The irony of young privacy
We learn from our narrator that, as a young child, Adrian was not expressive or sociable. In fact, he was something of a recluse, tending to veer away from his father, and tending to behave in suspicious ways that led others to believe he held a dire secret. The secret is the major purpose of the novel, but the reader is left in a position of dramatic irony, wondering throughout the novel what might be so urgent and sacred that it simultaneously drives the young genius to privacy and expression.
The power of music
Adrian sees that there is a power in music that is often absent in his use of language. He sees this through an encounter with an ironic teacher, ironic because his lectures are slowed and obscured by a severe stutter. Because of the speech impairment, Adrian realizes that the teacher knows something about music that will help him. Adrian also struggles to speak truth about his experience of self, and the ironic limitation of the lecturer is a symbol of hope for Adrian that if he writes music, he will be able to explain himself better.
The alchemical philosopher
When Leverkühn signs up for religion and philosophy classes, one might expect that in a nation like Germany, perhaps the education would be traditional and Christianity-centric. Not so. This season of German history (we know from the narrator's interspersed essays) is marked by a turn toward darkness and mysticism. The professor teaches young Adrian about the unconscious as explored by the long, mystical tradition of magic and witchcraft. The religious education is an instruction in devils, magic hexes, and the spiritual mystery of consciousness.
The ironic bride of genius
If Adrian is a symbolic character representing the painfully lonely experience of true genius, then his encounter with the femme fatale should be no surprise. Later, when he encounters the literal devil in his mind, he owns that relationship through the rest of his life (a symbol for encountering the shadow self, but not integrating it completely). Like he projects his shadow onto schizophrenic encounters with Satan, he also projects his own feminine nature onto a prostitute. Something about the prostitute as a symbol of shame (because she is disrespected in the community) and embarrassment (because she sleeps with anyone, so he will not be her first or best) brings about an arousal in him that makes him commit his "life's sin," as the Devil later explains it to him. She gives him syphilis, but explains to him prior to sex that she has the disease. He doesn't care. He must obey the urge of his consciousness to unite himself to her. She is the ironic lover who brings not children and life, but disease, madness, and death. She is his femme fatale.
The revelation of genius
Finally, Adrian is set to perform his masterful, genius opera which is both entertaining and wildly perplexing. The audience is sitting on the edge of their seat to see what the strange, mystical man might do. Instead of playing, he falls over in syphilitic shock. When he arises, he is in a full fugue state of madness. Instead of playing the fugue composed for music, he resorts again to language. He tells them that he is an arbiter of hell and torture. His consciousness is possessed by Satan, and his genius is a painful noose around his neck. The crowd is revolted and perplexed. He has finally told the truth, but it was so horrifying when he combined the emotions with language and culture that he offends everyone. This is the maddening shame of genius, that even when he finally manages to communicate his truth, it horrifies the witnesses of it.
