Aschenbach was certainly an artist. Very dignified. He had planned his life, he was very thorough and organized. Maybe even a little boring, monotonous. He was a hard worker, he had that certain motus animi continuus. He was seen as a genius. From the beginning he wanted to make himself known, to become famous, but his life was empty. He longed for a change of pace, a bit of action, adventure and the unpredictability of what might happen. He was afraid of 'escaping', but he was also afraid of being trapped. Then he goes to Venice, where everything will change. In his hotel he sees a boy who he is fascinated by. The little boy is the perfect image of a happy, lazy child who has everything he wants, everything Aschenbach never had; his childhood was rather dark as it was spent mostly at home and indoors, he didn't meet many people and certainly never had that laisser aller attitude that the boy so evidently possessed. Aschenbach studied the child and discovered that his name was Tadzio. The sound of his name was almost musical. Aschenbach sat on the beach and watched him play, the child who, from his point of view, resembled the god Apollo. Slowly but surely, he became obsessed with Tadzio, with his youth, beauty, ease and leisure. While he is obsessed with this little boy with whom Aschenbach has no connection or relationship, the disease hovers around him. The plague is spreading over Venice, initially unnoticed and denied by the Venetians. They are all lying, denying and acting to ensure that the tourism business continues to thrive during this time of silent turmoil. People die around Aschenbach, while he is alive in the midst of death. If he had been wise, he would have left as soon as he began to consider the fact that there really was plague in Venice. Yet he couldn't leave. He was so immensely attracted to Tadzio that he couldn't leave. After finally taking the step to leave the miserable place of contagion, his bags disappear, giving him the opportunity he subconsciously craved; stay with a cause longer. Even when his luggage is returned to him, he has no intention of trying to leave again. Instead, he stays to be close to Tadzio, with whom he believes he has a connection.