# He Practises His French explained — The Magic Mountain

> Chapter companion for The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann.

## What happens

Hans Castorp continues to adjust to the sanatorium's routine and peculiar atmosphere. He learns about the oxygen flasks for the dying and has his first encounter with a 'moribundus.' He also has a brief, silent interaction with Clavdia Chauchat on the stairs. His main social interactions are with the corridor nurse, Sister Berta (Alfreda Schildknecht), who desperately seeks conversation, and the Mexican lady known as 'Tous-les-deux,' to whom he successfully speaks in French. The chapter reflects on his comfort with solemnity and death.

## Themes in this chapter

### Disease and Death

Central focus: the oxygen flasks for the dying, Hans's glimpse of the 'moribundus,' his conversation with 'Tous-les-deux,' and his extended reflection on his comfort with funerals and solemnity.

### Isolation and Community

Hans's retiring nature and difficulty making acquaintances contrast with the desperate, forced community sought by figures like Sister Berta and the shared, silent understanding with the mourning Mexican lady.

## Character check-ins

### Hans Castorp

Reflects on his adjustment, observes the dying, interacts with Chauchat and 'Tous-les-deux,' and reveals a personal affinity for serious, mournful situations.

### Joachim Ziemssen

Accompanies Hans, introduces him to Sister Berta and the Mexican lady, and confirms his cousin's French is correct.

### Clavdia Chauchat

Briefly passes Hans on the stairs, smiling at his wide-eyed expression, moving soundlessly and supplely.

### Fräulein Schildknecht

The corridor nurse (Sister Berta) desperately holds the cousins in conversation, complaining of boredom, her cultured origins, and the doctors.

### Hofrat Behrens

Briefly encountered in the corridor; calls Hans a 'disinterested spectator' and jokes about the winter clientele before attending to a dying patient.

### Fritz Rotbein

Mentioned indirectly as Sister Berta's patient, the son of a doll-manufacturer, who clandestinely eats forbidden foods.

## Key lines

> He Practises His French

The chapter title refers to Hans Castorp's successful use of French to console the mourning Mexican lady, 'Tous-les-deux.'

_Highlights a moment of social competence and emotional connection in a foreign language._

> He was himself hastening his own end. But that would be only a mercy for him, a blessed relief.

Sister Berta says her patient's secret eating is speeding his death, which would be a release for him.

_Illustrates the morbid, pragmatic attitude toward death prevalent among the sanatorium staff._

> I even think, on the whole, I get on better with sad people than with jolly ones...

Hans tells Joachim he feels more at home with serious, mournful people and situations than with cheerful ones.

_Reveals a key aspect of Hans's character and his strange affinity for the sanatorium's atmosphere._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_magic_mountain_se/chapters/he-practises-his-french
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_magic_mountain_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_magic_mountain_se/chapters