Birds through a ceiling of alabast : genderproblematiek in de romans van Hugo Claus

Abstract

In the novels of Hugo Claus in which an "impossible love" is an important issue, we find, almost without exception, characters having characteristics that are typical for members of the opposite sex. (Latent) homosexuality plays an important role. The androgyny theme is the main theme in most of Claus' novels. There are two sources to be designated for this theme. In the first place, that is Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. The other source is the ancient belief that man is an androgynous being, originally. The androgynous man or woman, the human beings in which the contrast between male and female characteristics are disappeared, are often to be associated with a heavenly state of being.