The study is devoted to Thomas Mann’s final completed work and attempts to understand why research has so far neglected it; one of the approaches taken is that of reception aesthetics. The author examines the place of the text within Mann’s complete works and its intricate relationships to the very varied contexts without which it cannot be understood ? aspects of mythology and philosophy, of the history of medicine and science, of politics and ideology critique reveal a view of frequently underestimated movements and changes but also of hitherto unnoticed constants within the complete works.