Mann, Thomas
Description
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Death in Venice (1912) is a novella by German writer Thomas Mann.
A tale of
...
genius in which Thomas Mann explores the artist's relation to life is a magnificent, moving literary masterwork that explores several themes such as mortality and decay and conflict between intellect and inspiration, beauty, art, passion, and youth.
Sneak Peek
“Nothing is more unusual and strained than the relationship between people who know each other only with their eyes, who meet daily, even hourly, and yet are compelled, by force of custom or their own caprices, to say no word or make no move of acknowledgement, but to maintain the appearance of an aloof unconcern.“
Synopsis
Death in Venice presents a story of Gustav von Aschenbach, ennobled writer dedicated to his art, disciplined and ascetic to the point of severity, who was widowed at a young age. During his wanderlust to Venice, Aschenbach becomes emancipated, uplifted, and then progressively captivated with the sight of a teenage boy in a family of Polish tourists—Tadzio, so named after Tadeusz.
During Mann's 1911 visit to the city, he had seen a genuine youngster named Władzio, although Tadzio was based on him, the story itself, however, is fiction.
Death in Venice is symbol-heavy tale of decadence and aestheticism.
This edition features Kenneth Burke’s English translation, which was published in 1924.
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