Conclusion: W. H. Auden, “Old Passports,” and New Borders

Abstract

On June 15, 1935, W. H. Auden married Erika Mann, daughter of the German novelist Thomas Mann, in a small ceremony in Ledbury, England. Far from a legendary love affair between two literary celebrities, however, this marriage is a largely forgotten, idiosyncratic tidbit in Auden’s biography. Erika Mann, roughly Auden’s age, was a presence on the German theatrical scene and a journalist, known for her satirical representations of the Nazi party. She was also, like Auden and Isherwood, homosexual. While friendly with Isherwood, she had been informed that the Nazi government was likely to strip her soon of German citizenship, and thus asked him if he would marry her in order that she might obtain a British passport. Her cabaret was touring Europe at the time and aside from her professional obligations, as an outspoken, lesbian public persona, she was in significant danger in Germany. Isherwood did not feel he could grant her this particular form of assistance, due to his “rooted horror of marriage” as “the sacrament of the Others; the supreme affirmation of their dictatorship” (CAHK 206–7). He wrote and asked Auden instead, who replied promptly, “DELIGHTED” (Carpenter 176).