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Death in Venice

Short Fiction and Fable

Death in Venice, published in German as Der Tod in Venedig, is a novella by German author Thomas Mann, drawing in part on his own experience in Venice during the 1911 cholera epidemic. Published in a limited edition by Hyperion-Verlag in 1912, it presents an ennobled writer who visits Venice, finding the experience liberating and uplifting, before becoming increasingly obsessed by the sight of a boy, Tadzio, in a family of Polish tourists, a character likely based on a boy Mann had observed during his own 1911 visit to the city. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Classification
Audience
General 1
Original Language
German 1
Composed, From (Year)
1912 1
FAQs

What does Death in Venice say about the role of the artist?

It shows a disciplined writer whose private desires overwhelm him once he meets beauty embodied in the boy Tadzio.

Britannica describes the novella as a symbol-laden story of aestheticism and decadence in which Mann explores the role of the artist in society. Its hero Gustav von Aschenbach is a revered author whose work is known for its discipline and formal perfection. He summons extraordinary discipline and endurance in his literary work, but his private desires overwhelm him. In Venice he sacrifices his dignity and well-being to the experience of beauty as embodied by the young Tadzio, and he stays despite warnings of a cholera epidemic.
Connections

Associated With

The Novella, Forms
Source Death in Venice (Wikipedia)

Authored By

Thomas Mann, Authors
Source Death in Venice (Wikipedia)

In Genre

Short Fiction, Genres
Source Death in Venice (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Original Language

Also in Language Atlas: the original language of this subject.

Originated In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Death in Venice (Wikipedia)tier 2
Sources
1. Death in Venice (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    Death in Venice (German: Der Tod in Venedig) is a novella by German author Thomas Mann...It was published in a limited edition by Hyperion-Verlag in 1912.
  • Lead
    is a novella by German author Thomas Mann, drawing in part on his own experience in Venice during the 1911 cholera epidemic.
  • Lead paragraph
    Death in Venice (German: Der Tod in Venedig) is a novella by German author Thomas Mann, drawing in part on his own experience in Venice during the 1911 cholera epidemic. It was published in a limited edition by Hyperion-Verlag in 1912, serialised from October to November the same year in Die neue Rundschau, and issued in a trade edition by Fischer in 1913.
  • Authored By: Thomas Mann, Lead section, authorship
    Death in Venice (German: Der Tod in Venedig) is a novella by German author Thomas Mann.
  • Associated With: The Novella, Lead section, form
    is a novella by German author Thomas Mann
  • In Genre: Short Fiction, Infobox, Genre field
    Novella
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