What struck me most about The Well of Loneliness was it's depth of feeling. It is a deep, heartbroken, guttural scream from Radclyffe Hall for understanding and acceptance. The book was written in 1923 by Hall who was an 'invert' as she puts it, she was gay, as is the protagonist, and the book was banned.
We follow a girl who is named Stephen (her parents were sure they were having a boy) from birth until she is around 40, through her childhood, first affair, leaving the home she adores, a war and then life in Paris. There are enough similarities between the author and Stephen that I assume she is, at least partly, a self-portrait.
Throughout Hall is trying to
reconcile the natural and joyful feeling of being in love with another
woman, with the view of a world who finds her and 'her kind' abhorrent,
and doesn't allow any kind of expression or acknowledgement of that
relationship or feeling. The book gets darker and darker as Stephen sees
what the world does to those around her.
The
Well of Loneliness is not particularly well written, but it is powerful
in its desperation, and hugely moving. It leaves you with a vast amount
of love and sympathy for Raycliffe Hall, for trying to reconcile a world
which was against her.
Just started reading A Passage to India by E.M Forster, so far so good though maybe it's a little dated.
Just started reading A Passage to India by E.M Forster, so far so good though maybe it's a little dated.
