SparkNotes: Free Study Guides No Fear Shakespeare: The Bard made easy SparkCharts: Just the facts TestPrep: SAT, ACT, and more 101s: College texts condensed Subject Finder: Browse by subject SparkCollege: Get in! SparkLife: 100% study-free home_bottom home_top BN_link
 
Context
 
 
Summary
 
 
Characters
 
 
Chapter 1
 
 
Chapter 2
 
 
Chapter 3a
 
 
Chapter 3
 
 
Chapter 4
 
 
Chapter 5a
 
 
Chapter 5b
 
 
Chapter 5c
 
 
Analysis
 
 
Study Questions
 
 
Review Quiz
 
 
Further Reading
 
 
 
 
◄ PREVIOUS
Summary
NEXT ►
Chapter 1
 

Death in Venice

 Thomas Mann
 

Characters

 
Gustav von Aschenbach  -  An aging writer, honorable, fastidious, and repressed, of high public status in Germany. He travels to Venice and stays in a hotel where the beautiful boy Tadzio is also a guest. As he gives way to his repressed sexuality and falls in love with Tadzio while embracing beauty and the sensual side of art, he also abandons morality and dignity, abandoning himself to passion, decadence, and ultimately death.
 
Tadzio  -  An intensely beautiful Polish boy of about fourteen. He stays with his mother, sisters, and governess at the same hotel in Venice as Gustav von Aschenbach. Tadzio is pure and innocent but also aware of Aschenbach's interest in him.
 
Jashu -  Tadzio's closest companion at the hotel. He seems to idolize Tadzio, acting as his "vassal." Jashu has glossy black hair, a sturdy build, and a rowdy temperament, serving as a polar opposite to Tadzio.
 
 
Help | Feedback | Make a request | Report an error | Send to a friend

◄ PREVIOUS
Summary
NEXT ►
Chapter 1
 
 
 
 
 
 
Message Boards
Ask a question or start a discussion on the community boards.
  • Death in Venice
  • Modernist Literature
  •  
     
     
     
    Printable PDF
    Download a printable version of this SparkNote.
     
    Click Here
     
     
    SparkCharts
    A textbook's worth of information on an easy-to-read chart.
  • Literary Terms
  •  
     
     
     
     
    Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | About | Sitemap
    ©2008 SparkNotes LLC, All Rights Reserved.