An Adventure in Respectability
1917
Mary Heaton Vorse
Harper's
American
Short Story
10pp
Lesbians
Why a girl, who to him spelled romance, should persist in finding her soul's sustenance with these worthy creatures was something he couldn't fathom.
Summary
On a ship en route from the US to England, Beverly dedicates himself to the chivalric guardianship of Lucy, a lone young woman. Instead, Lucy rebuffs him and spends her time with a group of lesbians onboard, leaving Beverly to contend against love-rival Mary Marsh and the growing sense of his own inefficacy.
More Info
Published in Harpers Magazine (Jul 1917) p 211-220. Illustrated by Henry Raleigh.
References are made throughout the story of New England, women's education and masculinity, and Boston Marriages: all references to the New or Modern Woman trope and the excision of men as necessary parts of women's lives. A "Boston Marriage" refers to two women living together as economic partners, but also often as lesbians.
Content & Trigger Warnings
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Editions
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