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World Literature Assignment One

The Portrait of an Artist in Death in Venice


and Ghosts

Peta Blundell
000 505 002

Word Count: 1532


Peta Blundell

The portrait of an artist in Death in Venice and Ghosts

The short story Death in Venice by Thomas Mann and Henrik Ibsen’s play

Ghosts both feature an artist as a principal character – Gustav von Aschenbach

(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

artist, and to comment on their social standing in each context.

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

characteristic of a successful artist is the ability to find the balance between

reason and passion. The essence of this equilibrium is captured in his line, “it

was from this marriage between hard-working, sober conscientiousness and

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

discipline (‘hard-working, sober, conscientiousness’) matching the length and

rhythm of the latter, ‘darker, more fiery impulses’ that make up the ‘passionate’

element of the sentence.

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

uses a metaphor to explain the enormous amount of self-discipline he applied,

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

ability to create art. To this he responds, “never to be able to work again…never

– 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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His strength of feeling is illustrated through the repetition of the superlative

‘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

work, the removal of their art leads to their demise.

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

characters’ thoughts and conversations. In Ghosts, this is particularly apparent

when Osvald states,

“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,

and a feeling of holiday, with faces radiating happiness.”8

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

the novel, while simultaneously illuminating the role of an artist to be a conveyor

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

able to fulfil the role of the artist who can include:

“that element of sparkling and joyful improvisation, that quality which

surpasses any intellectual substance in its power to delight the receptive

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’

and ‘intellectual substance’ also refers back to Mann’s theme of balancing

passion and reason. Thus, the ideas of both major characters are used to convey

their authors’ own ideas on the role of art.

A major difference between the portrayals of the characters in each story is the

society’s reaction to the artist. In Ghosts, Osvald’s chosen profession is one

looked down upon by the conservative upper class of society. This social stance

is epitomised by Pastor Manders’ line,

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

upbringing bear to live like that…in circles where open immorality is

accepted – and even honoured?”10

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

negative picture of the artistic community when he notes,

“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

The pastor’s disdain is highlighted in this conversation due to his accumulation of

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

people’s lives and moral standards. Thus, to be considered ‘condemned’ for

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

resided in the lowest level of society, and had no viable future.

In stark contrast to that, Aschenbach’s work is celebrated and embraced by the

upper class of his society. In his context (Germany around 1910), artists were

becoming accepted, and in many cases admired rather than prejudiced against.

Aschenbach himself is an example of this, as he, “whose fame was official,

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

admiration and encouragement from the discriminating connoisseur.”13 Thus, by

comparing the two texts, one can gain insight into the artist’s social standing, and

how that differs between the two contexts.

In conclusion, there are a number of similarities and differences in the treatment

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

each author’s portrait of an artist.

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

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