The Price of the Forbidden and the Value of Life

Abstract

Biblical stories serve as a foundation for European literature and artwork because of the mystical dimensions that address mankind and human qualities in general. Both the narrative of Adam and Eve and the fruit of knowledge have become well-known literary devices that have served as sources of inspiration for writers and poets throughout history. Both Christina Rossetti and Thomas Mann use the theme of forbidden fruit and its consequences as the subject matter that they handle in their literary works. They do this in order to demonstrate the consequences of giving in to the temptations of things that one should not want. In a postmodern way, both Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti and Death in Venice by Thomas Mann deal with the theme of surrendering to the temptation of an unlawful desire and the destructive effects of it through the depiction of the physical and psychological deterioration of the protagonists in each work.