A brief 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 talk about what this novel is about, what is the history of its writing, as well as about reviews of readers and reviews of critics.
History of creation
Summary of "Death in Venice" allows you to quickly recall the main events of this work. The short story 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 story of the love of an already elderly German classic Goethe for 18-year-old Ulrika von Levets.
At the same time, the writer was depressed due to the death of Gustav Mahler. In Venice, he met with the prototype of his protagonist, 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.
Tie
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 and 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 the walk would calm him down. On the way, he was so tired that he decided to go back by tram. 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 an alien from distant lands. This accidental observation aroused the desire in Ashenbach to travel. One can only wonder how Mann in Death in Venice carefully traces and analyzes the true causes of certain acts of heroes.
It is noteworthy that the writer himself had always always regarded wanderings in a downward fashion. He lived in an apartment in Munich and had a small country house in which he spent the summer. The idea to go traveling, leaving work for a long time, at first seemed to him destructive and dissolute. But then he decided that he still needed a change.
Biography of the protagonist
Telling the summary of "Death in Venice" by Thomas Mann, we should dwell on the personality of the protagonist. This is a famous novelist, author of the epic about Friedrich of Prussia, a popular short story entitled "Pitiful", the novel "Maya". From his father, he inherited discipline and willpower, for which he was rewarded. The emperor appreciated his labors, conferring a noble title. Ashenbach's works are included in school reading books.
Summary of "Death in Venice" Manna will allow you to quickly refresh the memory of the main events of this work before the exam or standings. Analyzing the novel, it is necessary to note the fate of the protagonist. He had several unsuccessful attempts to settle somewhere, after which he settled in Munich.
Ashenbach soon married a girl from a professorial family, but she died. He still has a daughter, who is already married by the time of the events described in Death in Venice. Mann describes him as the owner of a face as if carved by a chisel, the face of a person who is little familiar with an anxious and difficult life.
Let's hit the road!
Restoring the events of the short story “Death in Venice” to “Briefley”, it is worth noting that two weeks after the memorable meeting at the tram stop, the protagonist set off. By night train, he left for Trieste, after boarding a boat to Paula. He decided to rest on the Adriatic Sea.
On the road with the main character of Thomas Mann's work "Death in Venice", everything turned out unsuccessfully at first. It was annoyed by humidity, rain and a provincial setting. Finally, he realized that he was mistaken in the choice, and soon the motorboat took him to the military harbor, from where he boarded the ship to Venice.
Mann carefully describes how Ashenbach gazes at the passengers who, along with him, board the ship. His attention is drawn to a group of chatting and laughing young people. One of them stands out in this company with a bright and fashionable suit. Having looked more closely at him, the main character realizes that this young man is a fake. An old man appears under a thick layer of make-up, this becomes especially evident in his wrinkled hands. The writer is struck by this fact, he is shocked to the core.
Arriving in Venice
When he gets to Venice, here he is also met by rain. On deck, he again meets an old man who has become disgusting for 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 very first evening at dinner, he draws attention to the Polish family at the next table. It consists of three young girls of 15-17 years old, who are watched by governesses, and a boy with long hair, who is about 14 years old. With astonishment for himself, Ashenbach notes how astonishing he is at the beauty of the young man. His face reminds the writer of Greek sculpture. This meeting is of great importance in the book "Death in Venice."
Ashenbahu is striking in the striking difference between the teenager and his sisters, which is manifested even in their clothes. The girls have unpretentious outfits, and the young man, on the contrary, is dressed with a needle, as if solemnly. He does not behave stiffly, like girls, but at ease and freely. In the midst of dinner, they are joined by a stern, stately woman with a cold look. Apparently, their mother.
In the summary of "Death in Venice", the author’s finds must be noted. For example, how changing weather affects heroes. The next day, the rain intensifies, and Ashenbach is seriously thinking about leaving, but at breakfast he again sees the same boy and again marvels at his beauty. On the same day, sitting on the beach in a deck chair, he watches how he builds a sand castle with other children. They constantly called out to him by name, but Ashenbach could not hear him. He later found out that the second protagonist of Death in Venice was Tazio. Since then, he constantly thought about the teenager.
The summary of "Death in Venice" is designed 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 Ashenbach’s heart filled the paternal arrangement. Every day, he began to lift from Tajio after lunch at the elevator, noting how fragile he really was. 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 seized with a sense of calm and satisfaction, in which he decides not to delve into.
The next day he goes for a walk around the city, which does not bring him pleasure. Therefore, returning to the hotel, declares that he intends to leave.
the weather is changing
In "Death in Venice" for a brief summary, you can trace how the weather affects the mood of the characters. The next morning, Aschenbach notices that the air has become fresher, although the weather is still cloudy. He even managed to regret the hasty departure, but it was too late to change anything. When he sailed on the ship, he felt that a slight regret gave way to real longing. When he reached the station, he already felt only a growing mental confusion.
An unexpected surprise awaited him here. A messenger from the hotel reported that his luggage was mistakenly sent in the opposite direction. Ashenbach, with difficulty concealing his joy, said that he did not intend to leave without his belongings. On the same day I returned to the hotel. At about noon, he again saw Tadzio, realizing that it was because of the boy that it was so difficult for him to leave the city.
The next day, it was completely frustrated, the sandy beach was flooded with bright sun. He stopped thinking about leaving, and Tajio met almost constantly. Soon, he had already studied almost every line and bend of his body, constantly admiring the child. The aging artist, this delight seemed somehow drunk, he indulged him with all his heart. Suddenly he felt that he wanted to write. He began to form his prose in the image of the beauty of Tajio. When he finished work, he felt empty. He even began to torment his conscience, as if he had committed some kind of dissoluteness.
The next morning, the writer decides to make a casual acquaintance with the young man. But when I tried to speak, I realized that I was not able to do this. He was seized by unprecedented shyness. Ashenbach understood that this acquaintance could bring him a healing sobriety, but was in no hurry to lose his intoxicated state. By this time, he had completely ceased to worry that his vacation had dragged on, and now he gave all his strength not to art, but to his heady hobby. Moreover, every day he went up to his room early, as soon as Tajio disappeared. After that, the day seemed to him over. But the very next morning, the memory of a hearty adventure woke him again, giving new strength. He sat by the window, waiting for the final dawn.
After some time, Ashenbach realized that Tajio noticed his interest. Their views began to meet, one day he was even awarded a smile from a child, which he carried away with him, realizing that it was a gift that could do misfortunes.
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 in the newspapers there were rumors of an impending epidemic, although the staff denied everything. And the disinfection carried out by the police called a preventive measure. Ashenbach experienced some satisfaction from this mystery. In fact, he was only worried about one thing: that Tadzio did not leave. With horror for himself, he realized that he had no idea how he would live when it did happen.
Random encounters with the boy had ceased to satisfy him, he was tracking him down and chasing him. Obeying a certain demon who trampled his dignity and mind, he only wanted to constantly follow the one who had lit his life in him.
Cholera
Once, a troupe of strolling artists came to the hotel and performed in a garden with a performance. Ashenbach is located near the balustrade, immersed in a vulgar melody. Although outwardly he looked laid-back, he remained tense inside himself, since Tajio stood five steps away from him.
From time to time, the boy turned around, forcing Ashenbach to lower his eyes every time. He already began to notice that the women who patronized him had repeatedly called him back if the writer was nearby.
At this time, street actors began to raise money for their performance. When one of them approached Ashenbach, he smelled disinfection. After asking the actor why the authorities arranged these works, I only heard the official version.
The next day, the main character made another effort to find out the truth about what is really happening around. He went to the British travel agency, asking the fatal question to the clerk. Finally, he heard the truth. It turned out that Venice was struck by an epidemic of Asian cholera. Infection spreads through food, and heat spreads. The disease is practically incurable, cases of recovery are isolated. However, the city authorities in every way conceal the real extent of what is happening, since the fear of ruin scares them more than the need to comply with international agreements. Ordinary people already know everything. Because of this, crime has grown significantly in the city, and debauchery has taken unprecedented forms and proportions.
The Englishman advises Ashenbach to leave as soon as possible. The writer's first thought was to warn the Tajio 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 no longer wanted. Ashenbach had a nightmare at night. It seemed to him that he was participating in an unprecedented bacchanalia, submitting to the power of a strange god. Because of a 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 at the hotel. The guests began to hurry to disperse, but Tadzio's mother seemed to be in no hurry. Ashenbah, who was embraced by passion, imagined that on the run all around would demolish everything living on his way, and he remained alone with Tajio on this island. At these moments, he began to pick up new bright details for his suit, was sprayed with perfumes and put on precious stones. The writer changed clothes several times a day, spending a huge amount of time on it. Ashenbach constantly sought to pick up the bright details of the costume, which seemed to make him younger. His own aging body became disgusting to him in comparison with his youthful health. In the hairdresser, which was located at the hotel, he put on his face makeup and dyed his hair. When the procedures were over, he saw a young man in the mirror in his prime. After that, he finally lost fear, starting to almost openly pursue Tajio.
After a few days, Ashenbach felt that he was feeling ill. He began to overcome bouts of nausea and a sense of hopelessness. On the same day, he saw in the lobby the luggage of a Polish family, who had nevertheless left. From there, the writer went to the beach, where almost no one was there. Settling down on a deck chair, he began to watch Tajio appear. Suddenly the young man turned around. He sat exactly the same as he did on that day, when out of sight he met for the first time. Ashenbach’s head turned, copying the boy’s movement, and then rose to meet his gaze and collapsed on his chest. His face became lethargic, and he seemed to be slumbering. The writer began to think that the boy was smiling at him, rushing into the distance.
Just a few minutes later, people nearby were rushing 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 Asian cholera.
Adaptations
The short story was so popular that it was filmed. The film of the same name in 1971 was shot by the Italian director Lukino Visconti. The main roles in it were played by Dirk Bogard 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 one of the main characters, Gustav von Aschenbach, on the screen becomes a composer, not a writer, as was the case in the novel.
In addition to the drama Visconti, in 1973 the opera of the same name was written by the English composer Benjamin Britten. In 2003, 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 a short story at a time when pessimistic theories of philosophers were popular in Europe, which believed that human civilization was entering the last time of its history, only chaos awaited it.
Under the influence of the general crisis, the connection with the classical tradition was lost, the civilian sound disappeared. Sensing the decline taking place in art, Mann, as a true humanist, sought to warn mankind from the final loss of his spirituality, urged in the novel "Death in Venice" not to worship false gods.
Critics in their reviews of this work constantly emphasized that throughout its entire length Mann emphasizes that spiritual 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 chant the ideals of love, justice, mutual assistance and goodness. Only it can give a real artist the satisfaction of his work. Only such art can unite people, helping humanity overcome any obstacles in life.
Reader Reviews
Readers in 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 found in this work for the past century is an ode to humanity and genius.