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.