In Thomas Mann's 1912 novella, Death in Venice, the aging protagonist Gustav von Aschenbach is symbolic of the pursuit of aesthetic beauty, and his ensuing moral decline is symbolic of the decadence and moral decline in turn of the century Europe in what is known as fin de siecle, the last years of the 19th century and the first few of the 20th century. The term also connotes a radical change that inevitably occurs with a new century. Fin de siecle aptly describes the situation of novelist Aschenbach as his physical and moral decline parallels the decline of the formalistic and cerebral European world, a world to be changed by new passions. The second sentence of the story describes Europe as sitting "upon the anxious seat beneath a menace that hung over its head for months" (439). Such is the story of Aschenbach as his longtime cerebral, repressed, controlled world is shattered by a growing passion and inner need. He may be seen as the victim of his strict, repressive life that refused to recognize the power of emotions. His journey and stay in Venice where he descends into a sensual world he previously repressed begins his fall into a pit that ends in his death, a death he may be said to have unconsciously wished for.
The plotline deals with the story of repressed, middle-aged novelist Gustav Aschenbach who travels to Venice from Munich in an attempt to reinvigorate his interest in life, an interest that soon focuses entirely on the passion he develops for a beautiful 14-year old boy. Ultimately he pays a high price for his passion when it becomes the motivating force in his death.
Death in Death in Venice is not the romantic death of a hero. It is the death of an artist whose devotion to discipline and a life of the mind is challenged by a yearning for bohemia and an intemperate life. The story expresses the dangers inherent in extremity, as Aschenbach moves from extreme repression to an extreme passion that becomes an obs...