"Death in Venice": summary, writing history, critic reviews, reader reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Summary of "Death in Venice" will be useful for those who would like to get acquainted with the work of the German writer Thomas Mann. This is one of his most famous works, in which he focuses on the problem of art. In the article we will tell you what this novel is about, what is the history of its writing, as well as reader reviews and reviews of critics.

History of Creation

Summary of "Death in Venice" allows you to quickly recall the main events of this work. The novella was first published in 1912.

Initially, Mann wanted to write about passion, which leads to degradation and clouding of reason. He was inspired by the love story of the already aged German classic Goethe for 18-year-old Ulrike von Levetzow.

At the same time, the writer was depressed due to the death of Gustav Mahler. In Venice, he met with the prototype of histhe main character, 11-year-old Vladzio Moes.

All these events led to the writing of this work. As Mann himself admitted, in "Death in Venice" it was important for him to show the relationship between feeling and reason.

Ties

We will pay special attention to the summary of "Death in Venice" by Thomas Mann, as it will help to better understand the author's ideas, what he sought to convey to the reader.

At the very beginning, the author introduces the reader to the writer Gustav Aschenbach, who goes for a walk from his apartment in Munich. The day's work excited him, so he hoped that a walk would calm him down. On the way, he was so tired that he decided to take the tram back. Opposite the stop, he noticed a man whose appearance gave his thoughts a completely different direction. The stranger was of an unusual appearance and looked like a stranger from distant lands. This chance observation awakened in Aschenbach the desire to travel. One can only wonder how Mann in "Death in Venice" carefully traces and analyzes the true reasons for certain actions of the heroes.

It is noteworthy that the writer himself had always looked down on wandering. He lived in an apartment in Munich and had a small country house where he spent his summers. The idea of going on a trip, leaving work for a long time, at first seemed to him destructive and dissolute. But then he decided he still needed a change.

Biography of the main character

Telling the summary of "Death inVenice" by Thomas Mann, one should dwell in detail on the personality of the protagonist. This is a famous novelist, author of the epic about Frederick of Prussia, a popular story called "Insignificant", the novel "Maya". From his father, he inherited discipline and willpower, for which he was rewarded. The emperor appreciated his works by awarding him a title of nobility. Aschenbach's works are included in school anthologies.

Summary of Mann's "Death in Venice" will allow you to quickly refresh your memory of the main events of this work before an exam or test. Analyzing the short story, it is necessary to note the fate of the protagonist. He had several unsuccessful attempts to settle somewhere, after which he settled in Munich.

Soon Aschenbach married a girl from a professorial family, but she died. He left a daughter, who by the time of the events described in "Death in Venice" is already married. Mann describes him as having a face carved with a chisel, the face of a man who has little experience of a troubled and difficult life.

On the road

Restoring the events of the novel based on the summary of "Death in Venice" on the "Brifli", it is worth noting that two weeks after the memorable meeting at the tram stop, the protagonist set off. He left for Trieste by night train, after which he boarded a steamer to Pola. He decided to rest on the Adriatic Sea.

On the road, the protagonist of Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice" did not go well at first. He was annoyed by humidity, rain and provincial surroundings. Finally, he realized that he had made a mistake in choosing, and soon the motorboat took him to the Military Harbor, from where he boarded the ship to Venice.

Mann carefully describes how Aschenbach gazes at the passengers who are boarding the ship with him. His attention is drawn to a group of young people chatting and laughing. One of them especially stands out in this company with a bright and fashionable suit. Looking at him more closely, the main character realizes that this young man is fake. Under a thick layer of makeup is an old man, this becomes especially evident from his wrinkled hands. The writer is amazed by this fact, he is shocked to the core.

Arrival in Venice

When he gets to Venice, he is also met with rain here. On deck, he again meets the old man, who has become disgusting for him during this trip, and looks at him with undisguised contempt.

Restoring the content of "Death in Venice", we note that on vacation the hero settled in a fashionable hotel. On the first evening at dinner, he draws attention to the Polish family at the next table. It consists of three young girls aged 15-17 who are looked after by governesses and a boy with long hair who looks to be about 14 years old. With amazement for himself, Aschenbach notes how much he is struck by the beauty of the young man. His face reminds the writer of a Greek sculpture. This encounter is significant in Death in Venice.

Aschenbach is struck by the striking differencea teenager from his sisters, which is shown even in their clothes. The girls are wearing unpretentious outfits, and the young man, on the contrary, is dressed to the nines, as if solemnly. He behaves not stiffly, like girls, but at ease and freely. In the midst of dinner, a strict, stately woman with a cold look joins them. Apparently their mother.

In the summary of "Death in Venice" it is necessary to note the findings of the author. For example, how changing weather affects the characters. The next day, the rain intensifies and Aschenbach seriously considers leaving, but at breakfast he sees the same boy again and is again struck by his beauty. On the same day, sitting on a sun lounger on the beach, he watches how he builds a sand castle with other children. They constantly called out to him by name, but Aschenbach could not hear him. He later found out that the second protagonist of "Death in Venice" is named Tadzio. Since then, he has constantly thought about the teenager.

Summary of "Death in Venice" is compiled in such a way as to focus on the most important and significant events of the work. For example, on the fact that at first Aschenbach's heart was filled with paternal disposition. Every day he began to lift with Tadzio after the second breakfast on the elevator, noting how fragile he turned out to be in reality. The writer is visited by thoughts that the teenager is too fragile and painful, therefore, most likely, he will not live to old age. He is overcome by a sense of calm and satisfaction, which he decides not to delve into.

The next day he goes for a walk incity that does not bring him pleasure. Therefore, returning to the hotel, he declares that he intends to leave.

The weather is changing

In "Death in Venice" you can see how the weather affects the mood of the characters by the summary. The next morning, Aschenbach notices that the air is fresher, although the weather is still overcast. He even managed to regret his hasty departure, but it was too late to change anything. When he sailed on the steamer, he felt that slight regret was replaced by real longing. When he got to the train station, he could only feel the growing mental turmoil.

Here an unexpected surprise awaited him. The bellboy from the hotel reported that his luggage had been sent in the opposite direction by mistake. Aschenbach, barely concealing his joy, declared that he did not intend to leave without his belongings. Returned to the hotel the same day. Around noon, he saw Tadzio again, realizing that it was precisely because of the boy that it was so difficult for him to leave the city.

The next day, the weather finally cleared up, the sandy beach was flooded with bright sun. He stopped thinking about leaving, and Tadzio met almost constantly. Soon, he had already studied almost every line and curve of his body, constantly admiring the child. To the aging artist, this enthusiasm seemed somehow drunk, he indulged in it with all his heart. Suddenly he felt like writing. He began to shape his prose in the image of Tadzio's beauty. When he finished the work, he felt empty. His conscience even began to torment him, as if he had committed some debauchery.

Onthe next morning, the writer decides to make a casual and cheerful acquaintance with the young man. But when I tried to speak, I realized that I was unable to do so. He was seized by an unprecedented timidity. Aschenbach understood that this acquaintance could bring him a healing sobering, but he was in no hurry to lose his drunken state. By this time, he had completely ceased to worry about the fact that his vacation was delayed, and now he devotes all his strength not to art, but to his intoxicating passion. Moreover, every day he went up to his room early, as soon as Tadzio disappeared. After that, the day seemed over to him. But the very next morning, the memory of the heart adventure woke him up again, giving him new strength. He sat by the window, waiting for the final dawn.

After a while, Aschenbach realized that Tadzio had noticed his interest. Their eyes met, once he was even rewarded with a smile from a child, which he took with him, realizing that this was a gift that could cause trouble.

In the fourth week of his stay in Venice, Aschenbach felt the changes taking place. There were fewer guests, despite the fact that the season was in full swing. The fact is that rumors about an impending epidemic appeared in the newspapers, although the staff denied everything. And the disinfection, which was carried out by the police, was called a preventive measure. Aschenbach felt some satisfaction from this mystery. In reality, he was worried about only one thing: that Tadzio would not leave. With horror for himself, he realized that he had no idea how he would live when this did happen.

Randommeetings with the boy had already ceased to satisfy him, he tracked and pursued him. In obedience to a certain demon that trampled on his dignity and mind, he only wanted to constantly follow the one who so ignited life in him.

Cholera

One day a troupe of itinerant artists came to the hotel and performed in the garden with a performance. Aschenbach settled down near the balustrade, immersed in the vulgar melody. Though outwardly he looked at ease, inside he remained tense, as Tadzio was standing five steps away from him.

From time to time the boy turned around, forcing Aschenbach to lower his eyes each time. He had already begun to notice that the women who were taking care of him repeatedly recalled him if the writer happened to be nearby.

At this time, street actors began to collect money for their performance. When one of them approached Aschenbach, he smelled disinfectant. Asking the actor why the authorities arranged these works, he only heard the official version.

The next day, the protagonist made another effort to find out the truth about what is really happening around. He went to the British travel agency, asking the fateful question of the clerk. Finally, he heard the truth. It turned out that Venice was struck by an epidemic of Asiatic cholera. The infection is spread through food, and intense heat contributes to its spread. The disease is practically incurable, cases of recovery are rare. However, the city authorities do their best to hide the real scale of what is happening, since the fear of ruin scares them more than the need to complyinternational agreements. The common people already know everything. Because of this, crime has grown significantly in the city, and debauchery has taken on unprecedented forms and scales.

The Englishman advises Aschenbach to leave as quickly as possible. The writer's first thought was to warn the Tadzio family. He already imagined how in this case he would be allowed to touch the boy's head with his hand. At the same time, he felt that he was not internally ready for everything to end so quickly. After that, he would again turn into himself, which he did not want to. During the night, Aschenbach had a nightmare. It seemed to him that he was participating in an unprecedented bacchanalia, submitting to the power of an alien god. Because of the dream, he woke up in a bad mood, completely broken.

Soon the truth about the state of affairs in the city became known to everyone in the hotel. The guests began to leave in a hurry, but Tadzio's mother seemed to be in no hurry. It seemed to Aschenbach, who was seized with passion, that in flight everyone around would demolish all living things in their path, and he remained alone with Tadzio on this island. At these moments, he began to select new bright details for his costume, sprayed with perfume and put on gems. The writer changed clothes several times a day, spending a huge amount of time on this. Aschenbach constantly sought to select bright details of the costume, which seemed to make him younger. His own aging body became disgusting to him in comparison with his he althy youth. At the barbershop, which was located at the hotel, he put on makeup and dyed his hair. When the procedures were completed, he saw inmirror a young man in his prime. After that, he completely lost his fear, starting to almost openly pursue Tadzio.

After a few days, Aschenbach felt unwell. He began to be overcome by bouts of nausea and a sense of hopelessness. On the same day, he saw in the hall the luggage of a Polish family, which was leaving anyway. From there, the writer went to the beach, where there was practically no one. Sitting in a deck chair, he watched Tadzio appear. Suddenly the young man turned around. He sat exactly as he had on the day his eyes met for the first time. Aschenbach's head turned, copying the boy's movement, and then rose to meet his gaze and collapsed on his chest. His face became sluggish, and he seemed to have sunk into a slumber. It seemed to the writer that the boy was smiling at him, rushing into the distance.

Literally a few minutes later, people who were nearby rushed to his aid, as Aschenbach fell in his chair. On the same day, the entire literary world became aware that the famous German writer died on vacation in Venice, becoming a victim of Asiatic cholera.

Screenings

The novella was so popular that it was filmed. The film of the same name was directed by Italian director Luchino Visconti in 1971. It starred Dirk Bogarde and Bjorn Andersen.

Studying the summary of the film "Death in Venice", we can conclude that the plot is almost identical to the literary source. Perhaps the main difference is that oneof the main characters, Gustav von Aschenbach, becomes a composer on the screen, and not a writer, as was the case in the novel.

Besides Visconti's drama, Benjamin Britten wrote an opera of the same name in 1973. In 2003, the German choreographer John Neumeier staged the ballet "Death in Venice".

Analysis

Analysis of "Death in Venice" allows us to conclude that in this work the author discusses the problem of art. It is worth noting that Mann wrote the short story at a time when pessimistic theories of philosophers were popular in Europe, who believed that human civilization was entering the last period of its history, only chaos awaited it ahead.

Under the influence of the general crisis, the connection with the classical tradition was lost, the civil sound disappeared. Feeling the decline taking place in art, Mann, as a true humanist, sought to warn humanity from the final loss of its spirituality, called in the short story "Death in Venice" not to worship false gods.

In their reviews of this work, critics constantly emphasized that throughout its entire length, Mann emphasizes that soulless art is doomed, it has no future. The German writer accused him of losing all interest in human values. Humanity, which will have only such art, is finally doomed.

Only art can save the situation, which will sing the ideals of love, justice, mutual assistance and kindness. Only itable to give a real artist satisfaction from his work. Only such art can unite people, helping humanity overcome any obstacles in life.

Reviews from readers

Readers in the reviews of Thomas Mann's novel "Death in Venice" emphasized that this is a real hymn to human conscience.

The main thing that fans of the work of the German humanist have been finding in this work for the past century is an ode to humanity and genius.