The word “lesbian” sounds like a term used to identify persons stricken with a terrible illness. Because of the way that lesbians are represented in books and on the screen, a non-native English speaker may easily think that is what the word means. In the world of fiction, lesbians are often portrayed as aggressive, promiscuous or mentally ill. Francoise Mallet does not leave out any of these negative depictions in her 1952 novel, The Illusionist.
Written when the author was only 19, The Illusionist (originally published in French as Le Rempart des Beguines) is a well-written story that puts the reader on an emotional roller coaster as they follow the protagonist, young and lonely Héléne as she takes a romantic interest in her father’s girlfriend, Tamara. The affair takes Héléne out of her awkward, day-dreaming, painfully lonesome life and brings her to a new state of mind full of excitement, risk and agonizing pleasure. In the novel, there are four more notable lesbians, all quite different from one another, yet they all seem to be sending the same message: lesbianism is an undesirable condition to be in.
The first and most prominent lesbian that must be evaluated is Tamara. Tamara is a 35-year-old, forward thinking woman who shares feminist ideals with her female friends. She lives alone in a Bohemian neighborhood called Le Rempart des Beguines, in Gers. Her apartment and lifestyle are paid from via generous gifts from men. She married young to a wealthy man that did not respect her, but taught her about culture and society. “Soulerr was as proud of her as if she had been his own creation. Never did he introduce her to his friends without bragging about how he had improved her, as if she were a trained animal” (Mallet 55). Tamara has masculine qualities that seem to have derived out of resentment for her husband. She begins to have female admirers and eventually leaves Soulerr for a young woman, Emily. During this time Soulerr continues to support Tamara financially.
Emily is what some would consider a LUGOSTA (lesbian until graduation or soon thereafter). She and Tamara live together until Emily leaves her for a "‘fine young man,’ a Belgian engineer who was going to the Congo” (Mallet 57). It is as if Emily was only amusing herself with Tamara until something better came along and then she could get on with her real life.
It is after all of this and years later that Héléne enters Tamara’s life. Héléne is fifteen, motherless, and virtually friendless. The only significant people in her life are Julia, a servant, and her distant businessman father. When asked to tell her father’s girlfriend that he won’t be able to meet her that evening, Héléne, out of curiosity and boredom, decides to visit Tamara’s home rather than telephone her. She finds Tamara fascinating while attending a party with her father, where Tamara is also, attending, Héléne clandestinely kisses Tamara’s hand behind a sofa where she pretends to drop something. Thus, begins the affair between them.
(Le Rempart des Begunies)
Tamara provides an outlet for Héléne to mitigate her awkwardness, clumsiness, and boredom. She is the first person that Héléne has been able to relate to. She provides something for Héléne to focus on. Tamara is a fix-all solution for Héléne. “And suddenly I had discovered someone who was interested in me, and who surely shared my contempt for this ‘society’ devoid of interest. It was someone whom my father would not prevent me from seeing and whose own life must be wonderful” (Mallet 35). Ultimately, however, Tamara’s drunkenness, dependence on men, cruel dominance over Héléne, and occasional violent outbursts and delusions caused by heartache over Emily, somewhat callous the young girl. “Never have I known pleasure more intense than on that day when I thought I had lost her. Never did I more clearly realize the power she had over me and the wicked delight it gave her to use it” (Mallet 94). In the end, Tamara decides to accept a marriage proposal offered by Héléne’s father. Héléne views this as weak and loses her respect for Tamara.
On that face I had loved and admired so desperately, that had been my sun, my horizon, the very incarnation of beauty, cruelty, voluptuousness and suffering, all equally delicious, there was painted that odious humility of beggars and of beaten women, that cowardice of irresponsible people, that same weakness that I had hated in myself and that she, unknowingly, had taught me to hate. (Mallet 149)
Héléne had thought she found a lifestyle and state of mind that was the answer to her problems. When Tamara caves into everything she seems to be against, marrying for money rather than love, the inability to acquire means to live a certain lifestyle, independence from pretentious societal norms, etc., Héléne is devastated and in the end, comes out of the “illusion” of lesbianism.
Another noteworthy lesbian in the novel is a lady referred to as “Puck.” She works at a dive lesbian bar, Lucy’s, in Versaint, a city where Tamara used to live. When Tamara and Héléne visit the bar, Puck is very aggressive with Héléne. Puck is the unrepresented lesbian, the kind of lesbian that doesn’t appeal to heterosexual men, the kind that nobody wants to see on television or film. She is described as "tall, with a bushy head of red hair, yellow eyes, a turned-up nose, and the face of an adolescent boy" (Mallet 180). However, in the 1972 film adaptation of the book, Le Rempart des Beguines, Puck is portrayed quite differently. She is played by Elizabeth Teissier. The two could not be further contrasted:
Puck's look in print
Puck's look on film
The following clip from the film Le Rempart des Beguines shows Tamara and Héléne in the scene at Lucy’s bar when Héléne meets the forceful and antagonistic, Puck. After Héléne has had enough abuse from Puck and for the first time feels guilt about her relationship with Tamara, she and Tamara go back to the friends’ house where they are staying and Tamara goes into a violent delusion, thinking that Héléne is Emily.
(Le Rempart des Beguines)
Mallet’s message like so many others who include homosexual characters in their work is clear: gay is abnormal, undesirable, impractical, and the general public does not care to see it in any other way (unless, of course, it takes place on a surreal level between women who appeal to heterosexual males). Throughout history, media has rendered true lesbianism as negative. Generally, gay women are portrayed as perverse, overly aggressive, and mentally substandard.
In films like The Children’s Hour, Shirley MacLaine’s character, after discovering her homosexual feelings for Audrey Hepburn’s character, after being accused of it, demonstrates some of the unfortunate true feelings one may experience when coming to the realization about their sexual orientation. She says that she didn’t know about it until they brought it to her attention. She knew she had feelings for the other woman, but she even know what to think about it. She claims that she feels so “sick and dirty.” The guilt and disgust she feels about herself, are sadly the way that many people expect and want her to feel.
(The Children’s Hour)
In other films such as Morocco, lesbianism is seen to please the heterosexual male audience. The character played by Marlene Dietrich, although dressed in a man’s suit, maintains a feminine look and the kiss she gives the other women, seems playful. The kiss is downplayed further, when she throws the flower to the man in the audience before exiting the stage.
(Morocco)
The constant rejection of homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle has negative effects on many different people. Children with homosexual tendencies realize they are different, and often so do their peers. Often times, these kids don’t know what it is exactly that is different about them. This can create a lot of problems for them. Divorce after marrying a member of the opposite sex and coming to a realization later in life, self-hatred, and even suicide are common among gay people because society and the media have such confusing messages about homosexuality.
Sometimes a well-meaning attempt, if following the guidelines of what the media thinks the public wants to see, can create even more harm for young, gay viewers. When Roseanne wanted to have a gay character in her television show, Sandra Bernhard’s character, Nancy was chosen and later, Roseanne’s mother. Bernhard’s character acts more like promiscuous straight woman. Between that and grandma coming out of the closet, there still isn’t much representation that many could relate to.
many people probably related to this character. Any lesbian viewers would probably relate to Darlene’s character. She has a masculine quality and look about her, rejects anything feminine, dominates her boyfriend and has almost no desire to be sexual with him. As a society, trying to peg her into our view of “normal” (heterosexual), we quickly deem her “tomboy” and think nothing of it. In reality, Sara Gilbert, who played Darlene has come out as a lesbian and to some if us, it all makes sense now. We have been deceived.A lack of knowledge and understanding about homosexuality can make for an uncomfortable situation for anyone involved when someone does come out. Parents often reject their children. Kids are teased, threatened, and rejected by their peers who don’t know what to make of them. People create ideas of norms by what they are or are not exposed to. By not showing homosexuality as anything but unacceptable, society doesn’t know what to make of it either. Anyone who is initially trying to deal with their own awareness of being gay may be influenced by what they have seen in the media and decide that guilt about and/or rejection of their homosexuality is the way they will handle it. Fortunately, there are more celebrities who people have come to accept into their home in a sense through television, film, or music, that are gay. When they do come out publicly, people find it more difficult to reject them. The message becomes positive. In the following video clip, R.E.M.’s singer, Michael Stipe has demonstrated how ridiculous it is that people tend to make a big deal about gay celebrities.
(Michael Stipe Press Announcement)
Sending a positive message about gay to the children in our society is both difficult and necessary. Parents often believe homosexuality to be an unacceptable lifestyle and do not want their children exposed to it. When the message received by kids is intolerance, the effects can be devastating. On February 12, 2008, fifteen-year-old Lawrence King was shot in the head two times by a fellow classmate who was offended to the point of murder after Lawrence asked him to be his Valentine. Debra Chasnoff, creator of the film It's Elementary: Talking about Gay Issues in Schools, claims that teaching kids about tolerance at a young age can prevent instances like this. She believes that the younger tolerance is taught, the more impacting it will be since negative messages from society are not as ingrained in young minds as they are in older people.
A PBS educational program designed to expose children to different parts of the United States as well as the various cultures, religions and family types, Postcards from Buster while doing an episode about maple syrup, entitled "Sugartime," made a noble attempt in trying to show homosexuality as normal. According to the Washington Post’s Lisa de Moraes, during her second day on the job as Education Secretary, Margaret Spellings stopped the show from airing, claiming that "many parents would not want their young children exposed to the life-styles portrayed in this episode."
(Sugartime!)
Although the mainstream media is reluctant to change their views, the homosexual youth of America are finding other means to understand what it means to be gay. Unfortunately, their heterosexual peers are not making those same changes in their feelings towards homosexual identity. The result of this increased gap of understanding is that while homosexual students are more confident in coming out and even being proud of their identity rather than ashamed, their straight peers and school faculty may not be as willing to accept their differences and now they are more visual.
George Smith conducted a series of interviews with homosexual students and found that some of them were being asked to keep their sexuality to themselves. One student interview was ordered into the principal’s office after he walked in on the boy outing himself as gay to his classmates during a speech. The student claims that:
Basically he warned me that if I didn’t keep my sexual preference under wraps that I’d be suspended. And I said “Well it’s my business and if I want to share it with people it’s up to me; nobody can tell me not to tell other people who I am… cause I’m not afraid of it, so why should I be?” That’s basically what my attitude was back then, and still is. I was suspended for being rude and insubordinate. (Smith 314)
Allowing and even demonstrating hatred and intolerance for homosexual students and people is unacceptable, especially in a school setting where violence that leads to death is so popular in these environments. There needs to be change. We need to open the eyes of the close-minded people that are keeping exposure of homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle out of reach for impressionable minds and help them to see that they are creating the real threats with their hatred and ignorance.
Works Cited
Chasnoff, Debra. “New Life for a School Film on Gay Tolerance.” The Bryant Park
Project Natl. Public Radio. WUWM, Milwaukee. 26 Feb. 2008. 08 May 2008. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19357474>.
de Moraes, Lisa. “PBS's 'Buster' Gets An Education”Washington Post.com 26 Jan.2005.
29 Apr. 2008. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40188-2005Jan26.html>.
Le Rempart des Beguines. Dir Guy Casaril. Perf. Anicée Alvina, Nicole Courcel, and
Elizabeth Teissier. Allied Artists Pictures, 1972.
Mallet Françoise. The Illusionist. Trans. Herma Briffault. New York: Farrar, 1952.
MacLaine, Shirley, perf. The Children’s Hour. Dir. William Wyler. United Artists, 1961.
Dietrich, Marlene, perf. Morocco. Dir. Josef von Sternberg. Paramount Pictures,1930.
Smith, George W. “The Ideology of ‘Fag’: The School Experience of Gay Students” The
Sociological Quarterly 39.2 (1998) 309-35. JSTOR. Boise State University Lib. 09
May 2008
Stipe, Michael. "Michael Stipe Press Announcement." remhq. 20 Mar 2008.
“Sugartime!” Postcards from Buster. PBS. WGBH, Boston.
