Queer Utopia in Klaus Mann's Der fromme Tanz

Abstract

Klaus Mann's Der fromme Tanz (1926) was the first German mainstream novel featuring a homosexual character. Critics have focused on autobiographical aspects in the novel, particularly the difficult relationship the author had with his father, Thomas Mann, as well as on the author's open and positive attitude towards homosexuality. The article contends that Mann's novel is more than a historical document of queer life in Weimar‐era Germany; it also fostered hope for new worlds of relationality and queer desire. To make this case, the article analyzes Der fromme Tanz alongside texts by Ernst Bloch and José Esteban Muñoz, making the idea of utopia relevant to contemporary queer theory again. The main character's determination to find his own path, even his inability to consummate his love, is a refutation of the widespread homophobic belief that same‐sex desiring men are incapable of establishing long‐lasting relationships. The character's unflinching hope in the future expresses a longing for new social relations and alternative ways of being an individual in the world.