DEATH IN VENICE BY THOMAS MANN THOMAS MANN •1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate •Written works noted for insight on psychology of the artist and intellectual CHARACTERS GUSTAV VON ASCHENBACH •Nationally renowned but aging writer •Repressed; disciplined and ascetic •“[Aschenbach’s] young days never knew the sweet idleness and blithe laissez aller that belong to youth.” TADZIO •A “perfect beauty,” like a Greek sculpture •Picture of innocence DEATH IN VENICE CHAPTER 1 •Aschenbach takes a walk in order to clear his head after being overwrought by work•After noticing a storm brewing, Aschenbach decides to head back •While waiting for a tram, Aschenbachstops by to read the inscribed text on a Byzantine mortuary chapel •Aschenbachis brought back to reality as he notices a red-haired man staring back at him with some hostility CHAPTER 1•Asch’s meeting with the red-haired man induces wanderlust within him, manifesting in a daydream of a tropical swampland •Aschenbachmomentarily masters his desire to travel, returning to his usual state •However, Aschenbachultimately decides to travel as a way to rekindle his passion for his work CHAPTER 2 •Aschenbach is revealed to be the son of an upper official in the judicature and a daughter of a Bohemian musical conductor •Disciplined conscientiousness comes from his father’s side and ardent, obscure impulse comes from his mother’s side, making Aschenbach into the artist he is now •Aschenbach achieves fame before graduating high school, being pressured to achievement from a young age •“His young days never knew the sweet idleness and blithelaissez allerthat belong to youth.” CHAPTER 2 •Aschenbach’s work ethic leads to a naturally fragile state of health, and thus he is constantly battling sickness •This leads Aschenbach to believe that all great things exist in defiant despite of suffering, poverty, physical frailty, corruption, and passion •Art to Aschenbach is to contrive to greatness despite the above burdens; “heroes of the age” are those who attempt to do so •Aschenbach’s own work is celebrated due to it being in itself a celebration of his generation’s—his peers’—hard work
and perseverance •Aschenbach ultimately considers his greatest achievement to be his path towards dignity CHAPTER 3 •Two weeks after his encounter with the red-haired man, Aschenbach decides to travel •He first travels to the Adriatic island, but there was “rain of heavy air; the society at the hotel was provincial Austrian, and limited [and] it annoyed him not to be able to get at the sea . . .” •Aschenbach “made all the haste to correct” his vacation, booking a ticket to Venice ten days after arriving at the Adriatic •Aschenbach boards the boat and sees an old man pretending to be a much younger man, wearing a wig and false teeth and having rosy painted cheeks and a dyed moustache CHAPTER 3 •The sight of the old man induces a
Want to read all 6 pages?
Previewing 3 of 6 pages Upload your study docs or become a member.
Want to read all 6 pages?
Previewing 3 of 6 pages Upload your study docs or become a member.
End of preview
Want to read all 6 pages? Upload your study docs or become a member.