More thoughts on A Glass of Blessings
Feb. 14th, 2021 11:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regshoeI've been looking around the website of the Barbara Pym Society, who amongst other things put their old conference papers online—thanks very much to oursin for the link! Of course I immediately went looking for stuff about my favourite book and found a pair of papers, here and here, on homosexuality in A Glass of Blessings. The first discusses the wider social and historical background of the lives of gay men in 1950s England, and the second looks at A Glass of Blessings in more detail and in the context of the literature of its time.
I think what I really like about the portrayal of gay characters in A Glass of Blessings is that, on the one hand, it's pretty clear that this is a world in which the pervasive homophobia of the 1950s exists, and is clear also, in its quiet and subtle and sympathetic way, about how that has shaped Piers's life and character—but, on the other hand, there's really very little overt homophobia from the main characters: as the first paper puts it, Wilmet is upset and taken aback to discover that Piers isn't what she thought he was with regard to herself, 'but she is NOT outraged, disgusted, or sickened at the reason why'. And the more obviously camp Keith and Mr Bason aren't really judged for it or seen differently from the rest of the characters (Wilmet thinks Keith is a bit boring, but not much worse than that). It's comforting, I suppose, especially against the background that that first paper describes so starkly—and fits very naturally into the world of Barbara Pym's novels, that's at once clear-sighted, realistic and very kind—and sometimes quietly subversive.
The second paper compares A Glass of Blessings to some other queer books of the time. These include one by Sylvia Townsend Warner that I'd not particularly taken notice of before, so that's gone straight to the top of the to-read list! Unfortunately the author dismisses Townsend Warner as only writing fantasy and historical fiction, and so obviously not relevant to anything. Also mentioned is The Charioteer, which I thought could have made a pretty interesting comparison for several reasons—but this is also dismissed as 'a middlebrow novel (different questions are raised here, in a different field)'. It concludes that, rather than making a deliberate political protest as some novels of the time did, 'Pym just seems to see homosexual characters as part of the world, and depicts them as they are, with no fuss', which I agree with and which is something I like a lot about the book!
The scenes in the retreat garden and at the coffee bar, which the second paper discusses, are certainly significant, and I'm not quite sure what to make of them either. That image of Keith as Pan in the 'pagan' garden and its counterpart at the coffee bar, 'peering through the leaves', is a memorable one—it reminded me of some of the imagery E. M. Forster likes to use (and perhaps that links back to the idea of 'retreat', too—in the greenwood?). The idea that Father Thames might also be gay hadn't occurred to me, although the coincidence of 'La Cenerentola' is certainly suggestive.
This is a lovely summing-up of Piers/Keith, too: ‘Poor Piers’ has found a steady anchor in his life, and Keith a purpose. Aww, yes. <3
oursin for the link! Of course I immediately went looking for stuff about my favourite book and found a pair of papers, here and here, on homosexuality in A Glass of Blessings. The first discusses the wider social and historical background of the lives of gay men in 1950s England, and the second looks at A Glass of Blessings in more detail and in the context of the literature of its time.I think what I really like about the portrayal of gay characters in A Glass of Blessings is that, on the one hand, it's pretty clear that this is a world in which the pervasive homophobia of the 1950s exists, and is clear also, in its quiet and subtle and sympathetic way, about how that has shaped Piers's life and character—but, on the other hand, there's really very little overt homophobia from the main characters: as the first paper puts it, Wilmet is upset and taken aback to discover that Piers isn't what she thought he was with regard to herself, 'but she is NOT outraged, disgusted, or sickened at the reason why'. And the more obviously camp Keith and Mr Bason aren't really judged for it or seen differently from the rest of the characters (Wilmet thinks Keith is a bit boring, but not much worse than that). It's comforting, I suppose, especially against the background that that first paper describes so starkly—and fits very naturally into the world of Barbara Pym's novels, that's at once clear-sighted, realistic and very kind—and sometimes quietly subversive.
The second paper compares A Glass of Blessings to some other queer books of the time. These include one by Sylvia Townsend Warner that I'd not particularly taken notice of before, so that's gone straight to the top of the to-read list! Unfortunately the author dismisses Townsend Warner as only writing fantasy and historical fiction, and so obviously not relevant to anything. Also mentioned is The Charioteer, which I thought could have made a pretty interesting comparison for several reasons—but this is also dismissed as 'a middlebrow novel (different questions are raised here, in a different field)'. It concludes that, rather than making a deliberate political protest as some novels of the time did, 'Pym just seems to see homosexual characters as part of the world, and depicts them as they are, with no fuss', which I agree with and which is something I like a lot about the book!
The scenes in the retreat garden and at the coffee bar, which the second paper discusses, are certainly significant, and I'm not quite sure what to make of them either. That image of Keith as Pan in the 'pagan' garden and its counterpart at the coffee bar, 'peering through the leaves', is a memorable one—it reminded me of some of the imagery E. M. Forster likes to use (and perhaps that links back to the idea of 'retreat', too—in the greenwood?). The idea that Father Thames might also be gay hadn't occurred to me, although the coincidence of 'La Cenerentola' is certainly suggestive.
This is a lovely summing-up of Piers/Keith, too: ‘Poor Piers’ has found a steady anchor in his life, and Keith a purpose. Aww, yes. <3
no subject
Date: Feb. 14th, 2021 08:50 pm (UTC)I'm really interested in the idea of books being deliberate political protests, as opposed to quietly subversive depictions of queer people. I appreciate it when novels do the former, but there is also a lot to be said for the latter. Someone who sees "homosexual characters as part of the world, and depicts them as they are, with no fuss", is also doing something quite revolutionary indeed--it makes me think of regular people and how you don't have to do something big to be important, and little, everyday actions can be just as meaningful. Now I'm curious to imagine the kind of reaction this book might have received when it was published--not that kind, sympathetic portrayals will ever stop being relevant, but just imagine being a queer reader at the time!
(Also: "La Cenerentola", as in the opera? I'm even more curious about this book now, haha!)
Thanks (again) for reccing this, I'm looking forward to checking it out!
no subject
Date: Feb. 15th, 2021 05:39 pm (UTC)According to the second of the linked papers, the early reviews didn't discuss 'the issue' much, though the book was less well-reviewed than Pym's other stuff, perhaps because of it. Of course I can imagine that ordinary queer readers felt differently!
I don't know about the opera, I'm afraid—the significance of the name is the 'Cinderella' meaning, but you'll see about that when you read the book :D