subscribe to this pageVon der Lippe, George B. “Death in Venice in Literature and Film: Six 20th-Century Versions.” Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 32(1) (1999): 35-54.
Von der Lippe places Don’t Look Now into a genre specific to Venice. He compares Don’t Look Now to Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice, Ian McEwan’s Comfort of Strangers, etc. and finds common threads in them which he weaves into a genre. Much in the same way that film critics found similar styles in American crime films and called them “film noir,” Von der Lippe sees these works as Venice-specific works (a term which he does not actually use). In these works, Venice is defined by its labyrinthine design. Venice is also described as a place of escape; as Von der Lippe writes, “All of the travelers have left their northern homes in search of that which has been lost.” Venice is where their search takes them, but, unfortunately, they will never find what they are looking for in Venice. Von der Lippe sets up Venice as the only logical place where Don’t Look Now could be set. Venice is a disorienting place and a place of escape, and Don’t Look Now is about a couple escaping their troubles, searching for answers, and getting lost in their search (although it is only John who gets lost). Von der Lippe shows that it is not just Laura who is impervious to the trappings of Venice, but all of the women in these Venice-specific works. He writes, “Most often it is the women of these tales who are strong - who traverse the labyrinth with relative ease and confidence.” He does not go into detail as to why it is the women who are able to “traverse the labyrinth,” but he describes in depth how the women do this in each work.
Von der Lippe focuses most of his essay on the recurring theme of the labyrinth in the various works. He argues that, “central to the continuing fascination with Venice and the dominant metaphor in this archetypal tale is the “labyrinth.”” As we have seen in other essays concerning Don’t Look Now, the twisting, confusing geography of Venice is central to Roeg’s film...
Von der Lippe places Don’t Look Now into a genre specific to Venice. He compares Don’t Look Now to Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice, Ian McEwan’s Comfort of Strangers, etc. and finds common threads in them which he weaves into a genre. Much in the same way that film critics found similar styles in American crime films and called them “film noir,” Von der Lippe sees these works as Venice-specific works (a term which he does not actually use). In these works, Venice is defined by its labyrinthine design. Venice is also described as a place of escape; as Von der Lippe writes, “All of the travelers have left their northern homes in search of that which has been lost.” Venice is where their search takes them, but, unfortunately, they will never find what they are looking for in Venice. Von der Lippe sets up Venice as the only logical place where Don’t Look Now could be set. Venice is a disorienting place and a place of escape, and Don’t Look Now is about a couple escaping their troubles, searching for answers, and getting lost in their search (although it is only John who gets lost). Von der Lippe shows that it is not just Laura who is impervious to the trappings of Venice, but all of the women in these Venice-specific works. He writes, “Most often it is the women of these tales who are strong - who traverse the labyrinth with relative ease and confidence.” He does not go into detail as to why it is the women who are able to “traverse the labyrinth,” but he describes in depth how the women do this in each work.
Von der Lippe focuses most of his essay on the recurring theme of the labyrinth in the various works. He argues that, “central to the continuing fascination with Venice and the dominant metaphor in this archetypal tale is the “labyrinth.”” As we have seen in other essays concerning Don’t Look Now, the twisting, confusing geography of Venice is central to Roeg’s film...
tagged Daphne_du_Maurier Death_in_Venice Don't_Look_Now Nicolas_Roeg Thomas_Mann Venice achetypal_tale death escape labyrinth
by dhm
...on 06-APR-06