All of which is to say, at great length, here lies another major difference between Katte and Posa, the reluctant follower of his friend's stupid plot vs. the enthusiastic deviser of stupid plots involving his friend. But the parallels are just as clear.
Well, to be fair to Schiller's Posa, one big reason why he starts the overcomplicated intrigue with the letters business is because at that point, Philip is already very suspicious of his son (through no fault of Posa's; Carlos has been denounced by Eboli who's in unrequited love with him), and also, Posa thinks Carlos has just made the mistake of trusting Eboli again with a full confession (he hasn't, and Eboli is already regretful of her actions, but Posa can't know that, whereas he does know Eboli was the one to tell Philip his son and wife are carrying on behind his back). So from Posa's pov there is need for urgent action, especially since simultanously, the situation in the Netherlands is going from bad to worse, the Duke of Alba is about to be dispatched there, and Posa wants Carlos to free the Netherlands, which can only happen if either Philip entrusts his son with the command instead of Alba (fat chance; Carlos tries that earlier and fails) or Carlos gets to the Netherlands and leads the rebellion himself (which is the secondary plan Carlos and Elisabeth are still following in the play's last scene, when Philip and the Inquisition catch up with them).
Incidentally, if we go back to Schiller using the Fritz-Katte-Friedrich-Wilhelm tale for historical inspiration, it's worth remembering that one of the reasons for Katte's death sentence FW explicitly names in his letter to the tribunal is "as Katte plotted treason with the rising sun, and conspired with the legates and ministers of foreign powers"; the major reason for all those letters Wilhelmine and her mother were burning, too, because they did carry out negotations and plottings with the British government not just behind FW's back but explicitly against his will (since he had nixed the idea of a double marriage between Wilhelmine and her cousin the British Crown Prince while Fritz would marry said prince's sister; FW was in general backing away from the British alliance and his wife, who was King George's sister, still pushing for it was a major reason for marital strife and had been for years).
no subject
Well, to be fair to Schiller's Posa, one big reason why he starts the overcomplicated intrigue with the letters business is because at that point, Philip is already very suspicious of his son (through no fault of Posa's; Carlos has been denounced by Eboli who's in unrequited love with him), and also, Posa thinks Carlos has just made the mistake of trusting Eboli again with a full confession (he hasn't, and Eboli is already regretful of her actions, but Posa can't know that, whereas he does know Eboli was the one to tell Philip his son and wife are carrying on behind his back). So from Posa's pov there is need for urgent action, especially since simultanously, the situation in the Netherlands is going from bad to worse, the Duke of Alba is about to be dispatched there, and Posa wants Carlos to free the Netherlands, which can only happen if either Philip entrusts his son with the command instead of Alba (fat chance; Carlos tries that earlier and fails) or Carlos gets to the Netherlands and leads the rebellion himself (which is the secondary plan Carlos and Elisabeth are still following in the play's last scene, when Philip and the Inquisition catch up with them).
Incidentally, if we go back to Schiller using the Fritz-Katte-Friedrich-Wilhelm tale for historical inspiration, it's worth remembering that one of the reasons for Katte's death sentence FW explicitly names in his letter to the tribunal is "as Katte plotted treason with the rising sun, and conspired with the legates and ministers of foreign powers"; the major reason for all those letters Wilhelmine and her mother were burning, too, because they did carry out negotations and plottings with the British government not just behind FW's back but explicitly against his will (since he had nixed the idea of a double marriage between Wilhelmine and her cousin the British Crown Prince while Fritz would marry said prince's sister; FW was in general backing away from the British alliance and his wife, who was King George's sister, still pushing for it was a major reason for marital strife and had been for years).