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Peta Blundell
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The short story Death in Venice by Thomas Mann and Henrik Ibsen’s play
(a writer who views himself as ‘an artist’) and Osvald Alving respectively. The
authors use these characters to explore their views on the nature and role of an
Aschenbach and Osvald are both key figures in their respective stories, as they
are used as instruments to explore the nature of an artist. For Mann, the key
reason and passion. The essence of this equilibrium is captured in his line, “it
darker, more fiery impulses that an artist…came into being.”1 Mann gives the
impression of balance through the sentence itself, with the phrase pertaining to
rhythm of the latter, ‘darker, more fiery impulses’ that make up the ‘passionate’
This idea of the need for balance is an essential element of exploring the nature
of the artist in both stories. Neither Aschenbach, nor Osvald, have the character
required to achieve this balance and thus perfection in their art, leading to their
misery or demise. Aschenbach begins the story firmly entrenched in his world of
order, reason and discipline. The author’s description of his daily work, where he
would, “offer up for art, for two or three ardently conscientious hours, the strength
1
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice, pg 203
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he had gathered during his sleep,”2 indicates the rigidity of his life, and his
dependence on structure and routine. The concept that “he too had served, he
too had been a soldier and a warrior…for art was a war, an exhausting struggle”3
and the strict framework in which he created his art. His hyperbolic description of
art being ‘a war’ indicates his clear lack of passion and enjoyment of his work.
Indeed, Mann states this himself when he writes, “even as [his work] brought him
national honour he took no pleasure in it himself.”4 While one can see that
Aschenbach lives for his art, he is constrained within his own self-imposed
boundaries of order and discipline, and thus cannot find happiness or perfection
in his work.
On the other hand, Osvald speaks of, “the joy of living…and the joy of work, too.
Well, actually, they’re the same thing.”5 Here, it is identified that Osvald also lives
for his work, but because he is passionate about it. The casual tone employed in
his comment implies that these are Osvald’s core beliefs – the reason for
happiness in his life is his art. His passion and love for art is also made evident
through the repetition of the phrase ‘the joy of’, highlighting the link between living
and work.
As both these characters have natures driven by a need to produce, their inability
to work leads to their demise. For Osvald, illness threatens that he will lose the
– never! It’ll be a living death. Mother, can you think of anything more dreadful?”6
2
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice, pg 204
3
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice, pg 249
4
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice, pg 201
5
Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts, pg 81
6
Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts, pg 73
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‘never’, combined with the oxymoron ‘living death’, each heightening the emotion
of the phrase. The threat of becoming ”helpless, like a newborn baby” and unable
to work drives Osvald to request a “helping hand” to end his life if the illness
worsens. Aschenbach mirrors this fear of losing his capacity to work. Mann
describes, “the apprehension that his time might run out before he had given the
whole of himself by doing what he had it in him to do.”7 This statement reflects his
disciplined nature, and, like Osvald, his compulsion to continue to work on his art.
Thus, both authors explain that due to the artists’ nature of living solely for their
The second element of a portrait of an artist that Mann and Ibsen explore is the
role of their work. Firstly, it is expressed that part of their role is to capture
emotion and beauty in their work. These ideas are explored through the
“Everything that I’ve painted has been based on this joy of living. Always –
without exception – on the joy of living. There’s light and sunshine there,
In these lines, he uses imagery with symbolic connotations to convey the positive
emotions captured within his work, namely the motifs of ‘light’ and ‘sunshine'. The
repetition of the key phrase ‘joy of living’ highlights the focus of his art. In this
way, Osvald reveals the role of art to be the creation of something that captures
and expresses positive human emotions. It also implies that the role of an artist is
to capture feelings that cannot otherwise be expressed. The concept of the ‘joy of
7
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice, pg 200
8
Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts, pg 82
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living’ is raised throughout the play, but it is only clearly expressed through the
eyes of the artist. Thus, Osvald’s character is used to explain a key concept of
of human emotion.
Mann also uses his main character’s thoughts and observations to explain his
own ideas on the role of art. In the story, Aschenbach’s view of perfection is to be
world.”9
To him, art must simultaneously inform people through its ‘intellectual substance’
and yet engage and ‘delight’ the reader. The use of florid imagery through the
words ‘sparkling’, and ‘joyful improvisation’ conveys the message that effective
art must capture beauty and pleasure. The contrast between ‘joyful improvisation’
passion and reason. Thus, the ideas of both major characters are used to convey
A major difference between the portrayals of the characters in each story is the
looked down upon by the conservative upper class of society. This social stance
9
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice, p 201
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“but how could a young man or a young woman with any sort of decent
This rhetorical question juxtaposes the images of a ‘decent’ young upper class
man or woman with the artistic community to make his distinction that they are
two completely opposite types of people. This reflects the social stance of many
of the upper class in the context of the play. The pastor continues to paint a very
“you mustn’t imagine that I condemn the artistic life unreservedly; I’m sure
there are many people who can keep their souls unspotted even in those
surroundings.” 11
strong rhetoric, especially his use of the word ‘condemn’. In the context of the late
1880s, when this play was based, the church played a central role in governing
one’s profession by the pastor clearly indicates the level of distaste with which
the upper class of society regarded the artistic community – essentially that they
upper class of his society. In his context (Germany around 1910), artists were
becoming accepted, and in many cases admired rather than prejudiced against.
whose name had been ennobled, and on whose style young boys were taught to
model their own,”12 was clearly an acclaimed, successful member of the upper
10
Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts, pg 44
11
Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts, pg 39
12
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice, pg 264
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class. The very fact that his work became an example of how to write for the
‘young boys’ of the wealthy and well regarded illustrates the dramatic shift of
social standing of an artist within these two texts. No longer was an artist an
example of ‘immorality’ and how not to behave, but instead one who had the
“capacity both to inspire confidence in the general public and to win the
comparing the two texts, one can gain insight into the artist’s social standing, and
of the nature, role and social standing of an artist in Death in Venice and Ghosts.
By comparing and contrasting these ideas, one can gain valuable insight into
Bibliography
• Ibsen, Henrik. Ghosts and Other Plays. Trans. Peter Watts. London: Penguin,
2003. Print.
• Thomas, Mann. Death in Venice and Other Stories. Trans. David Luke.
London: Vintage, 1998. Print.
13
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice, pg 203