[bapimporb]

The rose bush is certainly one of those elements that made me think that this is a fairy tale.

It does seem (at present – I'm about half way through) that Mann's reading of the monarchy as an institution is that the people want it to be like a fairy tale. I'm finding that whole aspect really interesting – particularly when then considering the House of Windsor. What is the purpose of a monarchy? In the novel, as Albrecht's speech at the siblings' meeting over tea shows, while he's supposed to be the ruler of the county, he isn't really. And Klaus Heinrich comes to experience it as a performance: something that almost exclsively very ceremonial – and really very shallow.