the start of the 5th chapter - the narrator itself warns the reader not to be seduce by the calm, serene display of the events so far - but I have to give credit to Mann for doing that, because it was necessary in order to tell the story.
Maybe it's just me, but I was quite shocked about the violence displayed and I didn't react properly to the ironic.
A wonderful depiction of nature, meditation and beauty.
A brief but good display of the influence that the mind and body have on each other.
Overall, my favorite writer at the moment, and for a long time I'm sure, did not let me down.
Maybe it's just me, but I was quite shocked about the violence displayed and I didn't react properly to the ironic.
A wonderful depiction of nature, meditation and beauty.
A brief but good display of the influence that the mind and body have on each other.
Overall, my favorite writer at the moment, and for a long time I'm sure, did not let me down.
October 13, 2022
Uma belíssima reflexão sobre a importância da mente e do corpo num embate filosófico cujo pano de fundo foi tão belamente criado que eu só conseguia ler e lançar um ventinho pelo nariz e falar “hm, isso aqui é tão Thomas Mann”.
Claramente não chega nem perto da Montanha Mágica (que continua sendo minha favorita dele), mas tem sua importância.
Continuo ainda com mais vontade e determinação no meu projeto ler-tudo-o-que-ele-escreveu porque eu quero muito saber o que ele tem a dizer sobre qualquer coisa.
Claramente não chega nem perto da Montanha Mágica (que continua sendo minha favorita dele), mas tem sua importância.
Continuo ainda com mais vontade e determinação no meu projeto ler-tudo-o-que-ele-escreveu porque eu quero muito saber o que ele tem a dizer sobre qualquer coisa.
July 13, 2013
This novel isn't the best way to get acquainted with Thomas Mann. If I didn't know much about Mann, I would be hesitant to pick up this author's book next time. But now I am reading his "Magic Mountain" and I love it!
August 24, 2018
It is the best book i have ever read in the last couple months!
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