Institutional Power in Heart of Thomas

There are two major powers acting as governing bodies in Heart of Thomas: The church and the school. The school doesn’t have their power threatened/challenged within the story at all. The closest threat comes when the headmaster suffers a heart attack, and later recovers. 1/9

The church is threatened through the (highly villainized) portrayal of Siegfried and friends. With the expulsion of Siegfried’s group and Juli becoming a priest, the story emphasizes their ultimate failure to disrupt the church or its followers to any capacity. 2/9

This analogy extends into social and cultural power. Social expressions derived from institutions can themselves exist without the necessity of such bodies, such as with heteronormativity being an extension of the patriarchy. 5/9

Juli holds a certain social power as head prefect. Though Juli is challenged personally by both Oskar and Erich, and his mental state is discussed between the headmaster and teachers, his position as head prefect is never directly threatened. 6/9

The conversations held which could threaten his power are discussed by people who are in control of him, not people within his control. No anti-patriarchal sentiment, either direct or allegorical, is present within the narrative. 7/9

The inability for the narrative to destabilize institutions has a direct implication towards conformity and heteronormativity. Morabito states “These narratives teach queer and questioning youth to figure out how to embrace norms and take their place in normative society.” 8/9

“For these readers, the underlying message is one of conformity, encouraging them to abide by social standards instead of challenging them in any way.”. This positions Heart of Thomas to be read as heteronormative rather than as a queer story. 9/9