Thomas Mann’s Queer Schiller

Starting with an entry in Klaus Mann’s diaries about a discussion with his father at the dinner table about Schiller’s possible homosexuality, this essay delves into a queer reading of Schiller’s Don Carlos. Ultimately the essay concludes: “Arguing that this creative activity, the lusty blending of the souls, this self-discovery in the other is also a characteristic of passionate friendship, Schiller seems not only to be endorsing queer readings, but also particularly supportive of queer readers.”

“Thomas Mann’s Queer Schiller,” in Queering the Canon: Defying Sights in German Literatures and Culture, ed. Chris Lorey and John L. Plews (Columbia, SC: Camden House, 1998) 159-180.