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''The Transposed Heads'' (german: Die vertauschten Köpfe) is a
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
by
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
. It was written in 1940 and published later that year by Bermann-Fischer. The English translation by H. T. Lowe-Porter was published in 1941 by
Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers i ...
. It was one of Mann's last novellas, followed only by ''
The Tables of the Law ''The Tables of the Law'' (german: Das Gesetz) is a 1944 novella by German writer Thomas Mann. It is a dramatic retelling of the Biblical story of Moses contained in the Book of Exodus, although some of the laws which Moses proscribes for his fo ...
'' in 1944 and '' The Black Swan'' in 1954. Set in India, the story is a jocular retelling of an ancient folk legend.Kontje, Todd (2011)
''The Cambridge Introduction to Thomas Mann''
pp. 96–98. Cambridge University Press.


Background and themes

Mann subtitled the novella ''An Indian Legend''. He was inspired to write it after reading a book on the Indian goddess
Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tradi ...
by the Indologist
Heinrich Zimmer Heinrich Robert Zimmer (6 December 1890 – 20 March 1943) was a German Indologist and linguist, as well as a historian of South Asian art, most known for his works, ''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization'' and ''Philosophies of India ...
in which Zimmer recounted the old folk tale which became the basis of ''The Transposed Heads''. Mann began writing it in January 1940 and finished in August of that year. He dedicated the published work to Zimmer adding the words "Returned with thanks". Both its setting and its source marked a unique departure from Mann's oeuvre. He described it as his "first approach to the French surrealist sphere", an oblique reference to the work of
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
whom Mann knew through Cocteau's friendship with his son
Klaus Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas. Notable persons whose family name is Klaus *Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American baseba ...
. Although the tale is a tragic one, Mann recounts it in a tongue-in-cheek style.Rieckmann, Jens (2004)
"The Gaze of Love Longing and Desire in Thomas Mann's ''The Transposed Heads'' and ''The Black Swan''"
pp. 245–256 in ''A Companion to the Works of Thomas Mann''. Boydell & Brewer.
According to Jens Rieckmann, despite its exotic setting, the themes of ''The Transposed Heads''—"sensuality, metaphysics, entangled identities, and the problem of love and individuality"—were central to Mann's work. Another theme in the story is the ''
femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...
'' archetype that can also be seen in several of Mann's works, including ''
Little Herr Friedemann "Little Herr Friedemann" () is a short story by Thomas Mann. It initially appeared in 1896 in '' Die neue Rundschau'', and later appeared in 1898 in an anthology of Mann's short stories entitled collectively as ''Der kleine Herr Friedemann''. "L ...
'' and Castorp's nightmarish visions of female cannibals in ''
The Magic Mountain ''The Magic Mountain'' (german: Der Zauberberg, links=no, ) is a novel by Thomas Mann, first published in German in November 1924. It is widely considered to be one of the most influential works of twentieth-century German literature. Mann st ...
''. Sita, the central female character of ''The Transposed Heads'', is a seemingly innocent girl who causes the death of both the men who love her. She becomes a human manifestation of Kali, the goddess of time and creation but also of destruction.


Plot

Shridaman and Nanda are two young friends who are "little different in age and in caste, but very unlike in body."Mann, Thomas (1941)
''The Transposed Heads''
(translation by H. T. Lowe-Porter), p. 5.
Secker & Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...
Shridaman is a learned merchant with strong spiritual qualities and a noble face but a thin, weedy body. Nanda is a blacksmith with a strong and beautiful body but a rather ordinary intellect. Both fall in love with Sita, the daughter of a cattle-breeder. She accepts Shridaman's proposal of marriage but shortly after their wedding, she begins to wonder if she had made the wrong choice. Matters are not helped by the fact that Nanda has remained Shridaman's friend and is a frequent visitor to their house. Soon, both Nanda and Shridaman become aware of what is happening. Six months after the wedding and with Sita pregnant with Shridaman's child, they set off to visit her parents accompanied by Nanda. On the way they stop at a temple to the goddess Kali where Shridaman goes in to pray. In a fit of religious fervor he beheads himself to free Sita to marry Nanda. Nanda then enters the temple and when he finds Shridaman's corpse, he likewise beheads himself. On discovering what has happened, Sita is about to hang herself when goddess Kali appears. She tells Sita to place the heads back on the bodies and she will bring them back to life. However, in her grief and confusion Sita had placed Nanda's head on Shridaman's body and vice versa. Each man now retains his original identity but has a new body. At first the situation seems to be going well. Sita gives birth to Samadhi, a lovable child with very poor eyesight who is nicknamed "Andhaka" ("Little blind boy"). Shridaman is pleased to have a perfect body and Nanda is pleased to have the body that has fathered Sita's child. He is also pleased that Sita is having sex with his former body. Nevertheless, they decide to consult the wise man Kamadamana as to which of the two men is actually her husband. He determines that it is the one with the head of Shridaman. In his disappointment, Nanda becomes a religious recluse. Four years have passed. While Shridaman is away on business, Sita takes her son to visit Nanda and show him the child his new body had generated. Sita and Nanda are overwhelmed by passion. On returning to an empty house, Shridaman sets off to find Nanda and Sita. He proposes to them the only solution for a situation where a woman is simultaneously in love with one man's body and another man's head. The two men are to commit suicide, and Sita is to die a ritual death on her husband's funeral pyre. This duly happens with little Samadhi-Andhaka lighting the flames.


Adaptations

*'' The Transposed Heads'', an opera by
Peggy Glanville-Hicks Peggy Winsome Glanville-Hicks (29 December 191225 June 1990) was an Australian composer and music critic. Biography Peggy Glanville Hicks, born in Melbourne, first studied composition with Fritz Hart at the Albert Street Conservatorium in M ...
(1954) *''
Les têtes interverties ''Les têtes interverties'', also known as ''La cravate'', ''The Transposed Heads'' and ''The Severed Heads'', is a 1957 French short film written and directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Saul Gilbert, and Ruth Michelly. Shot between 1953 and 1957, t ...
'', a short mime film loose adaptation directed by Saul Gilbert,
Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films ''El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work ...
, and Ruth Michelly (1957) *''The Transposed Heads'', a musical play adapted from Mann's story by
Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...
and
Sidney Goldfarb Sidney Goldfarb (born November 23, 1942 in Peabody, Massachusetts) is a Harvard College-educated American poet and experimental playwright, whose work continues the tradition of poetic theater. Goldfarb co-founded the acclaimed Creative Writin ...
with music by
Elliot Goldenthal Elliot Goldenthal (born May 2, 1954) is an American composer of contemporary classical music and film and theatrical scores. A student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, he is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various ...
(1984, revised 1986)Gussow, Mel (1 November 1986)
"Stage: Transposed Heads"
''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
*'' Hayavadana'', a play by
Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...
which combines the plot of ''The Transposed Heads'' with further inventions by Karnad (1975)Surendran, K. V. (2000)
''Indian Writing: Critical Perspectives''
p. 148. Sarup & Sons.


Notes


References


External links


Complete book
in the 1941 English translation by H. T. Lowe-Porter on
archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transposed Heads, The 1940 German-language novels Novels adapted into operas Novellas by Thomas Mann Novels set in India S. Fischer Verlag books