Unordnung und frühes Leid (1977)

The story, a minor work by Thomas Mann, has strong autobiographical elements. Many of its characters resemble members of the Mann family. Germany during the Weimar Republic: Professor Abel Cornelius published a German nationalist piece during the First World War. Now, in the crisis year of 1923, he wants to distance himself from it. But when student Max Hergesell confronts him about his misgivings, Cornelius feels challenged and obliged to defend his old positions, against his better judgment. He passes harsh judgments on the new era and retreats into an excessive, almost doting love for his five-year-old daughter Eleonore, whom everyone calls Lorchen. At a party for his older children, Hergesell—whom Cornelius, despite their differences, has begun to accept and even almost envy for his talent—deals a bitter disappointment to the professor, who seems out of step with his time.