Tanis is Gay - The Facts II
(The Advanced Study Version)
Tanis is Gay — The Facts II (The Advanced Study Version)
* This theory has been re-written partly because I have too much time on my hands, and partly because the original lacked depth. For a quick fix, read v1.0, but this update has been penned for those with IQs of double and triple figures.
THE THEORY BEGINS
No doubt the revelation of Tanis' homosexuality will cause many shocked fans to seek solace in the bottom of a whiskey bottle. Indeed, some already have in the wake of the original 1996 theory, but I can't take full responsibility for the number of destitute Dragonlance fans currently cluttering up the park benches of the world. The evidence is all there in the pages of the Chronicles trilogy. This essay asserts that Tanis Half-Elven, hero of the lance, was gay; that his 'love' for Kitiara was a compromise of his latent homosexuality; and that he chose Laurana as his wife for political reasons after his true love - Sturm Brightblade - perished in the War of the Lance.
That is not to say that Sturm returned Tanis' love. There is, in fact, no evidence of the knight being gay, and certainly none of him being physically involved with the bearded one. Yet Tanis' overfondness for him is supported by overwhelming evidence gleaned from careful reading of the original series.
The first example of this is seen at the Inn of the Last Home when the companions meet up for the first time in five years. On this occasion, Tanis is of course happy to see all his old friends, but his greetings to the other companions (a "reluctance" to speak with Rastlin; no indication that he returns Caramon's embrace) are undeniably muted in comparison to his greeting to Sturm. Here, while "gripping him tightly", Tanis notes "the knight's strong, sinewy arms" before stepping back to gaze at Sturm's face. At this point, he admiringly takes in "the knight's flowing moustaches [and] warm... brown eyes". Clearly embarrassed and uncomfortable, and perhaps noticing an undercurrent of lust in the way his face is being studied, the heterosexual Sturm breaks this moment of obvious sexual tension with a glib comment about Tanis' beard before quickly moving away.
CLERICS, BULGES, WHITE STAGS AND ELVES
Even so early on in the series, the astute reader will have picked up on how Tanis' love for Sturm pushes the boundaries of friendship. And further evidence of his outrageous gayness arrives soon after, in the most powerful reference of all. Having left Solace, the companions watch a group of mysterious clerics from the undergrowth, and, on page 85, we have: "Unusually wide belts, Tanis noticed, with strange bulges beneath them - not, he was sure, made by prayer books." Would a heterosexual man take quite such an interest at the equipment beneath another man's robes?
The doubters will surely take issue with me on that example. They'll point out that Tanis was a warrior, and was merely checking for concealed weapons. And normally I'd agree. Yet within moments the companions are caught in the clerics' ambush and Tanis himself is wrestled to the ground before he can do anything. Had he really believed the "strange bulges" were weapons, a trained fighter such as he would certainly not have been taken by surprise, and would probably have raised the alarm. Instead, I would contest, he was lost in thought, fantasising about male clerics with big genitals.
After this scare, Tanis does his best to keep his sexuality in check, but one can still see his love for Sturm re-assert itself whenever the companions are in trouble, such as the incident with the white stag - he is the only one to take Sturm's vision seriously and, shortly before the appearance of the stag, we are told he "gripped the knight's hand". Later, he follows Sturm into Darken Wood, despite being told by Raistlin that no-one has ever left the forest alive.
Yet it is not until the appearance of Alhana Starbreeze that another character picks up on Tanis' gay love for Sturm. When they meet her for the first time in Tarsis, despite setting eyes on "of all elfmaidens reputed to be the most beautiful", Tanis prefers instead to stare at Sturm again, reacting bitterly when he sees how awe-struck the knight is: "Tanis sighed.... For this love must turn to poison." And Alhana notices this, evidenced by her hostile attitude to Tanis. Ostensibly, this is down to his bastard nature; yet she instantly becomes more lenient towards him the moment Sturm is parted from the group, clealy illustrating how she viewed the half-elf as a rival for Sturm's affections.
KITIARA AND SEXUAL SACRIFICES
And then there is Kitiara. This theory asserts that, far from dispelling thoughts of Tanis being gay, his relationship with Kit underlines the suspicions. For Kitiara is as close to being male as is possible without actually having a penis. After all, Sara Dunstan believes her to be a man upon meeting her in Second Generation; and her aggression, lack of compassion and casual attitude to sex are very masculine traits. Clearly Kit was the closest Tanis could get to the homosexual relationship he craved without risking being an outcast.
This theory believes Kit knew of Tanis' homosexuality, and of his love for Sturm. This is why - as we learn in Second Generation - she slept with the knight. In a life full of casual sexual encounters, Tanis was the only person Kit ever truly loved, and when she discovered he was in love with someone else, she took her revenge on him by bedding Sturm. Later, when she killed Sturm, you'll note she showed no remorse.
She realised Tanis hadn't changed when he left a note for her which read: "I think of Sturm, Laurana and the others, but Sturm the foremost." Hence, knowing he could never really love her, she allowed him to leave at the end of DoSD.
Tanis, meanwhile, was canny enough to know that, as a hero of the lance, he would be called upon to help rebuild Krynn after the war. He knew that 'coming out' at this time in the intolerant medieval-style world would cause a scandal and destroy any chance he had of attaining office and authority. So he stuck with Laurana, who was a safe choice, but who Tanis had never loved, aside from the love one has for one's sister.
And there it ended. Robbed of his true love and unable to continue with the woman with whom he could have been happy, Tanis sacrificed sexual and emotional happiness at the altar of ambition and responsibility.
Throughout Chronicles, we saw Tanis fighting with the duality of his personality: good vs evil, elf vs human, etc. This theory concludes by asserting that the battle of his sexuality was the hardest fought and most soul crushing of all.
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