Tess of the durbervilles
Tess of the durbervillesLoving is a much more positive experience than being loved. In order to love, one must come to accept one to the extent that one is able to express his own emotions toward another person. A particular divinity can be experienced through loving others. While being loved does not necessarily provide one with the ability to love others, it certainly adds to the appreciation of one which, in turn, allows love to be expressed and divinity to be experienced. However, the issue of being divine, emotionally or spiritually, continues to revolve back to loving others, not being loved.
The theme that it is more divine to love than to be loved is illustrated accurately through the novella, Death in Venice, by Thomas Mann. The novella depicts a grown man, Aschenbach, who experiences strange emotions toward a young boy, Tadzio. Mann first develops Aschenbach as an emotionally displeased character who later experiences a transformation within himself and his beliefs as a result of his love for Tadzio.
The novella begins with Aschenbach considering the results of his latest writing. The reader is introduced to a man who cannot find fulfillment in his work, despite the world's approval of him. Aschenbach is loved by the world through the "national honor"(Mann, 199) his supporters give him. His desire concerning his career being "intent from the start upon fame" (Mann, 200), Aschenbach recognizes himself as the subject of his own reputation. Despite his own knowledge of the love for him, Aschenbach is depicted as an unhappy character who deliberates his being alone during the summer. It is evident from the beginning that Aschenbach has no family contact- his wife being deceased and his daughter married.
Aschenbach is indeed "loved" by the world for his work, and yet, he is at first unable to express love or emotional desire. He is therefore unable to experience divinity within himself or the surrounding world because although he is loved, he does not love. Although Aschenbach's daughter is living, Mann's mention of her is short and blunt. This in turn represents Aschenbach's lack of emotion toward her as one would believe that his only living kin deserves some recognition. Mann leaves no doubt in the reader's mind that Aschenbach has difficulty accepting others or his work.
When Aschenbach travels to Venice to escape being alone, as well as "to make his summer bearable" (Mann, 199), he encounters the young boy Tadzio. His infatuation with Tadzio...
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