[ilds] Mention of the Alexandria Quartet in an Interesting and Controversial New Book

[PETER BALDWIN]

This is speculative nonsense and suggests that the Durrell list is best ignored
 
Evidence please, not some fanciful idea along the lines of which led to the scurrilous suggestion that D's interest in incest was evidence of a sexual relationship with Sappho.
 
Desist, please, if this list is to be taken seriously.
 
Peter Baldwin
 
From: bredwine1968 at earthlink.net
Date: Sat, 31 May 2014 12:10:08 -0700
To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca
CC: bredwine1968 at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [ilds] Mention of the Alexandria Quartet in an Interesting and	Controversial New Book

Billy, thanks for the response.  Any evidence for Durrell's repressed homosexuality?  No, certainly none that would satisfy a court of law.  But to be argumentative, MacNiven bases his biography in part on what Durrell told him, and would you expect Lawrence Durrell to admit homosexual tendencies, especially given the opprobrium attached to such a confession?  (By the way, I don't mean to disparage MacNiven's tremendous work — I have the greatest respect for what he accomplished.)  My evidence is circumstantial and largely based on Durrell's writings and the prominence of homosexuality as a topic of treatment.  As D. H. Lawrence says, "Never trust the artist.  Trust the tale."  I'm much in line with what Boone writes.  Here, of course, the big objection is what literary critics are fond of making — namely, don't confuse the author with his or her writings!  There's some validity to this, but I don't always buy the objection and attribute it to the prejudices of New Criticism, whose ideas still linger and influence.  So, I'm saying, as Boone seems to suggest, let's look at Durrell's writings and his obsessions and see where all that leads us.  Finally, remember the lesson of Thomas Mann, author of Death in Venice.  For a long time, Mann's treatment of homosexuality was analyzed as a literary trope (much as Durrell's is).  After all, Mann was an upright German, married with a large family, and no inkling of homosexuality.  But as Anthony Heilbut shows in his biography, Thomas Mann:  Eros and Literature (1996), Mann had repressed homosexual tendencies.  Death in Venice and Gustav von Aschenbach's infatuation with the boy Tadzio is based on Mann's own personal experience.  I see something similar going on with Durrell.
Bruce



On May 31, 2014, at 11:26 AM, William Apt <billyapt at gmail.com> wrote:Bruce: 
I seem to recall that, according to MacNiven's bio, when LD was confronted with the opportunity for homoerotic encounters while in prep school in England, he realized he was unstimulated by boys. That is typically the hallmark of a heterosexual mindset. Do you have any evidence other than LD's occasional bad behavior toward women that might otherwise support your theory? 
Billy

WILLIAM APTAttorney at Law812 San Antonio St, Ste 401Austin TX 78701512/708-8300512/708-8011 FAX
On May 31, 2014, at 10:40 AM, Bruce Redwine <bredwine1968 at earthlink.net> wrote:

Merrianne,
Thanks.  Some years ago Boone wrote a provocative article on homosexuality in the Quartet.  It begins by discussing Durrell's reference to Tropic of Cancer as a "man-size piece of work" in his famous introductory letter to Miller.  Boone took this as an example of Durrell's repressed homosexuality, if I recall correctly.  That is roughly equivalent to "you've shown me yours, now I'll show you mine."  Years ago I pursued this line of argument on the ILDS List and was roundly scoffed at.  "Durrell is gay!  Nonsense!"  Personally I think he was a repressed homosexual, which might account for some of his strange and violent behavior.  The guy was pretty screwed up.  Perhaps we can resume this discussion.
Bruce

Sent from my iPhone
On May 31, 2014, at 6:31 AM, "Merrianne" <timlot at comcast.net> wrote:

Before attending the OMG conference in Vancouver, I purchased a recently published book – The Homoerotics of Orientalism by Joseph Allen Boone, published by Columbia University Press. The book is generating some controversy. Having spent many years researching 19th century orientalist art, I am finding this book very interesting, but not your usual summer read. It weaves together many diverse threads – art, literature, gender, sexuality, colonialism, mass marketing, etc., and introduces some unique analysis. Illustrations range from traditional Ingres nudes to Norman Mailer as a pharaoh on the cover of New York magazine. Included in the chapter “Epic Ambitions and Epicurean Appetites” is a subchapter titled “The Return of the Repressed in Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet” that focuses on the depiction of Darley. Footnote 70 for this chapter cites James Gifford’s “The Frontiers of Love: Sexual and Territorial Ambiguity in Lawrence Durrell’s Monsieur.” Bottom line – this is a book that some of you might want to peruse. For me, it provides new insight into the many “textbook” images of orientalism I have enjoyed over the years, and introduces me to many “new” contemporary photographs, paintings, and ideas. Best,Merrianne Timko  _______________________________________________
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