Author: neonxflowerpower

“The notion that my sordid personal life had some sort of larger import was strange, but seductive.” (Bechdel, 80)

At this point in the narrative, Allison has begun to explore her identity through literature available at her college. Unlike the literary texts she’d been reading in her household as a child, she is able to find texts that articulate parts of her identity yet to be examined. In this space, Allison finds power in her new found visibility. In the confines of her home, her experiences were never centered, but this different sphere offers new literary realms that counter her feelings of isolation. In addition to finding literary comfort, Allison finds physical spaces on campus that offer networks of support and friendships. In this same time frame, Allison is simultaneously exposed to feminist theory. In this particular panel, Allison is at a “Gay Dance,” where she overhears the comment “Feminism is the theory. Lesbianism is the practice,” (Bechdel, 80) bringing up the conflation of political affiliation with sexuality in terms of feminist ideologies and lesbian identity. Although this is problematic, it made me think about Adrienne Rich’s “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” and the negation of lesbian existence in these circles as a way to combat stereotypes about feminists. This is problematic because it not only renders lesbian identities invisible; it undermines the importance of women loving individuals and their possible contributions to feminist theory.

In Gender Trouble,  Judith Butler articulates the ways in which gender is constructed and the ways heteronormative structures of gender and sexuality are maintained through socialization and surveillance. Visual signifiers of gender consist of presentations and absences, the recognition of non-heteronormative characteristics. Those who perform gender in a non-normative way are challenged and punished by those who recognize these differences through “intelligible grids of an idealized and compulsory heterosexuality” (Butler, 135). As a result of gendered socialization and the processes of being rewarded and checked for either conforming or nonconforming to one’s gender assignment at birth, the frameworks of heterosexuality are maintained.    

The gardener, Hector,  draws a parallel between the experiences of his brother, Randolph, and the ways Tyler is treated by the community. He states, “He was kind of funny. He was like you” (Mootoo, 73). Through this statement, Hector acknowledges certain visual signifiers of Randolph and Tyler’s gender expression that cause them to be coded as different.  In Cereus Blooms at Night, the treatment of Nurse Tyler exemplifies the ways in which gender and sexuality are conflated. At Paradise Alms House, Tyler is isolated socially due to his gender expression and performance; he is coded as a cis gay man by the other nurses in the home due to his perceived feminine qualities and attraction to men. These assumptions are complicated by the fluidity of Tyler’s gender in the beginning of the novel. Throughout Cereus Blooms at Night, Tyler increasingly becomes more comfortable in his gender expression with the help of Mala and Otoh as they ease the looming presence of constant surveillance.

In chapter eleven of bell hooks’ Teaching to Transgress she quotes a poem by Adrienne Rich, which states “Words impose themselves, take root in our memory against our will.” (hooks, 167) This quote illuminates the ways in which dominant narratives infiltrate and undermine a multitude of identities. Carson’s Autobiography of Red reinvents and reimagines a Greek myth grounded in machismo and transforms the story into a narrative about queer love. Carson’s shift of this story humanizes the ways in which queer narratives are typically understood. Although the protagonist experiences different traumas, the novel does not end in tragedy. Carson creates multifaceted characters that shape one another throughout the story. Geryon is empowered through self-discovery and the recognition that he is not alone. In the last chapter, Geryon states “We are amazing beings…neighbors of fire” (Carson, 146) illustrating the power of his existence and others that occupy spaces similar to him. hook’s discusses the ways in which marginalized peoples take oppressive language and create a type of counter-hegemonic speech thus finding liberation through language. (hooks, 175) In a similar way, Carson makes stories such as Geryon’s visible and forcibly claims space that has not been given to marginalized queer identities in canonical literature.

Time that withers you will wither me. We will fall like ripe fruit and roll down the grass together. Dear friend let me lie beside you watching the clouds until the earth covers us and we are gone. (Winterson, 90)

 

Winterson’s Written in the Body complicates normative structures of time and space in multiple ways particularly in the narration and language of the novel. At this point in the novel, the narrator and Louise have reached a point in their relationship where they’ve recognized the serious repercussions of their emotions and actions. They are both consumed by their love for one another despite the uncertainty of their future, which constructs a different understanding of the passing and measurement of time. The narrator is content with the inevitable decay of their relationship with Louise because they are aware that their time with her cannot be compared to normative structures of time. Their relationship is “ripe,” signifying its impending decomposition while also highlighting the fact that their relationship is in its prime. The narrator continuously fixates over the ways that time affects their relationships, especially with Louise because they exist outside of the parameters of what is deemed as acceptable in society. The narrator states, “time that withers you will wither me,” emphasizing how the physical and emotional aspects of their relationship are connected and influenced by time. Halberstam’s In a Queer Time and Place illustrates the ways in which queer time or non-heteronormative time operates in a world where the constant “diminishing future creates a new emphasis on the here, present, and now and while the threat of no future hovers overhead…the urgency of being also expands the potential of the moment.” (2) The constraints of time have strengthened and intensified their relationship and when the “earth covers [the narrator and Louise] and [they] are gone,” they will still be together as time extends past what is constructed around them.

“Sometimes I think I’m free, coughed up like Jonah from the whale, but then I turn a corner and recognize myself again. Myself in your skin, myself lodged in your bones, myself floating in the cavities that decorate every surgeon’s wall. That is how I know you. You are what I know.” (Winterson, 120)

 

After the narrator decides to leave Louise and isolate themselves from their everyday life, they become fixated on the understanding of anatomy attempting to reconcile their deep rooted and transformative feelings for Louise. The narrator describes themself as intertwined in Louise’s anatomy. The narrator portrays themselves as “in your skin, lodged in your bones” (Winterson, 120) illustrating the ways in which they have become inseparable from Louise and in a sense consumed by her.

Unable to recognize themself, the narrator reiterates that Louise is “what [they] know,” (Winterson, 120) highlighting how this relationship has changed the narrator’s behavior and anatomy in addition to the ways in which they have lost sight of their individual personhood. The narrator thinks they have regained their autonomy describing their freedom as “coughed up like Jonah from the whale.” As Jonah was thrown of the ship as a last resort for survival and then eaten whole by a giant whale in the biblical narrative, the narrator sees their decision to leave Louise as forced and for the greater good. This self-imposed isolation was a means of sacrifice for the long-term well being of Louise. Like Jonah, the narrator survives but this is only physical.

This passage illustrates the narrator’s complete transformation at the hands of Louise and viscerally describes the physical trauma of separation. The narrator’s current state is uncharacteristic of their relationship history, which is marked by short periods of emotionally charged time. The narrator has changed in multiple ways, which has permanently altered their existence.

“There’s nothing so sweet as wallowing in it is there?” (Winterson, 26)

This quote highlights the narrator’s desire for dramatic and emotionally charged relationships making it seem as if they enjoy the inevitable demise of romance. Their frequent attraction to married women illuminates their conscious effort to engage in relationships that are set up for failure. At this point in the novel, the reader becomes accustomed to the narrator’s cyclical short-lived affairs. Despite recognizing the narrator’s toxic behaviors, the seductive and honest language complicates the reader’s preconceived notions of morality. It is clear that the narrator understands the ways in which they are complicit in the end results of their relationships but they also recognize the addictive qualities of ill-fated affairs.

Following this question, the narrator states “wallowing is sex for depressives” (26) showing the ways in which certain situations warrant unhealthy behaviors as a way of coping. They romanticize their damaging decision making skills and through this, the reader is allured by the narrator’s acute self-awareness. By posing this question, the readers ask themselves the same thing, further entangling himself or herself in the narrator’s [ir]rationality. This passage precedes the narrator’s newest relationship with a woman who is not characteristic of the narrator’s past romances and has no markers of unpredictability. After the narrator’s various passionate affairs, they choose to attempt to place themselves in a type of “normal” relationship. Soon after, the narrator craves intensity of their past relationships and the anticipated disintegration following after.