Subordinate - Shinka (English spelling) Der Untertan

A novel by German author Heinrich Mann. Completed in 1914, the serialization in the weekly magazine Zeit im Bild was halted at the start of World War I, but was published in book form in 1918 and caused a great sensation. The protagonist is the son of a paper mill owner. As a child, he was physically punished by his father, and instead found joy in the feeling of submission to the stronger. From his student days, he became an enthusiastic admirer of Wilhelm II, and after inheriting his father's business, he rode the wave of nationalism to expand the company and enter the political world in a provincial city. The actions and psychology of this "subordinate," who submits to authority in order to share in its power and sacrifice the weak, are depicted with sharp caricature. Tucholski praised the book as "a specimen of the German man."

[Fumiko Nagahashi]

"Hiroshi Oguri's translation of "Subordinate" (included in "World Literature Collection 45 H. Mann", 1967, Chikuma Shobo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ドイツの作家ハインリヒ・マンの小説。1914年に完成、週刊誌『ツァイト・イム・ビルト』での連載が第一次世界大戦開始で中止され、18年に単行本で出版されて大反響をよぶ。製紙工場主の息子が主人公。幼時父から体罰を受けると、強い者への服従の実感にむしろ喜びを感じる彼は、学生時代からウィルヘルム2世の熱狂的賛美者となり、父の事業を継ぐと、国粋主義の波にのって企業拡大と地方都市での政界への進出を図る。権力への服従によって、権力の分け前にあずかろうとし、弱者を犠牲にするこの「臣下」の行動と心理が、鋭い戯画化で描かれる。トゥホルスキーはこの書を「ドイツ人の標本」と絶賛した。

［長橋芙美子］

『小栗浩訳「臣下」（『世界文学全集45　H・マン』所収・1967・筑摩書房）』

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