Whenever you read a story about a writer, you can bet you're in for a story that has something to say about writing. Shocking, we know. And this is certainly true when it comes to Death in Venice. In this tale, our main dude Aschenbach figures as an ironic vision of the modern artist, and more specifically, as the modern writer of literature. He starts out at the top of his game, but then the exotic and erotic come together so that the artistic hero (if you will) ends up succumbing to his own human passions. Oops.
Questions About Literature and Writing
- Why can Death in Venice be read as an allegory for the process of writing literature?
- What techniques does the narrator use to depict Aschenbach's discipline in an ironic way?
- In what ways is Aschenbach's erotic attraction to Tadzio portrayed as an infatuation with his own creative faculty?
- What would change about Death in Venice if Tadzio did not inspire Aschenbach to write?
Chew on This
Death in Venice can be read as an allegory for the author's process of writing literature, as well as a cautionary tale, in which erotic desire figures as the writer's primary source of inspiration.
The role of irony in Death in Venice is linked to the novella's portrayal of the modern European writer as someone with a "sympathy for the abyss," which draws the writer toward self-destruction even amidst artistic creation.