Death in Venice: a tragic vision of a flawed artist?
Uploaded by kiki0013 on Mar 30, 2000
To what extent is Death in Venice a tragic vision of a flawed artist?
Aschenbach was certainly an artist. A very decent one. He had his life planned out, was very accurate and organized. Perhaps even a bit boring, monotonous. He was a hard-working man, he had that certain motus animi continuus. He was seen as a genius. From the beginning, he wanted to become known, to become famous, but his life was empty. He yearned for a change of pace, for some action, adventure and unpredictability of what might come. He was afraid of ‘breaking out’, yet he was also afraid of being trapped.
Then he goes to Venice, where all will change. In his hotel, he sees a young boy by whom he is fascinated. The young boy is the perfect image of a happy, idle child that has all it desires, all Aschenbach never had; his childhood was rather gloom since it was spent mostly at home and indoors, he didn’t meet many people and he certainly never had that laisser aller attitude that the young boy so obviously possessed. Aschenbach studied the child and found out that his name was Tadzio. The sound of his name was almost musical. Aschenbach would sit on the beach and watch him play, the young child that, in his point of view, looked like the god Apollo. Slowly but surely, he became obsessed with Tadzio, with his youth, beauty, effortlessness and his idleness.
Whilst being obsessed with this young boy with whom Aschenbach has no connection or relation, around him disease broods. The plague is sweeping over Venice, unnoticed at first and denied by the Venitians. They are all lying, denying and acting as to make sure the tourist business will continue to thrive through this period of silent turmoil. People are dying around Aschenbach, while he is alive in the midst of death.
If he would have been wise, he would have left as soon as he started considering the fact that there was indeed a plague in Venice. Yet he could not leave. He was so immensely drawn to Tadzio, he could not make himself leave. After he finally takes the step to leave the wretched place of contagion, his bags go missing, giving him the opportunity he subconsciously longed for; to stay longer with a cause. Even when his luggage is returned, he has no intention of trying to leave...