[In the following essay, Angermeier investigates the source for the pomegranate theme in Death in Venice.]

There is a longstanding admiration among Thomas Mann scholars for his use of Greek mythology in Der Tod in Venedig.¹ His skill in foreshadowing Aschenbach's death by bringing in certain ominous figures has received much attention.² These characters include: the stranger at the tram station in Munich, the ticket agent on the old steamer, the old-young man on the ship heading to Venice, the gondolier, “Charon,” who ferries Aschenbach to “Hades” and the singer at the hotel. Hence, as the story progresses, the reader receives numerous hints as to Aschenbach's inevitable demise. One myth in particular which Mann ingeniously employs here is Aschenbach's sipping of a pomegranate drink. In this instance, the aging artist is simultaneously enticed by the singer's music and Tadzio's presence. It is assumed that Mann was aware of the role the pomegranate fruit plays in Greek mythology. The pomegranate is linked to Persephone, the goddess of fertility, vegetation and death. Since it is probable that a psychological source for the pomegranate theme in Der Tod in Venedig has not been fully explored, let us take a closer look. As André von Gronicka states, Mann's novella is “suspended in an unceasing tension between the poles of psychological realism and the symbolism of myth.”³ As we shall attempt to demonstrate here, this holds true not only for Der Tod in Venedig in general, but also for the pomegranate motif in particular.

In Greek mythology, Persephone has a dual role; she is goddess of death as the wife of Pluto as well as goddess of fertility and vegetation as the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. The myth states that Persephone was gathering flowers one day when suddenly the earth opened and Pluto dashed off with her in his chariot. Demeter was so grief-stricken that Zeus was forced to show compassion and thereby sent Hermes to Pluto with an order to restore Persephone to her mother. The lord of the dead complied but only after he had secretly given Persephone a piece of pomegranate. Because she had eaten the seeds of the fruit, she was forced to spend one third of the year, namely the barren part, in Hades; for the remainder of the year, when vegetation flourishes, she may dwell on earth.⁴

Mann's familiarity with this myth is readily apparent in his chapter “Die Bäume im Garten” in the essay “Altes und Neues.”⁵ Here, he juxtaposes the olive tree, symbolizing life, with the figtree, which he links to death in the following manner.

Der andere ist der Feigenbaum mit Früchten voll süßer Granatkeme, und wer davon ißt, der stirbt. Es ist der Todesbaum, dessen Wesenbegriff zugleich hinüberspielt in die Begriffe des Erkennens, der Differenzierung, der Sexualität. …

(Nicklas: 161)

Mann uses this motif after Aschenbach starts his descent into the sensual intoxicating world of eros and disease which characterizes Venice in Chapter Five. When the singer performs at his hotel, Aschenbach and the pomegranate, the aging, sensually-inclined artist and the symbol of death are linked together by Mann as follows: “Aschenbach saß an der Balustrade und kühlte zuweilen die Lippen mit einem Gemisch aus Granatapfelsaft und Soda, das vor ihm Rubinrot im Glase funkelte.”⁶ As Nicklas points out correctly, the fruit of the Punica granatum “ist ein altes Symbol für Tod und Verführung. Wer von ihr kostet, den zieht es, wie Persephone, hinab in das Totenreich.” (Nicklas: 161) While Aschenbach lingers over his drink, Mann significantly couples the pomegranate theme with the motif of sand running through the “Sanduhr.” (TIV [Der Tod in Venedig]: 503)

Aber der Einsame saß noch lange, zum Befremden der Kellner, bei dem Rest seines Granatapfelgetränkes an seinem Tischchen. Die Nacht schritt vor, die Zeit zerfiel. Im Hause seiner Eltern, vor vielen Jahren, hatte es eine Sanduhr gegeben,—er sah das gebrechliche und bedeutende Gerätchen auf einmal wieder, als stünde es vor ihm.

(TIV: 503)

As André von Gronika notes, the hour glass is “the symbol par excellence of death.” (Gronicka: 198) Hence, not only does Mann's use of the pomegranate foreshadow Aschenbach's death; the image of the hour glass also suggests that Aschenbach's “time” may indeed be running out.

In his letter to his brother Heinrich, dated February 20, 1910, Mann makes a statement that I believe points to a possible psychological source for the pomegranate theme. Mann states: “Ich lese Kleists Prosa, um mich so recht in die Hand zu bekommen.”⁷ In this letter, he mentions Michael Kohlhass and Die Verlobung in St. Domingo by title. However, if we adopt the premise that Mann also read Das Erdbeben in Chili a year before his writing of Der Tod in Venedig, then some inferences can perhaps be drawn with regard to the pomegranate theme in Mann's novella.

In Das Erdbeben in Chili, Jeronimo and Josephe, who are jailed as a consequence of an illicit love affair, flee to the country after the earthquake. This catastrophe is very timely indeed, for it saves him from hanging himself and her from public execution. Kleist paints a seemingly idyllic picture after the lovers are reunited in the serene surroundings of a secluded valley. They are joined in this tranquil setting by Philipp, the child born as a result of their assignation in a convent garden. Kleist describes their reunion as follows:

so schlichen Jeronimo und Josephe in ein dichteres Gebüsch, um durch das heimliche Gejauchz ihrer Seelen niemand zu betrüben. Sie fanden einen prachtvollen Granatapfelbaum, der seine Zweige, voll duftender Früchte, weit ausbreitete; und die Nachtigal flötete im Wipfel ihr wollüstiges Lied.⁸

It is very plausible that Kleist was aware of the role the pomegranate assumes in Greek mythology. In his drama Penthesilea, Achilles uses the words “beim ganzen Hades!” (323) to describe his longing/love for Penthesilea. Similar to the role that the pomegranate plays in Der Tod in Venedig, here again, the fruit associated with Persephone foreshadows death. Klaus Müller-Salget speaks of a central “Dingsymbol”⁹ and Robert Helbling notes that their reunion occurs “significantly under a pomegranate tree, a symbol associated with Persephone, the Greek goddess of fertility, death and rebirth …”¹⁰ In an earlier study, Müller-Salget mentions the duality with which Kleist employs the pomegranate theme in his Eden sequence. “So treffen sich in diesem Symbol wieder untrennbar Leben und Tod …” (Müller-Salget: 194) One the one hand, the nuclear family in Eden represents life and fertility associated with Persephone's role on earth. On the other hand, however, the pomegranate tree also links the fate of Jeronimo and Josephe to the other side of Persephone's nature; as queen of Hades, she is also the goddess of death.

We can perhaps make a further argument for Mann's familiarity with this passage by singling out that the terms “schrilles Jauchzen” and “betäubende Wollust” are used to describe Aschenbach's dream of “Der fremde Gott!” (TIV: 507-508)

In Kleist's tale, we are informed that the lovers' memory of past events is completely obliterated by the earthquake. “Sie konnten in der Erinnerung gar nicht weiter, als bis auf ihn, zurückgehen.” (693) Likewise, Aschenbach attempts to suppress the apollonian side of his nature and prolong the dionysian experience in Venice by remaining silent about the cholera epidemic. “Man soll schweigen! dachte Aschenbach erregt …” (TIV: 492). It deserves mention that in both tales sensual desires are furthered by the disasters which besiege the community. Mann speaks of the consternation and confusion in the disease-plagued Venice as “den Vorteilen des Chaos” (TIV: 507) that aid Aschenbach in the pursuit of Tadzio. Similarly, Jeronimo and Josephe “waren sehr gerührt, wenn sie dachten, wie viel Elend über die Welt kommen mußte, damit sie glücklich würden!” (Kleist: 692)

In Das Erdbeben in Chili “Dieberei” (Kleist: 693) runs rampant in the aftermath of the quake. In the same vein, the epidemic in Venice unleashes “Schamlosigkeit” and “Kriminalität.” (TIV: 505) in both tales the disaster is closely connected with illicit love. In Der Tod in Venedig, Mann speaks of “den unsauberen Vorgängen im Innern Venedigs …, jenem Abenteuer der Außenwelt, das mit dem seines Herzens dunkel zusammenfloß …” (TIV: 496) Similarly in Kleist's tale, the priest likens the quake to the wrath of God, which is sent to cleanse the “Sittenverderbnis der Stadt; Greuel, wie Sodom und Gomorrha sie nicht sahen …” (TIV: 696)

The common fabric in both tales ends here, however, as the souls of Jeronimo and Josephe are publicly condemned by the priest to “allen Fürsten der Hölle” (Kleist: 696). They are denounced for their sins and killed by an angry ruthless mob. In Der Tod in Venedig, however, a much more subtle ending is construed. Aschenbach's tribulations occur on an internal level only. He is privately escorted to Hades by Tadzio, whom Mann refers to as “der bleiche und liebliche Psychagog …” (TIV: 516) Hence, Aschenbach's decline is a secret known only to himself and the reader.

In sum, we have attempted to show that Mann may have incorporated the pomegranate motif and other themes he encountered in Kleist's Das Erdbeben in Chili into his master novella. Despite the avid attention that it has received, it would seem that the richness of themes in Der Tod in Venedig are by no means exhausted.

Notes

1. Since this exceeds the scope of my inquiry, I will mention only three studies. See Franz H. Mautner, “Die Griechischen Anklänge in Thomas Manns ‘Tod in Venedig’,” Monatshefte, vol. 44, 1952, 20-26. For a Jungian interpretation of Der Tod in Venedig see Heidi M. Rockwood and Robert J. R. Rockwood, “The Psychological Reality of Myth in Der Tod in Venedig,” GR, vol. 59, 1984, 137-141. For a recent study on myth and Der Tod in Venedig, see Susan von Rohr, “Plato and Nietzsche in Death in Venice”; in Approaches to teaching Mann's ‘Death in Venice’ and Other Short fiction. ed. Jeffrey B. Berlin, (New York: MLAA, 1992), 140-145.

2. See Isadore Traschen, “The Uses of Myth in ‘Death in Venice’,” Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 11, 1965-66, 165-179. See also Hans-Bernard Moeller, “Thomas Manns veneziansiche Götterkunde, Plastik und Zeitlosigkeit,” DVJS, 184-205.

3. André von Gronicka, “Myth Plus Psychology; A Style Analysis of Death in Venice,” GR, vol. 30-31, 1955-56, 191-205. Hereafter cited parenthetically in the text by Gronicka.

4. For a treatment of the Persephone myth, see W. H. D. Rouse, Gods, Heroes and Men of ancient Greece, (Cambridge: Christ College, 1957), pp. 24-27. Whereas Rouse states that Persephone remains in Hades for four months each year, Müller-Salget claims that she spends half her time on earth and the other half in Hades. See Klaus Müller-Salget, “Das Prinzip der Doppeldeutigkeit in Kleists Erzählungen,” ZFDP, vol. 92, 1973, 185-211. Hereafter cited parenthetically in the text by Müller-Salget.

5. See Hans W. Nicklas, Thomas Manns Novelle ‘Der Tod in Venedig’: Analyse des Motivzusammenhangs und der Erzählstruktur (Marburg: Elwert, 1968), 161. Hereafter cited parenthetically in the text by Nicklas.

6. Thomas Mann, Sämtliche Erzählungen in zwei Bänden, (Berlin: Fischer, 1967), I, 498. All subsequent citations in the text will be from this edition and will be cited parenthetically by TIV.

7. Thomas Mann, Heinrich Mann, Briefwechsel, ed. Hans Wysling, (Frankfurt: Fischer, 1984), 107.

8. Heinrich von Kleist, Sämtliche Werke in einem Band, ed. Helmut Sembdner (München: Hanser, 1966) 693. All further quotes are from this edition and will be cited parenthetically in the text by Kleist.

9. Heinrich von Kleist, Sämtliche Werke und Briefe, ed. Klaus Müller-Salget (Frankfurt: Deutscher Klassiker Verlag, 1990), 813.

10. Robert E. Helbling, The Major Works of Heinrich von Kleist (New York: New Directions, 1975), 109.