Death in Venice

Thomas Mann in his “Death in Venice” has created a polarity of the conscious will versus the passionate drive within his character Mr. Gustav Aschenbach. One main way that the author does this is by setting the story in the adventurous city of Venice, Italy. Mann goes further in creating characteristics of Mr. Aschenbach that are similar to those of literary Venice. We see the strongest similarities of this through Venice’s sensuality and exoticism, its literary past and its form and metaphor of corruption and decay, as well as its characteristic of being a place of artifice.

Venice stands geographically at a mid-point between Asia and Europe, on the point where the perceived sensuality and exoticism of the East blends with the more restrained and "civilized" Europe. It is, therefore, symbolically fitting that Venice be the city where Aschenbach abandons his restraint and gives way to his sensual, passionate side. Aschenbach to me seems to be a man who is looking for himself and trying to find what and where his life is leading him. It is not until he arrives in Venice where he truly finds his passion; a passion never noticed before, a passion hid in his personality only to be opened at the right time or wrong time. Mr. Aschenbach is a more civilized man coming from German background and from a writing background. In this Gustav is seen as the more restrained and civilized Europe, while the amounts of tourists and the different mixture of cultures seem to be the exoticism and sensuality of the city. It took a trip out of the “old country” for Gustav to really find who he was and for him to open a new box of life through his hidden passion.

Venice is famous as a unique, beautiful, exotic, and romantic city. The fascination that the city holds is intensified for many by its fragility. Once the heart of an empire, the city is sinking as the Adriatic waters are rising, and the resident population is increasingly replaced by tourists. Venice is known as a place of decay: In literature, it is often the site of moral corruption; physically, the city is built on a lagoon, and each year sinks back a little farther into its swampy origin. By setting the story in Venice, Mann suggests that Aschenbach, like Venice, has been able to exist thus far only by virtue of pure will and is now beginning to decay. While trying to find himself, Aschenbach opens a new life of decay. While opening this mysterious hidden box of his passions he also opens the door to corruption and decay. Gustav let himself fall into the trap of his passions; a trap that once you fall into it is hard to dig yourself out of. Aschenbach is being swallowed by the waters of life as Venice is by the Adriatic waters.

Venice is a place of artifice: Left to nature, the city would be a mere lagoon; also, Venice is famous for its carnivals, at which participants typically wear masks and other disguises. Thus, Venice represents the "dishonest" properties of art, art's ability to obscure truth and lead people astray. With these traditions