Vassar College Digital Library
Access Note

Available to the Vassar College Community here: https://doi.org/10.1353/gsr.2024.a919894

Abstract
In light of Wilhelm II’s well-known predilection for military uniforms and displays, many of his contemporaries regarded him as a real-life version of the titular figure in Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” This essay uses the concept of fantasy to complicate that picture and articulate the deeper relevance of Andersen’s tale. While the second volume of Wilhelm’s memoirs reveals the extent to which the Kaiser’s sense of self was constitutively enmeshed in fantasies about the meaning of uniforms, this study indicates that Wilhelm’s many critics were also guided by their own fantasies.
Details
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
1-20
Peer Reviewed
Reviewed
Publication Date
2024-02-15
Source Publication
Volume Number
47
English
Document Type
Access Level