Bibliograph

Secret selves:, confession and same-sex desire in Victorian autobiography, Oliver S. Buckton

Type

Label

Secret selves:, confession and same-sex desire in Victorian autobiography, Oliver S. Buckton

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Secret selves:

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Responsibility statement

Oliver S. Buckton

Sub title

confession and same-sex desire in Victorian autobiography

Summary

Focusing on the representation of same-sex desire in Victorian autobiographical writing, Oliver Buckton offers significant new readings of works by some of the most influential figures in late-nineteenth-century literature and culture. Combining original research, careful historical analysis, and contemporary theories of autobiography, gender, and sexual identity, he provides nuanced studies of confessional narratives by Edward Carpenter, John Henry Newman, John Addington Symonds, Oscar Wilde, and, in an epilogue, E. M. Forster. By examining the "confessional" elements of these writings, Buckton brings "secrecy" into focus as a central and productive component of autobiographical discourse. He challenges the conventional view of secrecy as the suppression of information, instead using the term to suggest an oscillation between authorial self-disclosure and silence or reserve--a strategy for arousing the reader's interest and establishing a relation based on shared knowledge while deferring or displacing the revelation of potentially incriminating and scandalous desires. Though theirdisclosures of same-sex desire jeopardized the cultural privilege granted these writers by Victorian codes of authorship and masculinity, their use of secrecy, Buckton shows, allowed them to protect themselves from Victorian stigma and to challenge prevailing constructions of sexual identity.Originally published in 1998.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of printing These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value

Target audience

adult

Classification