Author: gleesonk1

Fairies & Mermaids & Unicorns (Oh my!)

~ gleesonk1

fair vic

From the early 1800s and onward until the end of the Victorian period, there was an influx in literature among the masses as reading became more of a widespread pleasure that was something many could enjoy. With industrialization making its way from London to the world, new things were rapidly becoming a muse for writing. With a newer realistic focus, where did that leave room for the fantasy genre during this time? Through a few choice words, we can go back and see what seemed to stick with the Victorians, and why so much emphasis was placed on one word in particular.

Mythical creatures have a strong history, and most of them seem to be timeless with age. Whether it be angels or centaurs or some other mystical being, the imagination and belief in the lore of these things seems to be something that holds well throughout the ages. During this time, for a seemingly inexplicable reason, the theme of fairies seems to have an incredible popularity over other magical creatures such as unicorns and mermaids. Fairies have had a well established place in the fantasy genre for hundreds of years, with Shakespeare bringing them into a greater popularity in the 1500-1600s. History tends to repeat itself – after researching the Branch Collective to find out why there was such a drastic continuous spike in the popularity of fairies, I found that multiple popular pieces of literature and art were being spurn from the more fantastical side of the Victorian Age. Mermaids and unicorns barely had any written works on them during this time, and seem to go down in popularity even after the Victorian Age – all while the interest in fairies continues to rise.

In a fortunate creative turn, the next century shows an uptake in popularity for all three mythological creatures.

Booktraces Marginalia – The English Novel

~ gleesonk1 ~ 1 Comment
In order to reach back and connect humanity to our past, it is important that we treasure not only the nostalgic aesthetic of certain time periods, but information and proof that lets us know that these people existed. Marginalia provides a look into certain individuals whose names were lost across history, and only exist in things such as signatures, annotations and drawings. As our society continues to fade out “marked up” literature in favor of that which is in more of a “mint condition,” we lose a particular value and charm that comes from the people who made the certain time period what it was.
As I searched the Sojourner Truth Library for these findings, I stumbled across a particular book called “The English Novel.” As a Creative Writing major, I know from first hand that it’s tradition to annotate in English textbooks and novels specifically, due to the importance of looking back into the text and relating particular pieces of information to what you could be writing and learning about. When I opened this book, I didn’t find any annotations inside the actual text – rather, I found a signature at the very beginning – in cursive ink, it reads:
“H.C. Martin
May 15 –
from H.N.M.”
I find it fascinating that this could have possibly been given as a gift. Who, or what, is H.N.M.? Was it a relative? Or could it have simply been the initials of a bookshop or company that H.C. Martin bought it from themself? I decided to research who H.C. Martin could have been, but was unable to find anything of substantial evidence. The information I found was a Ms. H.C. Martin. I find myself hoping that it was a woman, because it’s inspiring to know that there were women learning to educate themselves in a sexist society.
hhhhh

The Fashions of Irene Adler

~ gleesonk1

Items:
1. http://holmesiana.net/admin/items/show/111
2. http://holmesiana.net/admin/items/show/93
3. http://holmesiana.net/admin/items/show/127
Collection: http://holmesiana.net/admin/collections/show/26
Exhibit: http://holmesiana.net/exhibits/show/ireneadlerstyles/adlerfashions

Women’s Sexuality & Cross-Dressing

~ gleesonk1 ~ 2 Comments

When taking a look at the Victorian era, it’s plain to see – when compared to today’s modern viewpoints – that a conservative outlook was fairly commonplace. Dress code and gender norms were quite rigid, and not abiding by those societal standards could very well place an individual under public harassment, or even in a court of law. Women during this time faced many more restrictions than men, and with these rules came an even stricter code when it came to gender norms. This Victorian-London article on women’s sexuality shows the ways in which women refused to adhere to these norms through their sexuality and the alternative ways that they dressed.

During this period in time, queer sexualities were considered taboo and unnatural – people were often ostracized, humiliated and even murdered for not adhering to the heteronormative. Women in lesbian relationships would often need to disguise themselves as men, so as to not be subject to a cruel public.
In the 1834 case of the “man-woman,” Mary Chapman – who’d been under the alias “Bill Chapman” – was a cross-dresser who’d been in a relationship with a woman named Isabella Watson for several years. “Bill” had been arrested for being a “common cheat” and causing a disturbance, and no one knew what to make of Chapman’s unconventional attire. During Chapman’s time of arrest, a dialogue was recorded:
“Prisoner [Mary]. “Isabella has lived wish me as my companion for many years.”
    Mr .Bennett. “Why do you dress as a man?”
    Prisoner. “I own I am disguised, and it was owing to the cruelty of a father-in-law that I first dressed in this manner. I never did harm to any person. I have been all over the kingdom, and never was in prison in my life before.”

Due to being rejected simply because of her sexuality,  Mary Chapman had to disguise herself as a man so as to not be chastised by Isabella’s father. It’s also worth noting that Isabella refers to Mary as ‘he’ even when Mary had revealed her birth name to the police. Could Mary “Bill” Chapman have also been a transgender man?

Aside from gender and sexuality reasons, many women had also cross-dressed simply so that they’d have the same opportunities as men. In an 1867 Southwark Trial, Arthur Munby records a particular case in which a barman turned out to be a woman, incognito.
“No one suspected her, indeed; she confessed her sex to avoid the prison bath. She was a ship’s steward two years, before she was a barman: and before that again, she was errand boy, & afterwards light porter, at a cheesemonger’s in the New Road. When I arrived, the cheesemonger was charging her with not repaying him some of her receipts as his porter . . . And thus poor Thomas, who only said ‘Nothing Sir’ in a low tone when asked if she had ought to say, was committed for trial…”

This case is similar to a recorded 1875 case in which a Liverpool woman, “disguised her sex, dressing in male attire, and earning a living as a cabdriver” for nine years.

These cases show us the lengths women had to go to in order to make a living – or simply live – in a society that rejected and restricted them from living as equally as the privileged.

Source: http://www.victorianlondon.org/index-2012.htm (Women – Sexuality – Cross-dressing)

Kayla Gleeson’s Intrductory Post

~ gleesonk1 ~ 8 Comments

Hello! My name’s Kayla. I’m very excited for this class!

I’m a Double Major in Creative Writing and Media Production. I’m a 3rd-year transfer student from Suffolk County Community College.

The reason I’m majoring in what I am right now is because my goal is to one day write scripts for cartoon networks, such as DisneyXD or Cartoon Network. So far I have an Associates in Creative Writing, and I’m currently working toward my Bachelors in both my majors. I’m new to the Media Production portion, but I love every class I’m taking so far! Can’t wait to learn more.

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