Queer as an Analytical Category of a Fictional Text (Queer Reading of “Little Zaches, Called Zinnober” by E. T. A. Hoffmann)

Abstract

The concept of queer has been analysed as an analytical category used for the interpretation of contemporary and classical works of fiction associated with the poetics of “oceanic writing,” carnivalization, flowability, fluidity, and a non-binary nature. The research relies on the assumption that fiction which contradicts the heteronormative basic social attitudes towards heterosexuality and the two-sex system, which it denies and critiques, develops specific writing strategies. These strategies, in turn, require a particular way of reading, known as Queer Reading. The relevance of the study lies in reliance on the key principles of queer studies, which is also productive for literary studies in its uncertainty and polysemy, enabling it to resist everything that identifies itself via norm. It is asserted that, along with contemporary texts and aesthetics which resort to queer, the latter can be efficiently used to read classical works that are not directly related to it. “Bloodbook” (2022), by the Swiss non-binary author Kim de l’Horizon, serves as an example of queer writing that showcases the writer's quest for a new language, one that aligns with their self-identification. Attention has also been focused on the poetics of "oceanic writing", which has been developed and practised by the renowned German writer Thomas Meinecke, who is particularly interested in the non-binary. The analytical category of queer has been used to analyse E. T. A. Hoffmann's “Little Zaches, Called Zinnober” (1819). From this standpoint, the outstanding 19th-century writer emerges as a careful observer of his epoch and its sex and gender order, while his writing style is perceived as innovative and contemporary. It is stated that Hoffmann constructs and parodies perceptions of femininity and masculinity at the time. He resorts to his usual manner of play, carnival, and reflections to demonstrate the norm and relativity of gender ideals of the time. The forms of instability, fluid identities, blurred lines, and interruptions in storytelling are studied from the standpoint of the cognitive process of queer thinking. In this way, Hoffmann emerges as a particularly relevant and innovative artist and thinker.