Why is the relationship between the destinies of an author and his contemporaries "secret" (ch. 2, p. 7)?

Why does Aschenbach feel "satisfaction or consolation" at the thought that Tadzio won't live long (Ch. 3, p. 28)?

Whose name might have been on Aschenbach's lips as he recalls "early, delicious afflictions of the heart (Ch. 4, p.40)?"

Is the outcome determined entirely by Aschenbach's character and subconscious mind, or do chance and fate play a role?

Why does Mann's narrator bother to remark a yellow dog & a second wagon, only to dismiss them (p. 155)?

Is Lobgott a tragic figure, or a comic one?

Is "The Path to the Cemetery" an allegory?

If so, can you elaborate on its correspondences? If not, how do you explain character names like Praisegod and Life?