History's Queer Stories: Retrieving and Navigating Homosexuality in British Fiction about the Second World War

310 Pages·2018·5.225 MB·English

by  Natalie Marena Nobitz

Natalie Marena Nobitz
History’s Queer Stories
Queer Studies | Volume 19
Natalie Marena Nobitz, born in 1989, works in the office for equal opportunities
at the University of Hagen, Germany, and teaches Literary Studies and Gender
Studies at the University of Kiel, Germany.
Natalie Marena Nobitz
History’s Queer Stories
Retrieving and Navigating Homosexuality
in British Fiction about the Second World War
Funded by the State graduate scholarship Schleswig-Holstein.
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Na-
tionalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at
http://dnb.d-nb.de
© 2018 transcript Verlag, Bielefeld
Cover layout: Maria Arndt, Bielefeld
Cover illustration: Natalie Marena Nobitz
Printed by Majuskel Medienproduktion GmbH, Wetzlar
Print-ISBN 978-3-8376-4543-9
PDF-ISBN 978-3-8394-4543-3
https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839445433
Contents

Introduction | 11
Quentin Crisp’s War | 11
Researching the War | 18
Stonewall and Gay Liberation | 38
Queering the Past | 49
Feminist Narrative Theory: Approach and Outline | 53

Re-Negotiating the Homosexual Problem Novel | 63
Engaging with the Literary Past | 63
Medicalization of Homosexuality: Literary Self-Regulation | 71
The Hypocrisy of Censorship | 83
Resisting Blackmail – Resisting Stigmatisation | 97
Fashioning Homosexual Relationships | 109
The Invisible Struggle: Refurbishing a Ghostly Past | 124

Nation, Masculinity and War | 135
Literature and National Propaganda | 135
One Nation Fighting a People’s War? | 146
Outsiders Inside: Imprisoning Resistance | 160
Nationalism and Religion | 167
Performances of Military Masculinities | 179
Disintegration of the Unknown Soldier Myth | 198

Queering Space, Body and Time | 207
Queer Fiction – Queer Concepts | 207
Body Space – Destabilising Gender | 216
Queering the Battlefield | 231
Challenging the Parental Home | 240
The Public Home – The Private Street: Inversion of Concepts | 253
Killing the Child as a Token of Futurity | 260

Resisting Closure | 267

Bibliography | 289

Index | 307

Acknowledgements

It was in 2013 when I first learned about Michel Foucault’s History of Sexuality,
about Judith Butler’s theory on gender performativity and when I began to grasp
the vast and controversial landscape of gender studies. Thenceforth I was
hooked. I devoured not only theories, trying to catch up on a century of engaging
thoughts, but also novels that had not been part of any standardised reading list I
had thus far encountered. Sarah Waters’ historical novels particularly caught my
attention and I began to wonder how a history of silence and invisibility is re-
trieved and represented by a modern novelist whose own lived experiences are
so vastly different from her characters and settings.
This book is the result of my journey to find answers to this and other ques-
tions regarding the development of a queer literary history as well as my attempt
to broaden dominant knowledge of war, sexuality and gender roles. I could not
have completed my work without the encouragement of Prof. Dr. Anna-
Margaretha Horatschek who generously offered guidance and advice whenever
needed. I also want to thank Laura Hair whose incredible patience and construc-
tive criticism enabled me to continue working well beyond my limits. Whilst
professional advice helps the shaping of one’s work, emotional guidance keeps
the spirit sound. I therefore want to thank my parents without whom I could not
have written a single word: Ihr habt immer an mich geglaubt. Danke.

Jan, für dich – mit dir.

List of Abbreviations

LD Walter Baxter, Look Down in Mercy, [1951], (Virginia: Valancourt
Books, 2014)

MD Adam Fitzroy, Make Do and Mend (UK: Manifold Press, 2012)

TC Mary Renault, The Charioteer, [1953], (New York: Vintage Books,
2003)

TN Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant, [1968], (London: Harper
Perennial, 2007)

TNW Sarah Waters, The Night Watch (London: Virago, 2006)

TW Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness, [1928], (New York: Anchor
Books, 1990)

WL Han Suyin, Winter Love, [1962], (London: Virago Press, 1994)

A.R.P. Air Raid Precautions
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
Conshie/ Conchie Conscientious objector
DSO Medal Distinguished Service Order Medal
GLF Gay Liberation Front
LGBTQI Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Queer, Intersectional
OED Oxford English Dictionary
RAF Royal Air Force
Wren/ WRNS Women’s Royal Naval Service