There is a conspicuous affinity between psychoanalysis and the work of Thomas Mann. This is also true in regard to its reception by the reader. Just as there is a model Thomas Mann hero it in the novels and stories, there is also a model Thomas Mann reader who is able to recognize and identify himself with the hero on the basis of his own drive and narcissistic conflicts. The reader can follow the development of the literary figures beginning with the "disgust with

life" in the early works up to the acceptance of inner reality. In re-enacting this development, the reader has the opportunity to constitute a narcissistic equilibrium and a coherent self.