Gustav von Aschenbach
Gustav von Aschenbach is the fictional main character in Thomas Mann's novella Death in Venice .
Life
Gustav von Aschenbach was born the son of a judicial officer and an artist. He grew up in L. , a Silesian district town. He started writing at an early age and was able to record his first successes. On his 50th birthday, he was awarded the title of nobility by the Prince for his work Friedrich , so his name was now Gustav von Aschenbach . Other literary works were Maja and Ein Elender . Von Aschenbach lived in Munich as the widowed father of a married daughter.
Von Aschenbach's character is characterized by incredible self-control and iron discipline. His favorite word perseverance is the motto in his life. As a child he learned to get along without friendships, as he was not allowed to go to school due to an illness, but received private lessons. This shaped his entire life.
He falls in love with a 14-year-old boy while on vacation in Venice, feels erotically drawn to him and watches him daily on the beach. He becomes infected with overripe strawberries, which he buys on a foray through the lagoon city, and dies of cholera.
templates
Thomas Mann alludes to Gustav Mahler with his Gustav von Aschenbach .
Movie
In Luchino Visconti's film Death in Venice (1971) Gustav von Aschenbach is portrayed by Dirk Bogarde . In contrast to the literary model, Aschenbach is not a writer in this film, but a composer.
literature
- Vasile V. Poenaru: The structure of meaning of the figure Gustav von Aschenbach in Thomas Mann's “Death in Venice”: how a work of art wells up from his name. In: Journal of Germanists in Romania, Vol. 15–16, 2006–2007, pp. 362–372.