Historical Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 41

[cahn]

Now, thanks to interesting podcasts, including characters from German history as a whole and also Byzantine history! (More on this later.)

Comments

Re: A strong case for queercoding

[mildred_of_midgard]

that leaves either of them only the end of 1729 for them to feel actually as rivals, given Katte doesn't get into Fritz' orbit until mid 1729 (or am I misrenembering?)

Yes, that is the timing, but remember, a close reading of Hinrichs led me to the conclusion that Katte was most likely into Fritz already in late 1729, and that is peak Peter years (when Fritz is only entrusting him with knowledge of the November 1729 escape attempt).

Katte has the advantage of being older, wealthier, and just plain more experienced, plus he seems to have had that extravert/charm combination Fritz more often than not went for, but as you say, maybe the fact Peter K. is there first and as FW's page has far more opportunity to be together with Fritz caused some jealousy.

Yes, and jealousy can totally be mutual! Keith could be jealous of all those traits of Katte's, and Katte could be jealous that Fritz pays more attention to Keith in the early days.

How could I forget!

It seems to me that, even if you'd forgotten the Fritz pistol threat (which I just saw was in Horowski too, when I was looking to see if Horowski had other examples of suicide by gun), you do have a certain familiarity with the Georgii story! ;) (Says the person who was like, "Ahlefeldt? I have never seen this name before! Certainly not in connection with being locked up for an affair involving a Danish royal.")

Re: A strong case for queercoding

[selenak]

Speaking of mutual jealousy, the horror dramolett thingie by Heiner Müller which I linked earlier has Wilhelmine and Fritz openly competing romantically for Katte. (Müller does have Fritz gay, no subtext.) This in turn reminded be that for all the invented Wilhelmine/Katte, not once have I read or seen a version where Wilhelmine and Katte are competing for Fritz. Which, you know, makes much more sense with canon. I mean, not exactly on Katte's part, but on Wilhelmine's. Given her resentment of the boyfriends in general and of Katte in particular and of most people she fears Fritz might love more is canon.

Incidentally, all this talk of jealousy made me wonder, not for the first time, how Katte would cope with all the other boyfriends in the AU where FW does not overturn the sentence, he's imprisoned and then freed. Unless one assumes in said AU Fritz isn't interested in Algarotti, is content with only exchanging fannish letters with Voltaire, is blind towards the occasional Georgii or Glasow, and most of all never gets together with Fredersdorf.