Death in Venice, Part III summary

Part III of 6 · 20 min to read the part

In III, Aschenbach abandons an unsatisfying island holiday for Venice, where an elderly passenger and a disobedient gondolier unsettle him before he reaches his beach hotel. There, the beauty of a Polish boy absorbs his attention, and the family’s formal manners prompt thoughts about beauty, discipline, and art.

What happens

After delays and an unsatisfying stay on an Adriatic island, Aschenbach boards a ship bound for Venice.
An old passenger dressed and painted to appear young disgusts him and makes his surroundings seem strangely distorted.
A gondolier ignores his instructions and takes him directly to the Lido, then disappears without collecting payment.
Aschenbach settles into his beach hotel, but the journey’s strange encounters continue to trouble him.
Before dinner, he studies a beautiful Polish boy and contrasts the boy’s favored treatment with his sisters’ severe appearance.
The family’s respectful greeting of their mother moves him; he dines apart from them, reflects on art, and sleeps.