This book provides a philosophical analysis of Thomas Mann's Death in Venice and connects the predicament of the novella's central character to Western thought's most compelling questions. The book explains that Mann's work is one of the most widely read novellas in any language. It considers both the novella and a number of other works of art that have been adapted from it, including Benjamin Britten's opera and Luchino Visconti successful film. It describes the main themes of Mann's story, in which the character Gustav von Aschenbach becomes captivated by an adolescent boy, first seen on the ... More

This book provides a philosophical analysis of Thomas Mann's Death in Venice and connects the predicament of the novella's central character to Western thought's most compelling questions. The book explains that Mann's work is one of the most widely read novellas in any language. It considers both the novella and a number of other works of art that have been adapted from it, including Benjamin Britten's opera and Luchino Visconti successful film. It describes the main themes of Mann's story, in which the character Gustav von Aschenbach becomes captivated by an adolescent boy, first seen on the lido in Venice, the eventual site of Aschenbach's own death. It explains how Mann uses the story to work through central concerns about how to live, themes that had been explored by his German predecessors, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. The book considers how Mann's, Britten's, and Visconti's treatments illuminate the tension between social and ethical values and an artist's sensitivity to beauty. It shows how each work asks whether a life devoted to self-sacrifice in the pursuit of lasting achievements can be sustained and whether a breakdown of discipline undercuts its worth. The book also highlights that Aschenbach's story helps us reflect on whether it is possible to achieve anything in full awareness of our finitude and in knowing our successes are always incomplete.