During theirlast attempt at reconciliation, the rightwing seductress spells out
the connection between sex and politics as she commandsSukrow:“‘Be a
man, become one of us! [...]Enter under my command, join the Rugard
group!’[and some time later:]‘German-thinkingmen and women work together
for the rebirth of it [i.e., the fatherland] in its newglory.Eveniftimes now seem
dark, who knows how soon events willunfold that requiremen of action?Only
such men can winmy respect and love.’”(BR,78and 79) Still unableto extricate
himself, herespondswith adesperate cry for love:“‘Gisela,not like that,’he
pleads,‘demand thatIkill myself but do not despise me. Iloveyou so
much.’”(BR,80)
The dramatic events in the wake of theKapp Putsch makeSukrow painfully
aware of his sexual and political inadequacies. Paralyzed by self-loathing, he ig-
nores the workers’declaration ofageneral strike andgoes into hiding after the
arrival of theFreikorps units. Onlyduringamoment of great danger for the Red
Ruhr Armydoes he find the couragetojoin the armed workers.Havingmadethe
commitment,hefinallyalso recognizes Mary asamore suitable companion.
However,within the homosociallogic of the proletarian fantasy,the transferal
of desire from the wrongtothe right woman still requires its mediationbythe
gaze of Grothe, the ideal proletarian man and, ultimately, the real loveobject.
Mary becomes desirable forSukrow onlybecause of her appearance in the rev-
olutionary narrative as embodied by his best friend. This is how the narrator
presents the proletariangood girl:
At the entrance to the village,the car with the machineguns stood undamaged. Grothe
could hardly believehis eyes:aslenderyoungwoman stood tall on the driver’sseat,
withacarbine in her hand.“Mary?Hey girl,youhere? What areyou doing?”“Iamwatch-
ing overyour machineguns.Without me theywould alreadybeinthe ditch andyour car on
the blink,”she replied as if it werethe simplest matter in the world. (BR,196)The crude phallic symbolism used by Grünbergimpliesthat Mary functionsas
an object of male desire onlyinconjunction with therevolutionary fantasy.
Nonetheless,she still hasto die inSukrow’sarms duringthe final battle in
orderto completethe merging of privateand political feelingnecessary for the
affirmation of communist masculinity.Inleftwing and rightwing movements,
the homosocial contract is always made over the bodyofadead woman. Conse-
quently, the novel’sending findsSukrowreading theSozialistische Republikin a
Cologne café when Grothe walks by,onhis waytothe train station.First they
share fond memoriesofMary–“She wasadear,brave fellow (Kerl), had the po-
tentialto becomeacomradeinarms”–andvowthat“her name will stand at the
top of thatlong list that we will present on the dayofreckoning!”(BR,225)Then
Sukrow initiatesaflirtatious exchangereminiscent of two lovers.Asked by
Revolutionary Fantasy and Proletarian Masculinity 187