Man in the Holocene: Analysis of Major Characters
"Man in the Holocene" is a novel centered around the character of Geiser, a 73-year-old retired businessman living alone in a Swiss Alpine village, following the death of his wife. The story unfolds during the aftermath of a severe storm that isolates him, disrupting utilities and making communication difficult. As Geiser grapples with the impacts of aging, particularly early signs of senility, he immerses himself in readings from an encyclopedia, obsessively researching subjects from weather phenomena to geological history. This mental diversion serves as both a coping mechanism and a means to stave off his memory loss, as he meticulously makes lists and decorates his walls with clipped articles.
Geiser’s isolation deepens as he shuns contact with neighbors and faces disturbing episodes, including a tragic incident involving his pet cat. His determination leads him to attempt a perilous hike through the mountains, resulting in disorientation and physical strain. Ultimately, his health deteriorates, marked by a stroke and a fall, as he reflects on past memories, including a significant climb with his brother. The narrative culminates with the arrival of his daughter, signaling the possibility of institutional care as she assesses his well-being. The novel explores themes of memory, isolation, and the human connection to nature and time, presenting a poignant examination of aging and the fragility of life.
Man in the Holocene: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Max Frisch
First published: Der Mensch erscheint im Holozan, 1979 (English translation, 1980)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Ticino, a Swiss canton near Italy
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: The 1970's
Geiser (GI-zehr), a retired businessman who lives alone in a house in a village high in the Swiss Alps. His wife died years before the action of the novel. He is seventy-three years old and is beginning to experience symptoms of senility. The novel begins during the last few days of a severe storm that has caused some minor landslides in the area. The roadways are blocked, and there have been some disruptions of telephone and electrical service. Geiser passes the time building a pagoda out of crisp bread and reading encyclopedia articles about thunder and lightning. He gradually becomes more involved with his encyclopedia readings and obsessively peruses pieces on weather, the local geography and its history of landslides, the age of the dinosaurs, and the vast eras of geological time. Geiser is very concerned with the possibility that he may be losing his memory as a result of senility and thus starts to read articles about the symptoms of aging. He makes lists of various items as a test of his memory, such as types of thunder, the supplies in his kitchen, and the contents of his deep freezer. He takes notes on his reading at first but then abandons that and cuts out the encyclopedia articles instead. He tacks them up on the walls of his house, which soon become completely covered. When neighbors come by to bring him soup, he refuses to answer the doorbell. At one point, in a state of disorientation, he kills his pet cat and roasts it in the fireplace. Geiser decides to hike over the mountain pass into the next valley, a dangerous journey for a man his age. He gets lost several times. Exhausted and unable to make the trip, he returns home. Having suffered a mild stroke, he falls down the stairs and injures himself slightly. Telephone service has been restored, and his telephone rings periodically—presumably his daughter calling—but he refuses to answer it. He begins to remember a climb he made with his brother some fifty years earlier, on the Matterhorn. With the roadway cleared, his daughter arrives to check on him; it is likely that she will have to commit him to a home for the aged.