Hey, when the word death is in the title, mortality is probably an important theme of the novella, right? Bingo. It's important to keep in mind that Aschenbach's journey, from disciplined writer to hopeless admirer of Tadzio, ends in Aschenbach's death—and sounds like Tadzio doesn't have long to live, either.
If Aschenbach's journey is really about discovering the dark hole of erotic desire that accompanies artistic pursuit of beauty, then his mortality seems to be the logical last stop. After all, death is pretty much the ultimate dark hole—so when it swallows Aschenbach in Death in Venice, it also devours the old ideals he represents.
Questions About Mortality
- How does Aschenbach relate to signs of Tadzio's mortality? What does this have to do with his own mortality?
- Could Aschenbach's erotic attraction to Tadzio have more to do with his own desire for youth?
- Does the ironic tone of Death in Venice apply to descriptions of Aschenbach's mortality, or is irony withheld from moments like this? How does this affect your reading of the novella?
- In what ways is the "other" connected with death in Death in Venice?
Chew on This
In Death in Venice, lust and self-destruction are bound to each other—lust brings Aschenbach to the edge of the "abyss" of his mortality.
Death in Venice portrays Aschenbach's fate in an ironic light, but the novella maintains a thoroughly objective perspective on the inevitability of death and the psychology of Aschenbach's relationship to his own mortality.