In Gavin White’s “Falling out of the Haystack: L.M. Montgomery and Lesbian Desire,” he argues that “Montgomery’s detailed accounts of Anne’s devotion to various women cannot be ignored, and there is clearly something here even if it is not quite what the world would commonly call ‘lesbianism’” (45). While I believe that lesbianism can be drawn from the relationships Anne shares with female companions, I also argue that her relationship with Diana attempts to mimic what they believe adult “bosom friends” would behave like. Their relationship could also play a role in reinforcing social expectations by allowing them to imitate their romantic ideas about heterosexual relationships, which would have been expected of them. Anne, because of her …show more content…
Anne says to Diana: “Oh, Diana, will you promise faithfully never to forget me, the friend of your youth, no matter what dearer friends may caress thee?” (183). And after Diana tells Anne she loves her Anne exclaims: “I thought you liked me of course, but I never hoped you loved me. Why, Diana, I didn’t think anybody could love me. Nobody has ever loved me since I can remember” (183). Anne taste for the dramatic helps her to impersonate the relationships she has dreamed about or the books she has read. It could be assumed that they learned this behavior from older girls in school or from many of the romance novels Anne enjoyed reading. In this instance, it seems to mimic the romance novels of fateful farewells and broken hearts. Though, realistically, they both know that they will see each other again. While Anne and Diana’s actions aren’t sexual, they are reminiscent of a romantic relationship. Later, Anne tells Marilla: “I used the most pathetic language I could think of and said ‘thou’ and ‘thee’. ‘Thou’ and ‘thee’ seems so much more romantic than ‘you’. Diana gave me a lock of her hair and I’m going to sew it up in a little bag and wear it around my neck all my life. Please see that it is buried with me, for I don’t believe I’ll live very long” (184). Such fantastical, romantic relationships would have been considered improper with a boy during this time in their life. However, because they were with another young, female they were considered “play” and become a safe way for them to live out their dreams about their
In Malory’s famous account of the King Arthur legend, the most notable example of woman as destructive sexual temptation is, of course, Queen Guinevere. Sir Lancelot’s affair wi...
Diamant’s magic enables a romance to flower from violence and the formulation of a “voiceless cipher” into an ingenious being transpire (1). She forces the reader see that in the eyes of trial and tragedy, happiness and love, we find reflections of ourselves no matter the age gap. She emphasizes that such a task could not happen if not for the “scolding, teaching, cherishing, giving, and cursing one with different fears (2),” that “summon up the innumerable smiles, tears, sighs and dreams of human life” (321). All this, Diament reminds all females, can be sequestered in the red tent.
Once Orlando returns to the world of civility, boarding a ship to London in her new dress, she reflects upon the duties of a woman. She remembers that, as a man, she thought women were to be “exquisitely apparelled” but also “chaste year in and year out” (251). This upsets her as she is overwhelmed by the large effort she will have to put into her appearance only to get no reward. Orlando’s dilemma has been one that women have always faced: the balance of sexuality and modesty. Her society places heavy emphasis on marriage, wherein daughters vainly alter their appearance in hopes that they will use their beauty to attract a man of status. Consequently, they must also show modesty, not making a man want them too much, in order to preserve their image of purity. After losing her ability to be sexual, Orlando realizes that she faces many problems that she didn’t have as a man. In coming home after a long trip, Orlando returns to countless lawsuits because her sons are fighting for a property she can no longer own. Although Orlando “remained precisely as [she] had been” (220), her memories and ability the exact same, society deems her incapable of owning property. Orlando’s society would rather take everything from her than admit that her sex changed very little else about her ability and personality.
n Prelude, Katherine Mansfield explores issues of sexual frustration and the restrictions on female identity in a patriarchal society, as experienced by three generations of Burnell women. Linda Burnells responses to male sexuality are tainted by their inevitable association to her obligations in fulfilling her role as a wife and a mother, both of which Linda has shown indifference towards. As a result, Linda's own sexuality suffers under feelings of oppression.
Halperin, David. "Is There a History of Sexuality?." The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. Ed. Henry
Because of the commonality of "romantic friendships" between women of pre-Victorian/Victorian eras in the United States and Britain, sentimental writings were common among women, but according to Faderman's definition, Dickinson clearly had erotic feelings for her most treasured friend and confidant, Susan Gilbert Dickinson. In fact, many contemporaries of Dickinson featured loving relationships between women, a notion that was generally non-threatening because of the presumed asexuality of women (Faderman 154) and the idea that women could not have sexual relations without the interaction of a male (ibid 149). Although there have been female friendships that were characterized as abnormal that have been stigmatized as...
The vision of the ideal marital partner, for both Dorothea and Lydgate, is oddly chanced. Strangely, Dorothea seeks an intellectually dominant partner who will guide her to her higher purpose in life, while Lydgate seeks a submissive woman who will share in his struggles and assist him with achieving his ambitious goals. It appears to the reader that in many ways it seems like they were looking for each other—for the commonality in their both ideals is the desire for a partner with whom they can share their higher goals, however, both marry someone quite different from this vision. In the beginning chapters, Dorothea is described as looking for a union “that would deliver her from her girlish subjection to her own ignorance, and give her the freedom of voluntary submission to a guide who would take her along the greatest path” (27). Here, Dorothea’s sel...
In discussing marriage, premarital sex and children conceived outside of marriage in Hallowell during the time of Martha Ballard, Ulrich makes deductions from the insight into the community given in the diary. For instance, analysis revealed that the girls from Martha’s household, regardless of age or company, could be courted by suitors when alone. Hence, Ulrich gathered that there was no taboo against young ladies participating in mixed gatherings when accompanied or alone 145. However, social norms were still to be observed by everyone. The taverns, a site of political meetings, celebrations, courts and dance signals that the courtship patterns and customs wove into the larger community, reinforcing gender roles, celebrating group identity and maintaining the boundaries within which sexuality might be expressed 147.
However, the nature of this love is different in each story. In “Araby”, it is an innocent, pure, platonic feeling that completely changes the life of the character exerting an enormous influence on his psychological state. The boy has lost interest in everyday life. He cannot concentrate on his studying; he does not play with his friends; he can think about nothing else except for his beloved. For him, the lady is like a symbol of blissful happiness, a goddess; his love to her is sacred: “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand” (108).It explains the strong feeling of the boy for the girl. With Eveline, the situation is different. It is difficult to say for sure whether she indeed loves Frank or not. She thinks about him only as about a person who will help her to achieve her aim. She does not feel any tenderness, any passion to him –any of those feelings that are associated with real love. For her, the young man is a means, although she does not consciously treat him like that. She praises his virtues seeing that Frank is “kind, manly, open-hearted” (3), that he is interesting as a personality; she is proud to be his beloved. Still, it seems that Eveline is not in love with him. She admits that “it had been an excitement for her to have a fellow and then she had begun to like him” (3). She is simply pleased to have a
At first perusal, Anne Bradstreet’s writing adheres to a very Puritan sensibility: she argues that women, though they are worthy individuals, are naturally inferior to men and that earthly treasures are mere distractions from heavenly eternity. But, woven beneath the surface of her poems is the subtle revelation of her sexuality. Bradstreet eroticizes the complex relationship between nature, religion, her husband and herself, seemingly contradicting her religion, but by contextualizing the sexuality in religious terms, she shows that sexuality can be reconciled with spirituality.
Bloch, R. Howard. Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic Love. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1991.
...an only find true happiness in marriage with someone who shares similar manners and treasure people’s qualities over their look and status. This is when Anne’s sensibility allows her to disregard her family’s persuasion and become determined to fulfill her love with Wentworth.
...t sound as if he is making fun of women from the traditional courtly love stories, by using a very sexy young girl in his story, because the women from the traditional courtly love stories are not women who show off their femininity as much as Alison, who displayed it around. Women from traditional courtly love stories are also not sneaky and cunning, they are innocent and kind women, the complete opposite of what Alison is.
This quote addresses directly the primary difficulty of the issue. The terms gay and lesbian are useful in literature in that they allow a group of people who have been marginalised and even persecuted to become visible. They enable a way of life and a set of identities, harmonious or conflicting, to be presented, to be questioned, to be understood and accepted. As categories they create ‘space’ in which there may develop a more evolved understanding of texts and they also create a genre within which many lesbian and gay writers are comfortable with being placed. A gendered reading of a text can reveal undercurrents and depths which might otherwise not be apparent. These categories also make ‘space’ for the author within the text which leads to a closer tie between the author and the reader in the reading process.
Lydia met her husband Arthur at a family function and they married only a year later. “It was an attraction of opposites which could not last. Arthur was irresponsible and poor.” (pg.11) While the two loved each other dearly, their differences caused many of the problems that arose later on in Lawrence’s life. In the novel the Mother and Father also met at a dance, where Mr. Morel’s ability to dance was “natural and joyous”, he possessed “a certain subtle exultation like glamour in his movement.” These features attracted Mrs. Morel immediately, just as Mr. Morel was attracted to her because she was “perfectly intact, deeply religious, and full of beautiful candor.” (Lawrence, D.H.; pg. 44)