Well of Loneliness
{{The Well of Loneliness}}
Basic Info
- Author: Radclyffe Hall
- Year: 1928
- Type: primary 1
Summary (brief)
-Follows Stephen Gordon, whose gayness was apparent at a young age (cross-dressing, etc.) was named Stephen because the parents were so sure she was going to be a boy; she is raised basically as a boy, and enjoys developing her muscles and riding horses; she has an affair with a married woman, and this undoes her as the husband reveals the affair to Stephen's mother who effectively disowns her. Stephen had such a sweet honest relationship with her father, Sir Phillip, who she could tell anything to He dies when he is crushed by a tree branch. Stephen had a best pal for a while but he tried to marry Stephen and she thought that was gross.
Major Themes
- #gay
- #craft/body/fragmentation
- #trans-corporeality
- #monstrous-femine
- #marriage/relationships/friendship
- #confession
Key Passages / Quotes
Quote 1
quote:: “I am no bird.”
page:: 197
themes:: freedom, identity
Genre Notes
Characters / Concepts (if relevant)
Theory Connections
Related Texts
My Argument / Interpretation
Dissertation Relevance
How could this matter to my project?
-I want to say something about trans-corporeality: the personification of the places and the horses - narrated as if they have feelings and thoughts - as a representation of Stephen's inner state - the birds singing as well; a reflection of her interiority.