Death in Venice

The strawberries Aschenbach consumes in Chapter 5 symbolize the destructive and deadly nature of his unregulated passion for Tadzio, developing themes of decay, death, and The Conflict Between Rationality and Sensuality. They represent a sensual pleasure and were eaten to combat the thirst and physical strain that came of pursuing Tadzio. Aschenbach eats them despite having been warned that fresh produce is likely contaminated with cholera, and it is implied that they are the source of the infection that kills him. This creates a link of causality that indicates that Aschenbach’s obsession with Tadzio and his unregulated indulgence of sensual passions are the underlying causes of his death.

Venice is the setting of most of the novella and a major motif contributing to Mann’s exploration of themes and his presentation of the character Aschenbach. Germany and Italy had much in common at the time of Mann’s writing, being recently unified nations of smaller, formerly autonomous states now trying to compete with long-established global powers such as France and Austria-Hungary. However, the stereotypical “national characters” of the two countries were very different; Italy was more associated with art and passion, and Germany with industry and discipline. Aschenbach journeys to Italy in search of respite and novelty from his life in Germany, inextricably linking his geographical relocation with his character development away from repression to excessive sensuality. Aschenbach’s conflict over whether to risk his health by staying in Venice, first due to the climate and then due to the plague, is overcome by his desire to remain close to Tadzio. This internal debate and its resolution are reflective of Aschenbach’s experience with the conflict between rationality and sensuality.

Venice is unique among European cities in that it was planned and constructed to be a unique cultural treasure. The gleaming white-stone city run through with canals, home to innumerable art museums and buildings of notable cultural heritage, is a setting that harkens strongly to the theme of The Idolization of Beauty. However, Mann’s depiction of the city has a sinister atmosphere, with its emblematic gondolas being compared with coffins and the scent of disinfectant mingling with the unwholesome sirocco to create a “suffocating” atmosphere. The presence of cholera in the city, and Aschenbach’s inability and unwillingness to extricate himself from Venice cements the theme of the link between desire and death as central to the novella.