Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic: Coding, Class, and Queer Literary Expression

• In Event: Reframing Gender and Sexuality in Slavic Literary Modernisms and Avant-Gardes

Abstract

Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic (1871–1951) stands as a pioneering yet neglected figure in early queer European literature. This paper examines Karásek’s “Three Magicians” trilogy (1907–1925) as a landmark contribution to queer literary expression in Central Europe, highlighting how the Czech author navigated homosexual representation during a period of pervasive legal and social restrictions.
Through his decadent and neoromantic aesthetics, Karásek developed sophisticated coding strategies that enabled both “straight” and “queer” readings of his work. This coding operates on multiple levels that align with Putna’s three-tier framework of queer literary encoding: the symbolic substitution of acceptable relationships for taboo ones, the use of esoteric themes as metaphorical vessels for queer content, and the strategic deployment of ambiguity that invites dual interpretations from different readerships.
The paper explores how Karásek’s self-styled aristocratic identity—complete with an invented noble title and coat of arms—functioned not only as personal affectation but also as a strategic literary device that allowed greater freedom to express and depict same-sex desire. By positioning his protagonists within elite social spheres, and as magicians, Karásek created characters whose queerness was shielded by the relative immunity granted to Habsburg elites.
This analysis places Karásek’s work within the broader context of post-Wildean queer literature. The paper argues that Karásek’s literary innovations deserve recognition alongside those of better-known contemporaries like André Gide and E.M. Forster, offering valuable insight into how class privilege could be strategically deployed as a protective mechanism for queer literary expression in fin-de-siècle Central Europe.

Author

• Carleton Bulkin, Independent Scholar