Thomas Mann's last novella "The Black Swan": the tragic story of a post-menopausal woman.
In this work, Mann describes the tragic story of a post-menopausal woman who notices signs of rejuvenation in herself and what she takes to be menstruation, and thus believes that her much mourned lost youth has returned, whereas in fact the changes she has so welcomed are due to the hormonal effects of an advanced estrogen-producing granulosa cell tumor of the ovary, to which she rapidly succumbs. Mann was fascinated by the cruelty of the "deadly hoax" played by nature in such cases. The article outlines the story and medical background, and describes Mann's preparatory research and his comments on the subject matter.
Dietl
Johannes
J
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Wuerzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany. j.dietl@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
D004967:Estrogens / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006106:Granulosa Cell Tumor / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000266:history; D017698:Postmenopause
D004967:Estrogens