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homosexuality in the novel

 

john t #56735
Apr 01, 2008 5:17 PM

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homosexuality in the novel

why does Mann make the characters gay?

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nancy j #56796
Apr 02, 2008 10:49 AM

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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...
 

sarah e #79797
Feb 10, 2009 11:15 PM

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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'.
 

sarah e #79797
Feb 10, 2009 11:15 PM

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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'.
 

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