Death in Venice
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To have an understanding of the use of disease as a metaphor in Thomas Manns novella Death In Venice, it is useful to understand the concept of disease itself. According to Websters Dictionary, 1913 edition, disease is defined as the “lack of ease; uneasiness; trouble; vexation; disquiet.” These words do embody the struggles of the great author, and main character of the novella, Gustav Aschenbach, but it is the description of disease as “an alteration in the state of the body or of some of its organs, interrupting or disturbing the performance of the vital functions, and causing or threatening pain and weakness; malady; affection; illness; sickness; disorder; — applied figuratively to the mind, to the moral character and habits, to institutions, the state, etc” that is the foundation of the metaphor used by Mann. The disease spreading through Venice, is presumed to be cholera, and to what Aschenbach surrenders to in Venice. However, upon careful examination of the words written so eloquently, one can find that the death of Aschenbach was more that of an artist afflicted with passion and lust for beauty than of any physical ailment.
Mann carefully combines philosophy and psychology in Death in Venice, and these two general areas of intellect are in conflict throughout the novella. Specifically, it is the philosophy of art, ones quest for beauty, and the psychological theory of repression derived from Freud that present themselves as key concerns in the metaphor of disease. Aschenbach, in his question for beauty, and in his repressed upbringing as an outcast of sorts from his great forefathers lead to the internal conflict he personifies.
“His forebears had been officers, judges, bureaucrats, men who had led their disciplined, respectable, and frugal lives in the services of king and state. Deeper intellectuality had embodied itself among them on one occasion, in the person of a preacher; more swiftly flowing and sensual blood had entered the family in the previous generation through the writers mother, daughter of a Bohemian orchestra conductor. It was from her that he derived the signs of foreign ancestry in his appearance. The marriage of a sober official conscientiousness with darker, more ardent impulses produced an artist, this particular artist.”
These words allow us to see into the character of Aschenbach. The artist, coming from a tradition of great men in their own rights, chose a different path for his life. However, we cannot leave our past behind, and no doubt, he was brought up in a formal fashion, taught through his role models to hide emotions and to repress his desires, those characteristics one often thinks of when under the impression of an artist. When dis-ease occurs within an individual, conflict occurs, and the physical being becomes deteriorated.
Understanding the past experiences of some can help us in our quest to understand whom they are and why they choose to behave in the manner in which we are accustomed.
At the beginning of his journey, we see Gustav as a figure of esteem and prestige. However, upon his arrival in Venice, Mann allows the reader a glimpse into his journey, the progression of an infection into complete abandonment of rationale. It is also from the very beginning of the novella that a parallel emerges between the physical disease, the plague upon Venice, and the distress with in the main character himself. In particular, we see this rejection of the astute artist and the acceptance of the passive, receptive man of desire when he encounters a gondolier who does not lead him to his desired location, but rather has taken the notion to take him to his actual destination directly.
“the traveler saw no way to enforce his orders. Anyway, how comfortably he could rest if he didnt get excited! Had he not wished for the ride to last a long time – forever? It was wisest to let things take their course and, most of all, it was extremely pleasant…The idea that he had fallen into the hands of a criminal crossed Aschenbachs mind in a dreamy way, but was powerless to arouse his thoughts to active resistance…”
Venice is alive with tourists, alive with life and beauty. Aschenbach though, represses his desires for a young boy from a Polish family that he notices the first night of his stay at the HÑ„tel des Bains. The reader later learns the boys name is Tadzio, and from the first recollection of him by Aschenbach, his true deterioration begins, he becomes injected with disease of passion, pleasure, and loses his sense of rationality.
“With astonishment Aschenbach observed that the boy was perfectly beautiful. His face, pale and charmingly secretive, with the honey-colored hard curling around it, with its straight-sloping nose, its lovely mouth and its expression of sweet and diving earnestness, recalled Greek statues of the noblest period, and, along with its extremely pure perfection of form.
The morning after his first discovery of the young boy, he becomes depressed with the weather in Venice. “Once, years before, after weeks of clear spring skies, this type of weather had afflicted him here, affecting his health so badly that he had had to abandon Venice like a fugitive.” We see here that he perhaps finds himself losing control, and wishes to leave Venice out of fear of the expression of his natural, albeit, repressed desires. Aschenbach hastily decides to end his stay in Venice after a walk through the city where he is faced with physical distresses, making it more apparent to the reader, and to the renowned author himself that something was not right in Venice, nor perhaps within himself.
“The longer he walked, the more tormented he became by the horrible state of health that the sea air can cause in conjunction with the scirocco, a state of excitement and prostration at the same time…On a quiet square, one of those spots deep within Venice that give the impression of being forgotten under an evil spell, he rested by the rim of a fountain, dried his forehead and realized that he had to go away.”
Aschenbach decides to leave Venice and prepares to leave the following day. The reader sees that it is with regret that he leaves Tadzio, “Adieu Tadzio! I didnt have long to look at you” . He leaves the Hotel behind and heads to the train station. This and the events that succeed at the train station are turning points in the novel for the character metaphorically it is the expression of the disease.
“Was it possible that he hadnt knows or considered how dear all of this was to him? What in the morning had been a half-regret, a slight doubt about the correctness of his actions, now became a grief, a real ache, a distress of