Comparing the portrayal of violence and aggression in Masse Mensch (Ernst Toller), Mario and der Zauberer (Thomas Mann) and Im Westen Nicht Neues (Erich Maria Remarque).

Toller also portrays violence and aggression as a means of attaining peace.  I am led to make the assumption, that it reverts back to the conflict between free will and individuality, and mob psychology, whereby aggression is exerted by Die Frau the embodiment of free will and individuality, and violence is exerted by Die Namenlose the embodiment of mob psychology, and this is shown by both parties conduct towards the peril they are in.  All of this is tainted with hypocrisy and contradiction on the side of Die Namenlose who says ‘Ich rufe mehr als Streik! Ich rufe Krieg, Ich rufe Revolution!’  Although Die Namenlose is all in favour of peace and a redistribution of rights, he takes an authoritarian role, he leads, he dictates and he advocates physical violence.  The masses are easily persuaded to move from striking, and a more peaceful means of attaining liberation to revolution and mass destruction.  Again the conflict between aggression and violence come into play, where Die Frau says ‘Wir Schwachen warden Felsen sein der Stärke’.  Both parties wish to attain peace, but their methods are very different, and Toller, by creating this divide, shows that there is a world of difference between violence and aggression.  Die Frau and Die Namenlose both want the same result, but Die Frau takes the more righteous path.  Die Namenlose outbursts with strong cries of carnage in order to put an end to oppression, however, ironically, the Weimar Republic had just followed the First World War, a war supposedly to end all wars, and here Die Namenlose is re-igniting those very flames of bloodshed.  This is shown through what actually happens further on in the play, in the fifth picture.  As the play develops, the masses are engulfed by violence, yet Die Namenlose still sends his ‘Kamaraden’ to the grave in the name of revenge and martyrdom.  Die Namenlose becomes so enraged and determined to change society that he sends all of his supporters to death.  ‘Der platz bäumt von Toten’, ‘Er sprach von Toten, Viele Hundert’, ‘Erschossen meine Frau, Erschossen mein Vater’.  Toller says here, through imagery and through blatant, ruthless killing, is that after the First World War, all that carried on happening was that people carried on dying, whether physically or by way of mental deterioration in name of ‘the cause’.  Both parties go about trying to attain peace in different ways, one by way of aggression, to change the political system, advocating that ‘Schlacht speit neue Schlacht,’and ‘Kampf mit Eisenwaffen vergewaltigt,’ and that the real way to attain peace is by peaceful means powered by aggression and determinism to achieve this goal.  The use of lexis is that of a very moral movement, whereas for Die Namenlose, it is more of a battle and carnage, however Tollers message is that violence only leads to more violence, and inevitable death shown by the way the storyline develops.  The torment by authority and the conflicting views killed so many that it is even pointless to give them names, hence Erster Arbeiter, Vierter Arbeiter etc.  

In the fourth picture, Toller portrays violence as a means to death through lack of guidance and maltreat from authority shown by the bankers in the second picture, and how they play with people and weapons of war as if they were a game, ‘Scwächt Mannerliebe Die Soldaten?’ to what the Vierter Banker answers ‘Merkwürdig nein. Mann hasst Mann.’  This symbolism encapsulates Tollers portrayal of death by maltreat by authority very well  He uses symbolism to highlight that the roots of violence came from authority, the makers of war, and essentially the people who were still in charge of Weimar Germany after the war.  The fourth picture is a dream picture.  Here, the imagery Toller uses of the condemned, and the dancing with death to the sadistic song of parental torture simply and effectively shows mental torment.  ‘Mein Vater hat mir im Rausch verloren’.  I believe this to be an analogy for the society of Weimar Germany.  Toller says here that the children of Germany have been abandoned and mistreated by their elders leading them to be zombies, and leading to their death albeit mental or physical.  The intertwine of parental irresponsibility, death and the Front all link violence and mental torture suffered by Die Frau so far, and to some extent Die Namenlose too, and that has made them missionaries and so adamant to fight for ‘the cause’.  What Toller does is he shows this scene in the form of a dream, perhaps to further emphasize that the oppression has been deeply fixed in the mind, as well as in everyday life.  Violence is shown here as inescapable, as well as creating insanity, people, the masses do not know any different, and the one who does (Die Frau), is shunned, tormented, is forced to be in a state of the living dead and is eventually blamed for the revolt of the workers, when she is branded ‘Schuldig’ in the sixth picture.

Remarque’s book began with its famous preface advising the reader that ‘Dieses Buch soll weder eine Anklage noch ein Bekenntnis sein.  Es soll nur den Versuch machen über eine Generation zu berichten, die vom Kriege zerstört wurde auch wenn sie seinen Granaten entkam.’ This preface sets the scene and context of this war novel (or more specifically anti-war novel) of being overtly against war, and against the glorification of war, because as Remarque had experienced through his two years of ‘wiring fatigue duty behind the front lines where he was constantly exposed to shells and bombing from the combat around, and finally his subsequent recuperation in the army hospital,’ war was not a heroic crusade, but a bloodbath, which Remarque rather vividly portrays throughout the novel.  He did this using extreme detail, and omitting, with all deliberation, any suggestion of political or sociological questions concerning the WW1, which I believe further emphasizes Remarque’s aim with this novel, to show how violent and bloodthirsty the war is regardless of whether the crusade is moral or not, and Remarque does this in many other ways throughout the novel.

One concept that Remarque implicitly puts across is how the young recruits, ‘Kinder’ as Paul often refers to himself and his comrades as, seek death as salvation.  Their only way out of the perils, the mental torture, and graphic death was to die themselves.  In chapter seven, when Paul is on leave and has to return, he turns to his mother and says ‘Ach Mutter, Warum nehme ich dich in meine Arme, und wir sterben.  Was sind wir doch für arme Hunde!’ The use of ’Ach’ accentuates Paul’s hanker for death, as well as the simplistic use of lexis, where there are no metaphorical references, just a want for death, for peace.  Remarque does this at other times in the novel, however, through more symbolic and violently descriptive means.  For example ‘Der Sargdeckel ist lose und geborsten, wir können ihn leicht abreissen, den Toten werfen wir hinaus, er sackt nach unten, dann versuchen wir, den unteren Teil zu lockern.’ Not only is this scene rather graphic, with the dead body being thrown out of a coffin, but I believe Remarque says here through symbolism, that the violence experienced by these soldiers was so immense, that they are seeking refuge under a coffin, the grave symbol of death as death itself will save them.  It is almost as if Remarque is saying that this war, this festival of rage, bomb-fire, gunfire and aggression has led the soldiers to seek salvation from death.  The portrayal of violence through this imagery and symbolic reference is that violence, more importantly the violence of war is so colossal, penetrating the mind as well as the body, that it makes the concept of death seem like a way of escapism and a way of retreat and sanctity.

Remarque’s most explicit portrayal of violence and aggression come from his use of narrative by Paul.  Meticulous detail is given about the various different barrages, the dead, and methods of killing.  Remarque’s portrayal of violence and aggression through his descriptions are of pure gore, bloodshed, and disembowelment.  Violence plays a descriptive role through which the reality of war is shown, and the reader must deal with it.  In chapter six, Paul goes into much description about the different ways one could get killed or injured.  ‘Im Nachbarabschnitt sind Leute von uns wiedergefunden worden, denen mit diesen Sägeseitengewehren die Nasen abgeschnitten und die Augen ausgestochen waren.  Dann hatte man ihnen den Mund und Nase mit Sägespänen gefüllt und sie so erstickt.’ The reader immediately feels at unease, and the graphic descriptions portray pain and suffering, and Remarque does this constantly, through his detailed accounts of the Frenchman who Paul kills in the shell hole, ‘ich stosse rasend zu, und fühle nur, wie der Körper zuckt and dann weich wird und zusamensackt.  Meine Hand ist klebrig und nass, als ich zu mir komme,’ again the vivid use of vocabulary showing pain, suffering and death.  The part where the horses are struck is especially emotive, showing, that it is not just the soldiers who are going through ‘grauenvoller Schmerz’, but all entities.  These descriptions act not just as narrative, but to evoke emotion, and the vividness of these descriptions acts to put the reader on the front with the other soldiers.  This novel more approaches violence rather than aggression, where Remarque shows that this book is about the First World War, and this is what the First World War entailed, it was the only thing it entailed, there was no glory, or victory, just a cruel means to death.  And even though Paul survives in the end, his friends did not, perhaps Remarque’s way of saying that the only thing that survived the war were the stories from it, no heroes.

Violence is also portrayed as a force, reducing those who partake in violent acts to animals, beasts and inhumane entities.  Remarque makes many references to this concept, and does more so by the ‘them and us’ divide between authority figures, namely Himmelstoss and the soldiers.  There are many references to an animal instinct needed to survive on the front, and this animal instinct is the difference between life and death.  Remarque cleverly shows violence to be something these soldiers have gotten used to, and more importantly, showing that those who enact violence are not human, but beasts.  ‘Es ist der Instinkt des Tieres, der in uns erwacht… Hatte man sich darauf verlassen sollen, man ware bereits ein Haufen verstreutes Fleisch… Wir fahren ab als mürrische oder gutgelaunte Soldaten, wir kommen in die Zone, wo der Front beginnt, und sind Menschentiere geworden.’ Again, the use of vocabulary is powerful, and evokes strong images of some sort of metamorphosis the soldiers go through as soon as they enter the Front, the arena of violence, and with this imagery, the reader sees the soldiers less as humans and more as machines, controlled by authority.  ‘Aus uns gefährliche Tiere geworden.  Wir kämpfen nicht, wir verteidigen uns vor der Vernichtung… dort hetzt mit Händen und Helmen der Tod hinter uns her, wir können ihm seit drei Tagen zum ersten Male ins Gesicht sehen, wir können uns seit drei Tagen zum ersten Male wehren gegen ihn, wir haben eine wahnsinnige Wut.’ This is not just narrative, but a mission statement.  These children have been reduced to quivering animals fighting for survival, every step, every move is tainted with death and violence.  Remarque, using this imagery shown by this statement, portrays that violence is a disease, releasing an animal instinct within the soldiers beyond their control.  He shows that violence engulfs, moulds, violates minds and bodies, and spits out something less humane.

It is true that Remarque does not respond to any particular non-fictional event during the Great War, and so the relevance of how true these descriptions are questionable.  However, the fictionality of Im Westen Nicht Neues’ is that it presents the human response to the war from the subjective point of view, from somebody who has seen it first hand, ‘from the point of view from an ordinary soldier, and it is closest, therefore, to the notebook, diary or letter.’ This differentiates Im Westen Nicht Neues to the other two novels, as not only is the violence portrayed in a very explicit way, detached from political persuasion, but it also portrays violence from a personal point of view, which evokes more emotion in the reader, as one gets to know Paul and his inner emotions, which makes the novel even more effective, and the violence even more shocking.

Mario und der Zauberer differs to Im Westen Nicht Neues and Masse Mensch, who do portray violence and aggression in a very explicit way, by having aggression shown in an explicit way, but the reasons behind the aggression are only implied.  For example the parallel drawn between Cipolla and Mussolini are very strong, where on stage, Cipolla is sat on a chair with a desk and blackboard, reverting back to the days when Mussolini was a teacher, Cipolla’s strong theatrical style, as well as his strong views on discipline and assertions on how lack of discipline and literary stature is an insult to the Fatherland.  Moreover, the parallels drawn on the typically middle-class Italian holiday makers in Torre di Venere, with their fascist views and their exclusion of ‘Der Fremde’ in which the hub of aggression in this novel lies.

Another factor that differentiates Mario und der Zauberer from the other two novels is that the emphasis is on aggression, and how the reader is not exposed to any physical violence.  Instead Mann’s portrayal of aggression lies in strict authoritarian, fascist views, exclusion of ‘Der Fremde’, and Cipolla’s authoritarian role.

Firstly, the narrator and his family encounter at every turn a mood of hostile, self-assertive nationalism amongst Italians.  Given the historical and political context of the novel, it was a time when Italy had faced a humiliating recent history, and were all too keen to bestow Mussolini’s views of nationalism, fascism and restoration of national pride upon them, resulting in a strong aggression against foreigners, namely the narrator and his family.  The narrator and his family encounter many incidents where they are excluded, and looked down upon by the Italian holiday makers, and the most striking example being the angry response of some Italians on the beach in sight of the narrator’s daughter running naked.  ‘Not only is this a case of nationalist hostility finding ostensibly legitimate expression in a show of moral outrage, it also reveals one of the unacknowledged psychological mainsprings of that aggression.’ This incident is hugely blown out of proportion, the beach; a place of leisure is turned into a playground of politics, which is strongly emphasized by the quote ‘Man verstand bald, dass Politisches umging, die Idee der Nation im Spiele war.  Tatsächlich wimmelte es am Strand von patriotischen Kindern, eine unnatürliche und niederschlagende Erscheinung.’ There is a practice of dictatorship, and Mann uses this image and event to portray the aggression by the Italians fuelled by politics where aggression is portrayed as strong political belief, tainted with fascism.  The same sentiments are shown by the Italians when the narrator and his family are asked to move to an annexe in the Grand Hotel, a typical example of superstitious nonsense, and her groundless fear of physical contagion from others suggests that she has already been infected with the moral disease of irrational xenophobia that is rampant amongst her countrymen, again portraying aggression as exclusion from society.  Again this constant exclusion and performances of xenophobia and aggression are rampant throughout the novel, just as it was in Italy in the period in which this novel is set.  

The opening sentences of the story dwell on the unpleasant of ‘Ärger, Gereizheit, Überspannung’ that dominates the narrator’s memory of the holiday, which later seemed to be concentrated and embodied in the person of Cipolla.  Cipolla has a strong authoritarian presence, and exerts an immense level of aggression by way of humiliating many in his audience, leading to him being shot.  As the show starts, he is greeted with laughter, however, as the show progresses, he makes the audience do his bidding.  Taking the example of Giovanotto a typically working class young man, who he humiliates and hypnotizes to make him writhe in pain.  He attacks members of his audience who are typical of the opposition of the fascist regime, namely those who are working class, not so educated and those who have no real adversity to foreigners.  His aggression takes the form of arrogance, and again links to the afore mentioned theory of aggression being in the form of exclusion of minorities, with aggression having the sole purpose to exclude.  He humiliates Mario, however compliments Signora Angioleri, a middle-class lady, as well as the Princess.  A great amount of aggression comes from the narrator directed to Cipolla, and its almost as if there is an un-said hatred between the two, ‘Es war greulich, wie der Betrüger sich lieblich machte, die schiefen Schultern kokett verdrehte, die Beutelaugen schmachten liess und in süsslichen Lächeln seine splittrigen Zähne zeigte.’ This statement shows a lot of contempt and much deserved resentment towards Cipolla, who embodies what the narrator’s holiday was like, tense, awkward, full of politics and very nationalistic.  Mann’s portrayal of aggression is somewhat mixed, however, overall shows aggression to be the cause for the narrator’s feelings throughout the holiday, and Mann very successfully creates a tense atmosphere throughout the novel.

In conclusion, all three novels are different in the ways their authors portray violence and aggression in some ways, as well as violence and aggression are represented in them.  Masse Mensch and Mario und der Zauberer are reasonably similar with the portrayal of aggression and violence being so intertwined with political tyranny.  Both novels have strong politically violent undertones, with the main portrayal of violence and aggression being exclusion from society, and the struggle between the individual (Die Frau and the Narrator and his family) against mob psychology and the collective (Namenlose and the Masses, and the Italian holiday makers in Torre di Venere).  Im Westen Nicht Neues however, breaks these conventions and has no undertones as to what its primary purpose is, namely being an overtly anti-war novel.  The graphic descriptions and emotive narrative reaches the reader on an interpersonal level, which makes the portrayal of violence as the cause of utter desperation, and degradation of the soldiers being reduced to animals, more effective.   All three novels also have an overt hostility to authoritarian views, which link the novels together even more.  However, all three are different with the actual ‘meanings’ of violence and aggression that they portray, Masse Mensch; with the struggle between mob psychology and the free will of the individual, Im Westen Nicht Neues; with violence being an awakening of an animal instinct as well as the cause of pain, mental and physical, and Mario und der Zauberer; with the exclusion of minorities through ideals of fascism and the aggression exerted by Cipolla, the embodiment of fascism.

Bibliography

Ernst Toller, Masse Mensch (1920)

Erich Maria Remarque, Im Westen Nicht Neues (1929)

Richard Arthur Firda, Erich Maria Remarque – A Thematic Analysis of his Novels, (Peter Lang Publishing 1988)

Murdoch et al, Remarque Against War - Centenary Essays, (Glasgow 1998)

Thomas Mann, Mario und der Zauberer (1930)

Ronald Speirs, Mann – Mario und der Zauberer, (Grant and Cutler Ltd 1990)

Mary Fulbrook, Twentieth Century Germany – Politics, Culture and Society 1918-1990, (Arnold 2001)

John Willet, The New Sobriety – Art and Politics in the Weimar Period, (Thames and Hudson 1978)

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