Queerness
Queer erasure has meant many queer stories have been overlooked or removed throughout history. Queer Theory challenges traditional approaches to literature to explore texts through a new lens. Gothic tales are often read as queer: aspects of the characters’ gender or sexuality transgress heterosexual constructs of “normality”. In 19th century Britain, this meant heterosexual, patriarchal relationships. Outside of this structure, sexuality could become monstrous. Gothic monsters like Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla elude these boundaries to influence the innocent and pure. Despite the vilification of these monsters, many of them can be seen as sympathetic.
Throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), male characters remark on their attraction to the beautiful young man, Dorian, and align themselves to queer historical figures. Without Wilde’s knowledge, his publisher removed around 500 words before publishing the first edition as it contained “a number of things which an innocent woman would make an exception to.” The passages removed were considered too close to homosexual and immoral topics, though the book was published the next year including some of these passages.
Frontispiece to Frankenstein or; the Modern Prometheus (1831)
Themes of isolation, secrecy, and rejection within Frankenstein have lent the novel to queer readings. Mary Shelley revealed in private correspondence her attraction to both men and women, and her tale of Victor Frankenstein and the creature he created has been read as an example of “homosexual panic” – the recognition of same-sex desires paired with denial and fear. When he first appears in Victor’s bedroom, the creature may represent Victor’s internalised homophobia. Queer readings have suggested that Victor reads the creature’s gaze as a sexual threat and the ensuing chase and secrecy signify Frankenstein’s attempts to deny his own sexuality.
Other readings highlight Victor’s role as a queer parent, creating life without female pregnancy. The text is a cautionary tale in many ways, including how not to be a parent of queer children – Frankenstein’s abhorrence at his creation, who seeks only love from his father, ultimately creates a path of mutual destruction.
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The fear of foreign influence disrupting British power was highlighted not just in the pollution of British womanhood as in The Vampyre (1795), but the assault on British masculinity from decadent Eastern influence. Vampirism is highly sexual – it is about desire, submission, and dominance, and Gothic vampires saw no boundaries in gender and sexuality. Vampires from Polidori’s Ruthven to Stoker’s Dracula were intended to be monstrous and terrifying, yet they also exuded charm and seduction to both men and women.
