This book fascinated me to the greatest extent, as did its wonderful film adaptation. Homouality is really a very trivial element in this story. Von Aeschenbach never realised that true art knows no gender. He never knew that true creativity lies in true abandon. You could call all artists homoual, because they do not ponder on the trivialities of gender. They love beauty for its sake, and that's really how they do get to relay it so wonderfully in their work, simply for the fact that they are not prejudiced. Tadzio represents all the ambiguity and beauty of art, and it is for this that he awakens the artist's desire to this extent. The artist's communication with his inspiration actually holds the immensity of an intense ual act, which results in all the beauty of true art.