Aschenbach was certainly an artist. A very decent one. He had his life planned out, was very accurate and organized. Perhaps even a bit boring, monotonous. He was a hard-working man, he had that certain motus animi continuus. He was seen as a genius. From the beginning, he wanted to become known, to become famous, but his life was empty. He yearned for a change of pace, for some action, adventure and unpredictability of what …showed first 75 words of 1023 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1023 total…overripe and soft, but he ate them. Did he realize they carried the plague? Every great man has a flaw, Hamlet was indecisive, MacBeth had too much ambition, Othello was jealous…and Aschenbach was obsessed. His obsession led him to forget about his own well-being and life. That’s what led him to his unlucky end. An end that is not even as satisfactory as it could’ve been. An end he didn’t deserve.