Sigmund Freud and Mann’s Death in Venice

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Sigmund Freud and Mann’s Death in Venice
Sigmund Freud’s theories and concepts in psychology are a notable influence in historical literature. His psychoanalytic theory introduces the concept of the human mind divided into the id, ego, and super-ego. In Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, the character of Gustav von Aschenbach depicts the Eros-Thanatos theme in the text (Slochower 257). Freud identified love as a by-product of Eros with death the inevitable result of various activities such as The theme manifests in Aschenbach’s inner struggle between his id and superego while pursuing his heart’s desire for beauty and romanticism.
Sax (54) notes that at the time Mann compiled the story, Freud influence was felt through both the transformation in psychology and European works. Mann’s understanding of Freud’s works noting the ideology that children are sexual. This transformed the character of the children’s Eros for writers such as Mann (Sax 54). Aschenbach’s comparison of Tadzio’s smile to that of Greek mythology’s Narcissus reveals this Freudian influence (Mann 95). Narcissus, a Greek Adonis, fell in love with his reflection.
Aschenbach depicts the conflict between the Freudian ‘id’ and super-ego’ (Deb 84). Aschenbach develops a fascination for the young Tadzio’s attractiveness and dedicates a significant part of his vacation to pursuing his interest in the boy. The id is responsible for this reaction as he attempts to satisfy the basic need of attraction.

The writer’s reluctance to approach the boy even after he establishes his sexual desires for the boy to align with the psychoanalytic reality principle. The principle requires that the desires of the id be satisfied in a socially appropriate and real manner. This conflicts with his super-ego’s desire to enjoy his vacation in Venice and return with a clear mind to write.
Freud observes that there exists three levels of the mind. The level of consciousness where the id and super-ego conflict is identified as the unconscious where an individual remains out of awareness (Nevid 408). This is similar to Aschenbach who fails to comprehend the Dionysian aspect of his erotic dream. Dionysus, the mythological Greek god of wine and theatre, alongside Apollo the mythological Greek god of music present the presence of the duality of Apollonian and the Dionysian in the text. The Apollonian is manifested through the visual arts in the form of a dream while the Dionysian through the non-visual art of music as intoxication (Jaen 192). However, Aschenbach’s lack of action ultimately ends with his death. Therefore, in his pursuit of Eros through Tadzio, Aschenbach engages in various unplanned activities that lead to him attaining Thanatos through his death through cholera.
Works Cited
Deb, Satarupa. “Freudian Psychoanalytic Reading of Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice: The Clash of Id, Ego, and Super-ego.”
Mann, Thomas. Death in Venice. Perfectbound, n.d.
Nevid, Jeffrey J. U. N. Y. Essentials of Psychology – Concepts and Applications. , 2014. Print.
Sax, Boria. Death in Venice (maxnotes Literature Guides). Newburyport: Research & Education Association, 2013. Internet resource.
Slochower, Harry. “Thomas Mann’s ‘Death in Venice.’” American Imago, vol. 46, no. 2/3, 1989, pp. 255–279. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26304049.