22.5.2010
(This continues my exploration of Thomas Mann's use of the literary
prefiguration technique, from part 1.)
When he takes the boat from the location of an an intermediate stop to
Venice as his final destination, Aschenbach is in the company of a group of
young people; among them there is an old man vainly trying to look young, a
fake and foppish person, for whom Aschenbach takes an immediate dislike,
disgusted and even somewhat indignant about the indecorous spectacle.
("Wußten, bemerkten sie nicht, daß er alt war, daß er zu
Unrecht ihre stutzerhafte und bunte Kleidung trug, zu Unrecht einen der
Ihren spielte?", 202) His sharp sense of lack in appropriateness is in
contrast to the behavior of the young people, who tolerate the fake youth
in their circle — and not just tolerate him, but actually sustain his
illusion by treating them as if he really was of their own age and taste.
Now the interesting thing about Mann's presentation is that every time
this character of the false youth appears there is a shift in Aschenbach's
stance towards his surroundings. The first two times, this takes the form
of him feeling as though he were drifting into unreality.
Directly after noticing the fake youth, it seems to Aschenbach "als
lasse nicht alles sich ganz gewöhnlich an, als beginne eine
träumerische Entfremdung, eine Entstellung der Welt ins Sonderbare um
sich zu greifen" (202). He is startled out of this brooding, however, by
the movement of the boat which at that moment takes off to Venice.
Again, at a stop of the boat, directly before docking in Venice, when
the fake youth looks even more indecent after drinking too heavily:
"Aschenbach sah ihm mit finsteren Brauen zu, und wiederum kam ein Gefühl
von Benommenheit ihn an, so, als zeige die Welt eine leichte, doch nicht zu
hemmende Neigung, sich ins Sonderbare und Fratzenhafte zu entstellen" (204).
Once more, however, Aschenbach is kept from getting deeper into this mood
by the boat which restarts its machines and continues towards the town of
Venice.
There is a third episode of contact between Aschenbach and the fake youth;
and this time the pattern changes. Not only is it more than just Aschenbach
watching now — the old man talks to him, and alludes to a lover he
seems to imagine ("'unsere Komplimente dem Liebchen, dem allerliebsten, dem
schönsten Liebchen...'", 205); but also there is no direct follow-up of
a dreamy mode this time. Instead, a passage follows in which Aschenbach's
impressions during a ride in a gondola are at the center. This ride in the
gondola itself is another interesting case of prefiguration in the text, but
before we turn to discussing it, let us look more closely into the fake
youth episodes.
Once more it's rather easy to see parallels between the appearance of the
fake youth and Aschenbach's own later attempts to make himself look younger
and more attractive: "Wie irgendein Liebender wünschte er, zu gefallen
und empfand bittere Angst, daß es nicht möglich sein möchte.
[...] Angesichts der süßen Jugend, die es ihm angetan, ekelte ihn
sein alternder Leib, der Anblick seines grauen Haares, seiner scharfen
Gesichtszüge stürzte ihn in Scham und Hoffnungslosigkeit. Es trieb
ihn, sich körperlich zu erquicken und wiederherzustellen" (259–260).
Cosmetics succeeds in restoring at least the appearance of what he wishes
for, if not the thing itself. The drift away from the reality of his
true person is unmistakable. (The vocabulary that Mann uses here is
revealing, too: bitter fear, hopelessness and loathing are rather strong
terms for an attitude one would have with respect to one's physical
appearance. They express vividly how far Aschenbach's actions are now driven
by uncontrollable emotional forces — he's lost his grip on what's
appropriate at various levels.)
The similarities in Mann's descriptions of the fake youth and the
dandified Aschenbach go deep, extending to special mention of certain
details of clothing: a red necktie, a straw hat with colored ribbons
(compare 201–202, 261). And just as in the encounters with the fake
youth, after the physical change has been brought about, there is a
resolute shift in Aschenbach away from the realistic toward the dreamy,
unreality-laden: "Der Berückte ging, traumglücklich, verwirrt und
furchtsam." (261)
The fake youth motif, then, is a second example for Mann's use of
the prefiguration technique. What is symbolically invoked here is not
death, this time, but degradation: unreasonable and inappropriate demeanor
which is born out of a desire to appear as something one actually isn't, and
which, while failing to make its desired effect, results in a generally bad
impression on others. Let's now turn to a third one.
