Death in Venice

On his father’s side, Aschenbach is descended from a long line of respectable statesmen and officials who lived diligent lives dedicated to the somber carrying out of their duties. His mother came from a more sensual and passionate stock as the daughter of a Bohemian musician, and in Aschenbach, the traits of these lines are seemingly combined to produce an artist. Aschenbach was briefly married to a wife who died young, leaving him with a daughter now long since grown and married herself. He lives a respectable middle-class life in Munich with a summer house in the countryside, and he is dark, clean-shaven, and possesses a head that seems too large for his short and dapper body. His face and nerves are marked by the strains of his art, which has had the same refining effect on him as a life full of elicit pleasures.

Aschenbach has managed to produce works of great renown despite lacking the robust constitution that would typically be required to take full advantage of his innate talents. He was educated at home since he was too sickly as a child to attend school, and even as an adult, he must ration his energy carefully. His poor health would lead many in his place to burn out and die young, but Aschenbach was determined to survive into his old age. He believes that talent can only bloom fully when it is expressed in art through all the stages of life. To combat his weak physical health, Aschenbach applies the willpower and discipline inherited from his father’s side to following a sustainable but productive schedule. He reserves his most productive hours each morning and evening for writing and editing and works for years to patiently refine his works. That people assume they were created through a single burst of genius and inspiration speaks to Aschenbach’s skill and care in crafting and revising his work.

From a young age, Aschenbach focused on securing his reputation in the public sphere, making a name for himself early and committing to a correspondence that spanned the globe. Even in his youth, he was never careless, although it did take time for him to grow out of youthful indiscretions such as irony and a strict adherence to knowledge and facts. He has long since abandoned such foibles on the road to becoming truly respectable and overall dignified. He has written several lengthy and critically acclaimed works which all feature heroic protagonists who have managed to triumph by enduring hardships. His works are characterized by technical proficiency and fluent presentation. Excerpts from his books have been used in school textbooks as exemplars in style and form, and shortly after his 50th birthday, he was granted a noble title for his services to German literature. His works are especially successful simply because he is fortunate enough to see his values and perspectives on heroism align with the prevailing sentiments of his contemporary public.

A contemporary once aptly described Aschenbach as akin to a clenched fist that never relaxed. He represses his emotions and passions so that he can focus on his work but has noticed that the lack of passion has negatively impacted his writing style. He fears that his repressed emotions are rebelling by refusing to contribute to his work, which has become more rigid and didactic over time, now characterized by more of a reliance on formulas and convention.