Much like Settembrini and Naphta in “ The Magic Mountain” the “serene” humanist Zeitblom and the tragical Leverkühn represent the dualism of the German character, its Apollonian (reason, democracy, progress) and Dionysian (passion, tragedy, fate) aspects. The story is narrated by Leverkühn's childhood friend Serenus Zeitblom. His madness reduces him to an infantile state in which he lives under the care of his relatives for another ten years.
Leverkühn feels the inexorable progress of his neuro-syphilitic madness leading towards complete breakdown in self-conscious imitation of certain of the Faust legends, Leverkühn calls together his closest friends to witness his final demise: at a chamber reading of his cantata "The Lamentation of Doctor Faust," he ravingly confesses his demonic pact before collapsing, incoherent. Leverkühn's last creative years are increasingly occupied by his obsession with the Apocalypse and the Last Judgment. His madness - his daemonic inspiration - leads to extraordinary musical creativity that parallels the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg. In a scene strongly reminiscent of Ivan Karamazov's breakdown in Dostoevsky's novel, Leverkühn is subsequently visited by a very clever devil who says, in effect, "that you can only see me because you are mad, does not mean that I do not really exist." Leverkühn forges a deal with this Mephistophelean character: his soul, in exchange for twenty-four years of genius. Leverkühn strikes a Faustian bargain for creative genius: he intentionally contracts syphilis, which deepens his artistic inspiration through madness. The story centers on the life and work of the composer Adrian Leverkühn his extraordinary intellect and creativity as a young man mark him as destined for success, but Leverkühn desires true greatness. The novel is a re-shaping of the Faust legend set in the context of the first half of the twentieth century and the turmoil of Germany in that period.
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