Amanda Kobner
The Famous Magic Trick: Fascism Thomas Mann, a German novelist and author of Mario and the Magician, fled to Switzerland once the Nazis obtained power in 1933. Mann is known for his ironic and symbolic novels that analyze and criticize Europe. The government had led the people to believe that their country had been winning World War I, but many faced confusion and felt alienated when Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, fascism had risen in many European countries and seemed like the perfect solution to reinstate hope and encouragement back into the lives of the people. Mario and the Magician reflects the political state in Italy and Germany at this time, openly discussing the ideas behind a fascist government. Through the author’s use of figurative language, the reader can easily identify comparisons and contrasts of a fascist regime. Mario and the Magician is a story narrated by an individual who describes his family’s trip to Torre di Venere, Italy. From the onset of the story, the reader is exposed to similarities that exist between the narrator’s family and a fascist regime during the 1920s and 1930s. The narrator describes an ominous atmosphere in the town as his family feels unwelcome. He describes that the family feels uncomfortable from the beginning of their trip and “from the first moment the air of the place made [them] uneasy” (Mann 133). The Italian people are absorbed in nationalism and under fascist rule foreigners are not openly accepted, as seen with this German family. As the story progresses, hostility develops toward the family from the Italian natives. Although booked at the Grand Hotel for several weeks, the family is told by their waiter that they are not allowed to dine on the veranda with the Italians as this area is reserved for clients. The family, being treated like second class citizens, is livid since they, too, are paying customers. Hostility towards foreigners is a result of fascism. Shortly after, another episode at the hotel allows the reader to recognize fascist rule. The family encounters trouble with the Italian aristocracy, the Principessa, who complains about a previous diagnosis of whooping cough with the youngest child. Although a doctor declares the child healthy, the family is told that they will be placed in the annex. The aristocracy of a fascist nation often is the ones who put the government leaders into power. The hotel management listened to protest of the paranoid Roman aristocracy, showing that the Italians were superior to the German family, another clear sign of fascism. In a fascist regime all people, including the children, believe that they are more important than anyone else. The narrator explains this when he describes how his children are ridiculed by the Italian children, even though a language barrier exists. On the beach in Torre di Venere, the family innocently allows their daughter to take off her bathing suit and rinse off in the water. By giving her this freedom, the narrator has gone against the fascist beliefs. The Italians as a group protested this action which is another sign of belonging to the fascist regime. The narrator explains they had been told, “we had criminally injured not only the letter and spirit of the public bathing regulations, but also the honour of Italy.” Fascist rule has stripped the Italian people of their freedoms to the extent that they believe their way of life is the only one that is acceptable.
But this was not enough to force the family to end their vacation. Like the narrators family, many families during this time felt compelled to stay. Their entire world was embedded in one of these two countries- their homes, jobs, relatives, and friends. Like many Jewish families, the narrator and his family regretted not leaving Italy by saying, “Ought we not at this point to have left Torre as well? If only we had! We should thus have escaped the fatal Cipolla” (Mann 142). This regret grew as the family remained in Italy. As the plot continues, the author uses a magician to make the roots of fascism clearly evident. Cipolla, a hypnotist who calls himself a magician, puts on a show for the hotel guests, including the German family. From this point on the entire plot encompasses a metaphor of fascism. Cipolla represents the face of fascism in its entirety through his authoritative actions and manipulation of his audience. Although at first his audience laughs at his physical stature, Cipolla soon dispenses a power over the people, drawing them in. He has the ability to speak in public confidently, effortlessly gaining control of his audience. Both Mussolini and Hitler had similar effects on the citizens Italy and Germany. These men addressed their citizens in large crowds, rallying the people together into one unified group. Through this rhetorical strategy and use of manipulation, the individuals are given hope through this sense of reinforced nationalism. Cipolla uses a scheming psychological interaction to capture his audience, suggesting similarities compared to fascist Germany and Italy under both Mussolini and Hitler. Cipolla can be seen as a prime comparison to fascist leaders in Italy and Germany during this time. Cipolla preaches to his audience that he is a performer, a magician; however, he is not a magician, he is a hypnotist. A typical magician pulls rabbits out of hats and does card tricks, but a hypnotist puts his audience into trances, manipulating and controlling them. He uses hypnosis to reduce his audience to puppets on a string. One man from Rome challenges Cipolla to make him dance, and although he puts up a great fight, the man eventually falls victim to Cipolla and dances. Fascism is known to rely on mysticism, irrationality, and a culture which turns to superstition. In a fascist society, people feel a sense of belonging when they follow the wishes of the dictator. Cipolla influences his audience to listen, follow his rules, ultimately preventing them from leaving, giving him power while showing his strengths as fascist leader. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s in Italy and Germany, propaganda was a major way the government targeted individuals’ emotions. The constant and repetitive radio announcements that reinforced fascist beliefs aided in making the people think that Mussolini and Hitler’s ideas were justifiable and rational. Cipolla also uses propaganda to lure in his audience. As the narrator describes, Cipolla “was called on the posters that appeared one day stuck up everywhere, even in the dining-room” (Mann 144). The narrator goes on to say that “the bare announcement [of Cipolla’s show] was enough to turn our children’s heads” (Mann 144). Fascist regimes use slogans, symbols, signs, and flags as a form of propaganda to target individual’s emotions while exerting power and constantly instilling thoughts of nationalism in the minds of the people the same way the posters encouraged and persuaded people to go see Cipolla. Although Mann makes many comparisons to fascism, a major contradictory event takes place at the end of the short story. One individual, Mario, chooses to stand up against Cipolla’s manipulation and act upon his frustration of Cipolla’s tactics. Individuals during the rise of fascism did not attempt to stand up against officials. People needed to believe in nationalism, and during this time a strong emphasis was placed on the absolute necessity of complete national unity. As Mario stands in front of the crowd, the crowd goes wild and Cipolla loses control of his audience shouting, “Stop! Keep back! Silence!” (Mann 178). Mario then shoots Cipolla. In an instant, this fascist hypnotist was silenced and the dancers under Cipolla’s spell were immediately freed. The fascist mentality is a state of mind where one believes in the superiority in service to the state over the supposed inferiority of the individual and the actions of Mario are not at all comparable to that of a citizen of Italy or Germany. Thomas Mann’s Mario and the Magician portray a general representation of fascism as shown through the narrator’s story. Cipolla encompasses similar strategies used by Mussolini and Hitler, which are the tactics that were used to give these individual leaders power over the citizens. Propaganda, emotions, and the face of a respected leader all aided in this gain of power, and because of this power, the citizens eventually suffered. Remarkably, this story not only reflects fascism, but it unknowingly predicts how one individual, Cipolla, can come to abuse power and eventually become a dictator that runs a totalitarian government.

Works Cited
Mann, Thomas. Death in Venice, and Seven Other Stories. New York: Vintage, 1989. Print.