Suspicion, Sin, and Sodomy

 Catriona O’Shea                                                         11/20/21

Dr. Adams                                                   Blog Post #2

During the Victorian period, there were very inconsistent attitudes towards homosexuality. Specifically, the scandal of Oscar Wilde’s affair demonstrated an extreme opposition towards the idea, while for others it was not dealt with seriously. Scandals often caused a great deal of normative solidification and transformation in society during this time, and typically during any time. Many groups, institutions, and people in Victorian society attempted to circumvent scandals as they seem to cause further issues. Oscar Wilde was an openly gay Irish playwright during the Victorian time period. Wilde was considered to be a victim of Victorian puritanism because of the strict English homosexuality laws in 1865. At this time, Victorians strongly opposed homosexuality, while a 20th century Britain criminalized all homosexual acts with draconian penalties, or excessively harsh punishment for the prohibited act. Wilde was charged with gross indecency in 1895 for having an affair with another man, and was seen as an outcast.

Wilde was actually married with two children but had an affair in 1861 with Lord Alfred Douglas, a British poet and aristocrat, in1861. Lord Alfred Douglas’ poems expose his homosexual nature. In Douglas’ poem “Two Loves” he details how “his lips as red wine-spilth that dyes,” “he came near me, with his lips uncurled,” and “caught my hand and kissed my mouth”(Douglas). While the poem depicts the story of two loves, one is sad and the other is happy. This demonstrates a straight relationship versus a homosexual one that can not be shared due to the controversy it may cause during this time period. It is interesting to see how Lord Alfred Douglas’ and Wilde’s relationship was perfectly expressed by the line “I am the love that dare not speak its name”(Douglas). This line seems to be a euphemism for homosexual love, but also causes a lot of suspicions about sin and sodomy. The poem seems to detail two types of love; one between a man and woman, and one that should not be talked about(a homosexual relationship). Douglas’ emphasis on two different types of love causes Wilde’s later imprisonment. Douglas’ father, the Marquis of Queensberry, even wrote his son a letter saying he would disown him. It is interesting to understand how Wilde sued the Marquis for defamation, but this only led to his trials and time spent in prison due to the affair. Marquis was a man of power, and his son, Douglas, had lots of evidence for being homosexual, especially in this poem. But, it seems that the power and class status of Marquis and Douglas enabled them to escape becoming rejects in Victorian society, despite the betrayal it posed between Douglas and Wilde.

While the odds were stacked against Wilde during his gross indecency trial during the Victorian period, homosexuality norms were typically rarely and reluctantly enforced in Victorian England Why did Oscar Wilde face such struggles and opposition while many other people did not? Homosexuality was not only present in Wilde’s public persona but in his writings too. People of all different social classes admired his artworks up until the day he went to jail as well. It is interesting to see how the capital punishment for sodomy in 1861 was life imprisonment, but this was later abolished. Historians even uncovered incidents where those who were understood as homosexual became the victims of mob violence.

Similarly, in Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s, Carmilla, I noticed a theme of homosexuality in as Laura and Carmilla have an interesting, intimate relationship. As we know from past material, the Victorian period stressed the importance of patriarchal class status and order, while women had minimal rights and often married for status instead of love. It is interesting to see how Laura and Carmilla’s relationship challenges the preconceived notion of heteronormative society. The Victorian period emphasized state censorship and the state prosecution of same-sex sexuality and how people did risk their lives for love. Oscar Wilde trial and how he risked scrutiny from the criminal justice system and was charged with gross indecency in 1895 for having an affair with Douglas. The novel, Carmilla, is also an attempt to express how women can and should assert their own independence and sexuality during the Victorian period, just as Wilde did. The subtle references to homosexuality in both “Two Loves” and Carmilla speak to the general attitude of the Victorian era in which authors had to conceal these types of themes at great lengths.