Fighting desires: Henry Miller's Queer Tropic.
"Fighting Desires: Henry Miller's Queer Tropic" is an investigation of Tropic of Cancer that investigates the deeply repressed homoerotic desire that periodically surfaces. This reading is dependent upon an interpretation of Eve Sedgwick that proposes male sexuality as a continuum. By looking at the nature of the male-male relationships, as well as the lack of emotion and presence in the male-female relationships, I will show that the most intimate relationships are between men, and that these relationships are expressed through the telling of stories about (heterosexual) sex; this is the function of women within the novel: one has sex with a woman, not for the pleasure that the act brings, but for the pleasure that the recounting of the story to other men brings. Furthermore, I will look at Miller's use of puns within the novel and how they also contribute to a homoerotic reading. None of this is to argue that Miller was not homophobic and sexist--Miller very clearly was--the purpose of this essay is to show the complex nature of sexuality, even within a protagonist who asserts a very defined heterosexuality.
Hardin
Michael
M
Department of English, Bakeless Center for Humanities, Bloomsburg University, PA 17815-1301, USA.
D005260:Female; D020010:Heterosexuality; D049673:History, 20th Century; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000266:history; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern / Q000266:history; D008297:Male; D014481:United States