Depression in Sexual Repression According to Freud, sexual desire is the drive behind everything. "Death in Venice" by Thomas Mann and The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham are no exceptions; both stories are fueled with it. Aschenbach and Strickland spend the majority of their lives repressed. Aschenbach's life is based on strict schedules and discipline. Strickland lives a life in a society he doesn't enjoy. When they go against society and dip into …showed first 75 words of 1119 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1119 total…possess a somber passion of their own... There was something strangely alive in them, as though they were created in a stage of the earth's dark history." This piece of art leaves those who look at it stunned. Aschenbach is able to rise above a life ruled by routine and see something that was truly beautiful, Tadzio. Sexual desire drives both of these novellas. Both main characters try and repress it and end up overwhelmed.