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Kvinnliga nerver - Domaren Schrebers kvinnoblivande i sekelskiftets maskulinitetskris

Lindskov, Erik LU (2025) ILHK02 20242
Division of History of Ideas and Sciences
Abstract (Swedish)
Den framstående juristen Daniel Paul Schreber (1842-1911) drabbades av två omfattande nervsammanbrott i sekelskiftets Tyskland. I sin berömda Denkwürdigkeiten eines Nervenkranken (1903) beskriver Schreber detaljerat sina upplevelser och uppenbarelser efter det andra av dessa sammanbrott, under nio år vid tre olika psykiatriska anstalter. Schrebers öde blev med Sigmund Freuds uppmärksammade fallstudie ett paradigmatiskt fall av paranoid schizofreni och sedermera föremål för åtskilliga filosofiska och kulturhistoriska analyser.
Ett av Schrebers många delirier är att Gud avser omvandla honom till en kvinna i syfte att genom honom reproducera ett nytt människosläkte. Denna avsikt realiseras delvis då Schreber beskriver sig stundom besitta en... (More)
Den framstående juristen Daniel Paul Schreber (1842-1911) drabbades av två omfattande nervsammanbrott i sekelskiftets Tyskland. I sin berömda Denkwürdigkeiten eines Nervenkranken (1903) beskriver Schreber detaljerat sina upplevelser och uppenbarelser efter det andra av dessa sammanbrott, under nio år vid tre olika psykiatriska anstalter. Schrebers öde blev med Sigmund Freuds uppmärksammade fallstudie ett paradigmatiskt fall av paranoid schizofreni och sedermera föremål för åtskilliga filosofiska och kulturhistoriska analyser.
Ett av Schrebers många delirier är att Gud avser omvandla honom till en kvinna i syfte att genom honom reproducera ett nytt människosläkte. Denna avsikt realiseras delvis då Schreber beskriver sig stundom besitta en kvinnas kropp med kvinnliga nerver, åtnjutande en kvinnlig sexuell njutning. Denna uppsats väljer att undersöka hur Schreber beskriver sitt upplevda kroppsliga och själsliga kvinnoblivande. Genom en idéhistorisk analys studeras Schrebers verk dels genom en ingående närläsning vari det självbiografiska narrativet beaktas, dels genom att placera texten i en intertextuell miljö av samtida reflektioner gällande femininitet, maskulinitet och sexualitet.
Analysen visar att Schrebers kvinnoblivande genomgår tre stadier i texten. I det första stadiet bemöts feminiseringen med motstånd från Schreber; femininiteten gestaltas i termer av skam och sjuklighet. I det andra stadiet godtar Schreber sitt kvinnoblivande som en oundviklig gudomlig process och ger efter för en helande och extatisk kvinnlig njutning. I det tredje och avslutande stadiet rättfärdigar Schreber sin kvinnlighet inför omvärlden som en religiös och därmed privat ensak som inte kommer att påverka hans offentliga varande. Schrebers dynamiska resa med det kvinnliga både bekräftar och utmanar vetenskapliga och kulturpolitiska föreställningar om kön och sexualitet vid sekelskiftet; i synnerhet vad gäller frågorna om feminiseringen av män och den sexuella degenerationen samt förståelsen av den kvinnliga sexualiteten. Uppsatsens resultat kan således berika vår förståelse av interaktionen mellan självbiografiska narrativ och bredare samhälleliga diskurser om sexualitet och kön vid sekelskiftet. (Less)
Abstract
Female Nerves - Judge Schreber's Unmanning in the Fin-de-Siècle Crisis of Masculinity

The prominent jurist Daniel Paul Schreber (1842-1911) suffered two major nervous breakdowns in fin-de-siècle Germany. In his famous Denkwürdigkeiten eines Nervenkranken (1903), Schreber details his experiences and revelations after the second of these breakdowns, during nine years at three different psychiatric institutions. Schreber's fate became, with Sigmund Freud's renowned case study, a paradigmatic case of paranoid schizophrenia and later the subject of numerous philosophical and cultural-historical analyses.
One of Schreber's many delusions is that God intends to transform him into a woman in order to reproduce a new human race through him.... (More)
Female Nerves - Judge Schreber's Unmanning in the Fin-de-Siècle Crisis of Masculinity

The prominent jurist Daniel Paul Schreber (1842-1911) suffered two major nervous breakdowns in fin-de-siècle Germany. In his famous Denkwürdigkeiten eines Nervenkranken (1903), Schreber details his experiences and revelations after the second of these breakdowns, during nine years at three different psychiatric institutions. Schreber's fate became, with Sigmund Freud's renowned case study, a paradigmatic case of paranoid schizophrenia and later the subject of numerous philosophical and cultural-historical analyses.
One of Schreber's many delusions is that God intends to transform him into a woman in order to reproduce a new human race through him. This intention is partially realised as Schreber describes himself at times possessing a woman's body with female nerves, experiencing female sexual pleasure. This essay aims to examine how Schreber describes his perceived bodily and spiritual feminisation. Through an intellectual-historical analysis, Schreber's work is studied both through a close reading that considers the autobiographical narrative and by placing the text in an intertextual milieu of contemporary reflections on femininity, masculinity, and sexuality.
The analysis shows that Schreber’s feminisation goes through three stages in the text. In the first stage, feminisation is met with resistance from Schreber; femininity is portrayed in terms of shame and illness. In the second stage, Schreber accepts his feminisation as an inevitable divine process and surrenders to a healing and ecstatic female pleasure. In the third and final stage, Schreber justifies his femininity before the world as a religious and therefore private matter that will not affect his public being. Schreber's dynamic journey with the feminine both confirms and challenges scientific and cultural-political ideas about gender and sexuality at the turn of the century; particularly in regard to questions concerning the feminisation of men and sexual degeneration, as well as the understanding of female sexuality. The results of this essay can thus enrich our understanding of the interaction between autobiographical narratives and broader societal discourses about sexuality and gender at the turn of the century. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Lindskov, Erik LU
supervisor
organization
course
ILHK02 20242
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
maskulinitet, femininitet, sexualitet, sekelskiftet, maskulinitetskris, virilitet degeneration, feminisering, schizofreni, nervsjukdom, Daniel Paul Schreber, Sigmund Freud, Otto Weininger, Rosa Mayreder, Richard von Krafft-Ebing
language
Swedish
id
9187112
date added to LUP
2025-04-04 14:12:24
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:12:24
@misc{9187112,
  abstract     = {{Female Nerves - Judge Schreber's Unmanning in the Fin-de-Siècle Crisis of Masculinity

The prominent jurist Daniel Paul Schreber (1842-1911) suffered two major nervous breakdowns in fin-de-siècle Germany. In his famous Denkwürdigkeiten eines Nervenkranken (1903), Schreber details his experiences and revelations after the second of these breakdowns, during nine years at three different psychiatric institutions. Schreber's fate became, with Sigmund Freud's renowned case study, a paradigmatic case of paranoid schizophrenia and later the subject of numerous philosophical and cultural-historical analyses.
One of Schreber's many delusions is that God intends to transform him into a woman in order to reproduce a new human race through him. This intention is partially realised as Schreber describes himself at times possessing a woman's body with female nerves, experiencing female sexual pleasure. This essay aims to examine how Schreber describes his perceived bodily and spiritual feminisation. Through an intellectual-historical analysis, Schreber's work is studied both through a close reading that considers the autobiographical narrative and by placing the text in an intertextual milieu of contemporary reflections on femininity, masculinity, and sexuality.
The analysis shows that Schreber’s feminisation goes through three stages in the text. In the first stage, feminisation is met with resistance from Schreber; femininity is portrayed in terms of shame and illness. In the second stage, Schreber accepts his feminisation as an inevitable divine process and surrenders to a healing and ecstatic female pleasure. In the third and final stage, Schreber justifies his femininity before the world as a religious and therefore private matter that will not affect his public being. Schreber's dynamic journey with the feminine both confirms and challenges scientific and cultural-political ideas about gender and sexuality at the turn of the century; particularly in regard to questions concerning the feminisation of men and sexual degeneration, as well as the understanding of female sexuality. The results of this essay can thus enrich our understanding of the interaction between autobiographical narratives and broader societal discourses about sexuality and gender at the turn of the century.}},
  author       = {{Lindskov, Erik}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Kvinnliga nerver - Domaren Schrebers kvinnoblivande i sekelskiftets maskulinitetskris}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}