French Literature Reviews - 2026

Thomas Mann, or the Metamorphoses of Hermes
Comparative and World Literature

Hélène Vuillet

Thomas Mann ou les métamorphoses d’Hermès

PUPS

Coll. "Monde germanique - Histoires et cultures"
26/03/2007
384 p.
ISBN : 978-2-84050-498-6
32 Euro(s)

Publisher's overview:

Thomas Mann's fascination with Hermes, the mischievous and multifaceted god of Greek mythology, has long been recognized. What was less known, however, is that this fascination also encompassed a more secretive devotion to another Hermes: Hermes Trismegistus, the father of the hermetic tradition better known as alchemy. Focusing on Thomas Mann's most monumental novel, Joseph and His Brothers—the very work where the imprint of Trismegistus is most subtle—this study reveals the haunting omnipresence of a two-faced Hermes throughout the writer's entire oeuvre and analyzes the underlying reasons for this obsession.

Hélène Vuillet is an *agrégée* professor and holds a Ph.D. from Paris-Sorbonne University. A specialist in the Fin de siècle period and the first half of the 20th century, she has taught German language and literature, as well as Nietzsche's philosophy, at the same university.

The figure of Hermes occupies a complex space within classical mythology and the broader traditions of European literature, often associated with boundary-crossing, interpretation, and esoteric knowledge. In German literature studies, examining the mythological frameworks and hidden subtexts of major writers frequently illuminates their broader intellectual horizons.

Hélène Vuillet's study examines the presence of the multifaceted Greek god and the traditions of Hermes Trismegistus in the writings of Thomas Mann, with a particular focus on the novel Joseph and His Brothers. Readers interested in the intersections of myth, literature, and esoteric traditions in twentieth-century German fiction may find this study relevant.