Browsing by Subject "20th - century fiction"

This thesis examines E.M. Forster’s The Longest Journey as a queer text by contrasting it with Maurice, a later novel by the same author. As the novels share a similar plot structure, and similar dynamics between three central male characters, it could be argued that Maurice is an explicitly homoerotic reworking of themes discussed in The Longest Journey. While earlier research has both noted the homoerotic subtext of The Longest Journey, and the structural and thematic similarities between the two novels, the aim of this paper will be to combine these approaches, and to provide an in-depth analysis of the added context the similarities with Maurice give to the subtext of The Longest Journey. The novels discuss the interconnectedness of class, masculinity, and sexuality from a similar perspective through a central cast of three male characters of different classes. In each novel, an upper-class character represents an upper-class hegemonic masculinity characterised by commitment to reason and convention over emotion, and detachment from the body. This is contrasted with a working-class male character who represents unabashed physicality and connection with the self and nature. Between these characters a middle-class character either functions as a go-between (The Longest Journey) or has to choose between these ways of life (Maurice). This paper will compare the equivalent characters in each novel to reveal the thematic and structural similarities, but also to examine the difference between the explicit and subtextual examination of the novels’ central themes. Finally, I will argue that homosexuality is positioned as a healing force in both novels, and that this theme is intrinsically linked to the novels’ representation of class and masculinity. I will posit that cross-class connection is facilitated by homoerotic attraction, and that the inherent subversiveness of homosexuality in the context of late nineteenth and early twentieth- century performances of masculinity is an integral part of the novels’ interrogation of masculine conventions.