Claudia Lindéns oskattbara bidrag till svensk litteraturvetenskap syns kanske främst i hennes teoretiskt förankrade, reflekterande och problematiserande litteraturhistoriska forskning. Hennes insats präglas också av en osläcklig nyfikenhet som tagit henne till mängder av författarskap, från en rad länder och hemmahörande i olika epoker. 

I hennes omfattande och mångsidiga utgivning samsas svensk romantik och Johann Wolfgang Goethe med Emily Dickinson och Karen Blixen; brittisk 1800-talsgotik får stå sida vid sida med björnar och moderna TV-vampyrer à la Twilight. Det är med stor tacksamhet som vänner och kollegor vill överräcka dessa studier, essäer och översättningar, vilka alla behandlar kärlekens svåra frågor, till Claudia på hennes sextioårsdag. 

This dissertation explores how characters who embody outsiderness and/or otherness intersect with and connote queerness—such as, for instance, homoeroticism and nonconformism—in the novels Peter Camenzind (1904) and Der Steppenwolf (1927) by German-language author Hermann Hesse (1877–1962).

In most of Hesse’s novels, the narrative revolves around a male protagonist who is characterized as an outsider. This outsider comes to know himself through friendship with another man. The friend is desired by the outsider and tends to embody some form of otherness; he is almost always portrayed as different—rebellious, beautiful, enigmatic, and inspiring—and he comes to play a key role in the protagonist’s personal development and journey through life. The hypothesis in this study is that the friendships formed by these characters are queer friendships, that is, that they challenge heteronormative conceptions of relationality, sexuality, and desire.

The study’s main theoretical apparatus encompasses a selection of queer theories and concepts, including (among others) José Esteban Muñoz’s conceptualization of the horizon as a signifier for “queer utopia” as well as Heather Love’s thoughts on “backwardness.” Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s early queer-theoretical work on male homosocial desire and Jack Halberstam’s recent theorizing about sexuality and wildness are also drawn on.

The study begins with an overview chapter on Hesse’s authorship that provides historical context followed by two parts (one on Peter Camenzind and one on Der Steppenwolf) with three analytical chapters each. The overview chapter revolves around certain norm-challenging aspects of Hesse’s time and reception. Hesse was active alongside the German homosexual emancipation movement and emerging field of sexology in the early 1900s, and his work was embraced by contemporary countercultures such as the German Wandervogel groups and by later anti-conformist movements like beatniks and hippies. Despite these connections, however, Hesse’s novels have rarely been interpreted with an ambition to emphasize queerness.

The common thread in the study’s six analytical chapters is depictions of queer friendship. In each chapter, one character is in primary focus. This character’s portrayal as an outsider or Other (or both) is examined. In some instances, the protagonist is the key person of interest; at other times, the protagonist’s friend is in focus.

Chapter one, “Romantic Friendship in a Bildungsroman,” centers on Peter, the outsider-protagonist in Peter Camenzind, and his homosocial bond with the character Richard. The chapter examines how defining traits of the Bildungsroman (novel of formation) and the concept of romantic friendship intersect in the novel. Chapter two, “Without Leaving Children Behind,” explores heterosexual ambivalence, which Peter conveys in his interactions with women, which is interpreted as a manifestation of queerness. While the chapter concerns a number of female characters, Peter’s friend Elisabeth is the key character. Chapter three, “Facing the Other,” focuses on Peter’s friend Boppi. The otherness ascribed to Boppi through his disability is examined, as well as the ways that disability works as a catalyst for expressions of “queer/crip kinship” in the text.

Chapter four, “Tracing the Wolf,” examines a key expression of otherness in Der Steppenwolf, namely, the animality of its protagonist, the wolf-man (and outsider) Harry Haller. This chapter is different from the others in that it does not revolve around queer friendship per se. Rather, it emphasizes the antithesis of friendship, that is, a bond built on animosity, a major characteristic in the relationship between the human part and the wolf part of the protagonist. Chapter five, “The Function of Hermine,” explores the fluid gender expressions and queer characteristics of Harry’s friend Hermine. Hermine is a character whose otherness mirrors the protagonist’s dual nature. Chapter six, “Queer Sounds, Times, and Places,” puts the spotlight on Pablo, another of Harry’s friends, and examines how the novel’s portrayal of sounds (such as jazz music), times (the conflict between the old and the new), and places (like the dance floor) connote queerness in various ways.

Ultimately, this dissertation demonstrates that Hermann Hesse’s stories include queerness both in the shape of nonconformity in the characters, and in norm-challenging sexuality and the prevalence of homoeroticism. In addition, Peter Camenzind and Der Steppenwolf convey that queerness is essential to their protagonists’ longings to become whole and in the ways that the novels portray completeness.

The literary works of German-language author Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) have not been approached queer-theoretically within academia until now. In Hesse’s debut novel Peter Camenzind (1904), the protagonist Peter grows up in a quiet mountain village. When he is older, Peter leaves the village in order to experience the world. On his journey towards maturity he is acquainted with Boppi, a figure who is mostly characterized by physical disabilities. Initially Peter expresses ableist feelings of repulsion for Boppi, but gradually, he develops feelings of responsibility and affection for the man. Peter and Boppi become close friends and roommates, and Peter, profoundly moved by his disabled companion, cares for him for the remainder of his life. This classic bildungsroman became the first of several novels by Hesse wherein a male homosocial friendship is in the center of the narrative. In this paper a queer reading of Peter Camenzind is offered, focusing on homosocial desire within Peter’s and Boppi’s relationship while simultaneously drawing on Robert McRuer’s and Merri Lisa Johnson’s concept of “Cripstemology”. The paper looks closely at how “thinking from” and “being with and near” disability is expressed in the novel, as well as how expressions of disability are connected to the text’s queerness. With an ambition to emphasize the significance of queer/crip kinship, tropes of vulnerability and responsibility in Peter Camenzind will be examined by adding ethics-philosopher Emmanuel Levinas’ thoughts on responsibility for the Other to the paper’s theoretical framework. Addressing Boppi’s disability within the context of vulnerability, the paper aims to offer suggestions on how to re-formulate conventional understandings of the concept of vulnerability. Because of his disability Boppi can be perceived as a vulnerable figure. He is dependent on Peter as a caretaker but Peter, due to his sense of responsibility, can be seen as equally dependent. Conclusively the paper argues that Boppi’s vulnerability, when viewed within the context of queer companionship, can be interpreted as a facilitator for homosocial intimacy and romance. It is Boppi’s vulnerability that makes the homoromantic relationship of Peter Camenzind possible and in effect, the concept of vulnerability comes to signify affection and union rather than weakness or failure.

The Boy with the Cowbell & The Bull of Nybacken: A Queer Reading of Vilhelm Moberg’s The Emigrants Novels

This article presents a queer reading of Vilhelm Moberg’s The Emigrants novel series (1949–1959), in which norm-breaking aspects of the text are accentuated. The series consists of some of the most read and beloved Swedish novels of all time, and tells the story of a group of farmers emigrating to North America in the mid-nineteenth century. Up until now The Emigrants novels have not been read using a queer perspective. The focus of this reading is the close relationship between the two young farmhands Robert and Arvid. The latter is rumored to engage in bestiality, which in this article is interpreted as a transgression from normative heterosexuality. Also, neither Robert nor Arvid express desire towards women; these men are each other’s primary life partners. By emphasizing expressions of queerness around them – including the prevalence of animality and queerly connoted animals – this article shows that it is possible to read the men’s relationship as a romantic love story.

Within academia, the literary works of German-language author Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) haven’t been approached queer-theoretically until now. In Hesse’s debut novel, the protagonist Peter grows up in a quiet mountain village. When he’s older, Peter leaves the village in order to experience the world. On his journey towards maturity he’s acquainted with Boppi, a “cripple” for whom he feels responsible and develops feelings of affection. Peter and Boppi become close friends and roommates, and Peter, profoundly moved by his disabled companion, cares for him for the remainder of his life. Published in 1904, this bildungsroman became the first of several novels by Hesse wherein a male homosocial friendship is in the center of the narrative. In this paper, a queer reading of Peter Camenzind is offered, highlightingindications or expressions of queerness, heterosexual ambivalences and male homosocial desire within the novel’s main friendship. Drawing, among others, on Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s work on male homosociality, and Emmanuel Levinas’ philosophy on responsibility for the Other, this paper hypothesizes that Peter’s and Boppi’s friendship has a homoerotic foundation. Furthermore, by addressing Boppi’s disability within the context of vulnerability, this literary analysis aims to offer suggestions on how to re-formulate conventional understandings of the concept of vulnerability. Because of his disability Boppi can be perceived as a vulnerable figure. He’s dependent on Peter as a caretaker but Peter, due to his sense of responsibility, can be seen as equally dependent. This paper will argue that Boppi’s vulnerability, when viewed within the context of queer companionship, can be interpreted as a facilitator for homosocial intimacy and romance. It is Boppi’s vulnerability that makes the central relationship of Peter Camenzind possible and in effect, the concept of vulnerability comes to signify affection and union rather than weakness or failure.

Vilhelm Moberg (1898–1973) var en av sin tids mest inflytelserika svenska författare. De fyra romanerna i hans episka utvandrarserie (1949–1959) hör de till de mest lästa svenska romanerna genom tiderna. Trots att forskningsfältet om Moberg är stort har hans verk hitintills inte analyserats queerteoretiskt.

I detta paper genomförs en queer läsning av Mobergs utvandrarserie, med fokus på relationen mellan Robert och Arvid. Dessa unga drängars relation har sällan givits utrymme inom Mobergforskningen och när relationen har omnämnts har den i huvudsak lästs som kamratskap. Detta paper genomsyras av hypotesen att det är möjligt att läsa fram en romantisk kärlekshistoria mellan männen. Den primära frågeställningen är om romansen framträder särskilt tydligt i relation till textens djur, djuriskhet och djursymbolik.

Inom ramen för analysens queerteoretiska ramverk tillämpas Carmen Dell’Aversanos tankar om animal queer, som åsyftar normbrytande former av affektion mellan människor och djur. Dessutom används begreppet animality såsom Michael Lundblad definierar det, vilket bland annat åsyftar litterära figurers djuriskhet. I synnerhet Lundblads tes om djuriskhet och homosexualitet som två intimt förbundna företeelser tillämpas, men även den historiska förbindelsen mellan tidelag och andra avvikande sexuella praktiker används. Med hjälp av dessa tankegångar påvisas det att tidelagstemat, som i utvandrarserien är förbundet med Arvid, kan förstås som en omskrivning för homosexualitet.Liksom Arvid präglas Robert av queerbetonad djursymbolik. I Nybyggarna förekommer bland annat analogier mellan Robert och den nordamerikanska ursprungsbefolkningen, aktörer som av Moberg skrivs fram som djuriska. Men redan från Roberts introduktion i Utvandrarna präglas han av djurassociationer. Som barn springer han bort och gömmer sig vilket tvingar föräldrarna att hänga en koskälla om halsen på honom. Robert präglas genomgående av en stark rörelsefrihetsdrift som gestaltas genom olika flyktförsök och detta kan i sig läsas som normbrytande. Slutligen visar detta paper att den symboliska koskällan som hängs om Roberts hals och antyder djuriskhet förstärker det normbrytande med honom, vilket får en fördjupad och queer relevans i och med att Arvid är tematiskt förknippad med textens tidelagstematik.

In Hermann Hesse’s debut novel, the protagonist Peter grows up in a quiet mountain village. When he’s older, Peter leaves the village in order to experience the world. Published in 1904, this bildungsroman became the first of several novels by Hesse wherein a protagonist’s spiritual journey is the prominent narrative theme. In this paper, a queer reading of Peter Camenzind is offered, highlighting the novel’s subversive expressions of sexuality, gender and desire. The main focus of the reading is the friendship between Peter and Boppi, a cripple who Peter meets on his journey towards maturity. The men become close friends and roommates, and Peter, profoundly moved by his disabled companion, cares for him until he dies. Drawing mainly on Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s thoughts on touch and affect, combined with Emmanuel Levinas’ philosophy on responsibility for the Other, this paper hypothesizes that Peter’s and Boppi’s friendship has homoerotic implications. The paper also argues that as a narrative structure, Peter’s spiritual journey enables a wide scope of understanding same-sex desire, gender and sexuality, through themes of soul searching, identity and responsibility. Within the field of literary analysis, narrative plays an essential part. However, the queer reader’s interpretation of any literary narrative will differ from the author’s original, as well as from common understandings of the work. With a queer-critical core, this paper heavily emphasizes homoeroticism in Peter Camenzind and in so doing, it boldly suggests an altogether alternative narrative to Hesse’s novel, that challenges heteronormative assumptions about the story.