Introduction & Overview of Disorder and Early Sorrow by Thomas Mann

Disorder and Early Sorrow Introduction

Thomas Mann is one of the most important German novelists of the twentieth century. But not to be overlooked are his contributions to the genre of the short story, among which "Disorder and Early Sorrow" is one of his best. It first appeared in 1925 in a publication celebrating his fiftieth birthday. Regarding the story, he said, "For the first time in my life I wrote something literary, one might say to order: the editorship of the Fischer Neue Rundschau published a Festschrift for my 50th birthday and they wanted it to contain a narrative contribution by the birthday child. So emerged 'Disorder and Early Sorrow,' a story which I like so much that I am tempted to count it among my very best."

The story examines the life of the Cornelius family as they prepare for a party at their home. Through their simple preparations, the reader is...
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