iii. Politics
We learn on the very first page of the novel that Serenus Zeitblom begins composing his text in May of 1943, amidst allied bombing raids on Nazi Germany. How does Doctor Faustus comment on the genesis of the Third Reich, and what larger lessons does it offer about politics? What does the novel have to say about liberalism, republicanism, nationalism, fascism, and other political traditions?
Chapter 7, “The Historical Setting of the Novel,” may be useful for readers unfamiliar with German history of the early twentieth century. I offer a more sustained investigation of politics in Doctor Faustus in chapter 10, “Music Theory and Political Allegory.”