At the end of the neteenth century, the gothic novel veloped a way that reflected Victorian anxieti ncerng human sexualy. Commonly referred to as the f siècle, this perd was a time when England was rapidly progrsg technologilly, scientifilly, and socially. Authors of gothic fictn began to exprs societal and cultural anxieti ncerng the velopments—as well as the very future of England—by, g trop, such as supernatural subjects, monstro characters, and ighteng plots. For example, the ntroversial role of homosexualy Brish society began to make s way to gothic novels. Authors cludg Osr Wil, Bram Stoker, and Robert Louis Stevenson—some of whom stggled wh their own sexual orientatns—enavored to create a voice for the ostracized homosexual fictn. The lerary reprentatns of same-sex sire ntributed to the awarens of and the perpetuatn of stereotyp for gay men. The morn stereotype of the “homosexual” gaed notoriety as reprentatns of same-sex relatnships emerged and as psychologil discsns attempted to expla the and treatments for such an ostensible “abnormaly” durg the perd. This ntroversial topic ncerng human sexualy was challenged by Christian valu that created engraed social attus about sexualy and moraly. Homosexualy beme a heightened issue of ntentn durg this perd when Osr Wil published his homoerotic novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), and was subsequently arrted for his own homosexualy, which was outlawed at the time England. In Chapter One, I show how Wil packs his text wh encrypted homoerotic them that reflect his personal inty, mock societal prejudic about human sexualy, and warn agast bld submissn to socially accepted valu. Through genr and sexualy studi and queer readgs of Wil’s work, I reveal that Dorian Gray emerg as a groundbreakg text that fi social norms and supports emergg psychologil studi of human sexual orientatn, such as Havelock Ellis’s Sexual Inversn (1897). In Chapter Two, I e Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) to expla how the supernatural elements of the gothic were a mechanism for monizg the homosexual and characterizg gays as “other” a society that rejects and punish queerns. By evaluatg Stoker’s own ambiguo sexualy alongsi his generally homophobic novel, I show how Eve Kosofksy Sedgwick’s ia of “homosexual panic” helps to expla the drivg force supprsg the emergg homosexual durg the age. In this way, Stoker’s homophobic novel is both a personal way of nyg his own sexualy and his means of
Contents:
SEX SYMBOL: HOW ANTO BEME A GAY CO WORD THE VICTORIAN ERA
Robert K. Mart, GAY STUDIES AND THE VICTORIAN PERIOD, Newsletter of the Victorian Studi Associatn of Wtern Canada, Vol. 13, No. 1 (SPRING 1987), pp. 69-76 * homosexuality in victorian literature *
The 19th century ccially wnsed the genis of homosexual inti, subcultur, and polics forms that have endured to the prent day. The word homosexual, wh s attendant notn of sexual inty, was ed and dissemated the last quarter of the 19th century.
” Jt as homosexualy mataed an ambiguo (and even paradoxil) posn wh Victorian culture—beg simultaneoly central and limal—so, too, is s place wh Victorian lerature and s specifilly Victorian textual endgs. Cultural and legal prohibns mean that reprentatns of explicly homosexual sir and timaci are rare wh popular, mastream fictn and poetry.
Lerary, historil, and classil studi, maly wrten by men, reprent another important mo of Victorian homosexual self-exprsn. Furthermore, creasgly dissemated and sometim sympathetic discsns of homosexualy wh legal, medil, and scientific circl ntributed to nascent dividual and llective self-fn and provid a language wh which to argue agast reprsive legislatn and mor. While earlier cril work celebrated closeted thors and intified and recuperated homosexual subjects and acts hidn wh texts, more recent scholarly work emphasiz the historil ntgency of “homosexualy” as a stable inty tegory and stead emphasiz a more labile queerns that rists normativy.
BEFORE STRAIGHT AND GAY
Given the legal and soccultural prohibns agast homosexualy the 19th century, overt primary sourc are relatively srce.
The Victorian era is important to be looked at so that we know the cultural ntext which Osr Wil ed to live homosexualy went agast the notn of masculy, was talked about rarely and threatened the fay stcture as well as was believed to go agast beg fundamentally Brish. This lack of rmatn om different mediums of munitn is the reason why discsn of homosexualy was not seen throughout society. Discsns about homosexualy among society was very mimal bee Victorian cizens tried to ignore the fact ncept that mal might have sexual relatnship wh other mal.
Homosexualy Victorian eraAttus and expectatns about maral and timate relatnships were very strict durg Victorian era. Homosexualy Victorian eraPublicly homosexualy was not discsed and was hard to accs private sexual behavur.