A common theme that occurs within Tolstoy’s novel and Mann’s short story includes the conflict between the spiritual and physical life and how disease emerges as a result of moral issues. The two literary pieces present characters that face internal conflict without realizing the external effect their moral issues have on themselves. In the beginning of Tolstoy’s novel, death is first introduced. The remainder of the novel mainly narrates Ivan Ilych’s life and merges many attitudes about death as a punishment for his poor moral behavior. On the other hand, in Mann’s short story, it is difficult to determine whether Gustav von Aschenbach died of actual disease or if he died because of his moral life and lustful obsession with a young boy named Tadzio. Both of these literary pieces link together morality and its negative impact on the physical body further inducing illness.
In the Death of Ivan Ilych, it is evident that Ilych faces a moral dilemma and begins to question his past life. He begins to reflect on his morality and rightness of his actions, “Maybe I did not live as I ought to have done,” it suddenly occurred to him. “But how could that be, when I did everything properly?” he replied, and immediately dismissed from his mind this, the sole solution of all the riddles of life and death, as something quite impossible.” Ilych is aware that he is dying, however he is unable to determine what the true meaning of life is. Throughout his entire life he had conformed himself with what society deemed as being successful. He lived his life based on society’s views of life’s goals and based his career, standards and decisions on what seemed to be admired by his social superiors. He also marries his wife, not because he truly loves her but because he believes it is the correct thing to do. The actions and values that Ilych presents are solely determined by society and he believes that he will find happiness in doing what others believe is right. This ultimately leads to his suffering and isolation as well as his inability to see the mistakes of his past life. He begins to not only feel physical pain but also suffers internally when he experiences great despair, fear, and agony.
Ilych’s suffering is also presented earlier in the novel in chapter four, “With this consciousness, and with physical pain besides the terror, he must go to bed, often to lie awake the greater part of the night. And he had to live thus all alone on the brink of an abyss, with no one who understood or pitied him.” This quote brings to light the moral decay that Ilych experiences and how he is unable to bear life on its own because of it. The agony he feels is due to the fact that no one seems to understand that he is actually dying, and they disregard his emotional necessities. His isolation from society forces him to confront his internal conflict and this allows him to realize the significance of his spiritual life.
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Death in Venice similarly depicts the moral concern the protagonist of the short story experiences. In the beginning, Aschenbach is introduced as a man who seems to have his artistic dedication under control, “the enervating daily struggle between a proud, tenacious, well-tried will and this growing fatigue, which no one must suspect, nor the finished product betray by any faintest sign that his inspiration could ever flag or miss fire.” This also suggests that he feels oppressed because he does not act on his desires. He feels some obligation and need to conceal his internal troubles from society. From this the reader may inadvertently judge Aschenbach on his desires rather than the actions he takes when acquainted with Tadzio. Throughout the novella, Aschenbach stalks the young boy and follows him around Venice developing an extreme obsession and forming erotic desires. He becomes lovestruck and begins to let down his own guard revealing his immorality. Towards the end of the story, he becomes ill and dies as he watches the young boy. The fact that he decides to stay longer in Venice despite the disease that had emerged demonstrates that he has become morally corrupted which inevitably leads to his death.
Both literary pieces present this connection between morality and disease and how it plays a role as the primary cause of death. In Tolstoy’s novel, Ivan Ilych is unaware of his spiritual well-being; he believes that his physical life is the only aspect that exists and is causing his suffering. It is not until towards the end that he has a revelation and an understanding of his life as well as the struggle between his internal and external life. In other words, he was able to recognize his internal battle and realize that his spiritual being is most important and gives more meaning to life than a physical life ever will. In contrast to this, Aschenbach desires become obscene and he becomes so infatuated with Tadzio to the point where he has no self-discipline and he is uncontrollably obsessed. This further provokes and causes internal conflict regarding his morality, which results in his willingness to destroy himself. The protagonist’s positions in these two stories both elicit the importance of the spiritual life and how it can essentially manifest as illness and inevitably also lead to death.
