Death in Venice Study Guide

Character List

von Aschenbach

The protagonist. A well-known writer who leads an ascetic lifestyle and is taken by a whim to travel to Venice, where he falls in love with Tadzio.

travel agent

A British man and the only person in Venice honest with von Aschenbach regarding the threat of cholera.

Tadzio

A young Polish boy vacationing with his family in Venice with whom von Aschenbach falls in love.

barber

The hairdresser who changes von Aschenbach's appearance in an effort to make him look younger.

stranger in the cemetery

A tourist with a strange appearance whom von Aschenbach sees and considers following in Munich.

Jasiu

A Polish boy who is friends with Tadzio.

sisters

Tadzio's sisters, between the ages of fifteen and seventeen, whom von Aschenbach thinks look like nuns.

governess

The woman in charge of caring for Tadzio and his sisters.

mother

Tadzio's mother, a genteel looking Polish woman.