Death in Venice Forum

why does Mann make the characters gay?

hey michelle -
You're reply is kind of obnoxious.

john,
Mann himself is believed to have been a homosexual.  Homosexuality has been around forever, but it wasn't accepted in the early 20th century...  so he wrote it to express some of his own interests/concerns/idea.

byEEEE...

Also - from other critical sources I have seen, there is the link to the theme of 'Platonic love' or 'Platonic idealism' of which 'ideal' or spiritual love between men is a concept. Hence those purported 'gay' relationships in classical Greece and Rome (I guess Bard Pitt had to defend his masculinity, but in the real Troy, Patroclus isn't Achilles' cousin, lover!), stretching to Shakespeare and the Renaissance. Don't forget that most of the love sonnets of Shakespeare were actually dedicated to a 'beautiful young man'.

Also - from other critical sources I have seen, there is the link to the theme of 'Platonic love' or 'Platonic idealism' of which 'ideal' or spiritual love between men is a concept. Hence those purported 'gay' relationships in classical Greece and Rome (I guess Brad Pitt had to defend his masculinity, but in the real Troy, Patroclus isn't Achilles' cousin, lover!), stretching to Shakespeare and the Renaissance. Don't forget that most of the love sonnets of Shakespeare were actually dedicated to a 'beautiful young man'.