17 October 2009

Mensur

3 comments:

Kolokotronis said...

I am reminded of "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp."

initials CG said...

I now have another excuse for my scar...

Anonymous said...

I share your interest in and admiration for some of the long-held tradition of German student fraternities, but I suppose Mann's Untertan more than any other work of literature exposes the inherent absurdity and ridiculousness of some of their rituals, caused by a rigid and obsessive adherence to a codified view of what constitutes a man's "honour", and the fact that all social esteem within late 19th / early 20th century society was based on the strictest possible observation of such codices.