Suicide

Suicide is a motif that comes up a great deal throughout the novel. Carla, Lula, and Klaus are all members of the Manns’ intimate circle who kill themselves. Suicide is presented as the natural consequence of unfortunate events for these characters.

Carla kills herself when her husband finds out about her affair. Out of all the Mann siblings, Carla’s suicide has the most profound impact on Heinrich. In fact, he even claims to have heard her crying out to him at the exact moment of her death. He tells Thomas, “The voice was clear, and it was her voice. She was in terrible pain. She kept calling my name. I waited and listened until she went silent. I knew then that she was dead. I waited for the news. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before” (90). The fact that Heinrich has this vision...