Well of Loneliness ( English Well of Loneliness ) - a novel by British writer Radcliffe Hall , published in 1928 , which is considered the second work of the so-called " lesbian literature." The novel describes the life of Stephen Gordon, an Englishwoman from a high-class family who realized her “sexual inversion” ( homosexuality ) from an early age. She finds her love with Mary Lewelyn, whom she meets during her service as an ambulance driver during the First World War , but their shared happiness is marred by social exclusion and rejection, which Hall portrays as disastrous consequences of obscene orientation. The novel, however, portrays the “anti-gender state” as an innate and natural state and voices the obvious appeal: “Give us the same right to exist” [1] .
The novel was the target of a criticism campaign organized by James Douglas, editor of the Sunday Express newspaper, who wrote: “I would rather give a healthy boy or girl a bottle of prussic acid than this novel.” Although the only “sexual” reference throughout the novel is contained in the phrase “they were inseparable that night,” the British court found it obscene because he advocated “an unnatural practice for women” [2] . In the United States, the book experienced a number of problems with the law in New York State and the Customs Court [3] .
Information about the legal confrontation surrounding the novel increased the appearance of lesbians in British and American culture [4] . For decades, it was the most famous lesbian novel in English and often the first source of information about female homosexuality that young people could find [5] . Some readers praised The Well, while others criticized him for expressing Stephen’s self-hatred and viewing his condition as shameful [6] . Her role in promoting the image of lesbians as "masculine" or dressed as the opposite sex of women is also controversial. Some critics have argued that Stephen should now be seen more as a transgender person [7] .
Although some critics praised The Well as a literary work, its portrayal of sexuality and gender identity continues to be a topic of study and discussion.
Bibliography
- Cline, Sally (1998). Radclyffe Hall: A Woman Called John. Woodstock & New York: The Overlook Press. ISBN 0-87951-708-5 .
- Cook, Blanche Wiesen (1979). '' Women Alone Stir My Imagination ': Lesbianism and the Cultural Tradition. " Signs 4 (4): 718-739. DOI: 10.1086 / 493659. ISSN 0097-9740.
- Doan, Laura (2001). Fashioning Sapphism: The Origins of a Modern English Lesbian Culture. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11007-3 .
- Doan, Laura; Prosser, Jay (2001). Palatable Poison: Critical Perspectives on The Well of Loneliness. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11875-9 .
- Love, Heather (2000). "Hard Times and Heartaches: Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness." Journal of Lesbian Studies 4 (2): 115-128.
- O'Rourke, Rebecca (1989). Reflecting on The Well of Loneliness. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-01841-2 .
- Souhami, Diana (1999). The Trials of Radclyffe Hall. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-48941-2 .
Notes
- ↑ Hall, 437; Munt, 213.
- ↑ Souhami, 192-241, Cline, 225-267; Part 1 Doan, Fashioning Sapphism .
- ↑ A detailed discussion of the US trials can be found in Taylor, "I Made Up My Mind."
- ↑ See Doan, Fashioning Sapphism , chapter 5.
- ↑ Cook, 718-719, 731.
- ↑ O'Rourke's Reflections on the Well of Loneliness , Love, “Hard Times and Heartaches”.
- ↑ Doan & Prosser, Palatable Poison .