Seductive Snakes and Asexual Angels: Queer Undercurrents in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Desert Sands”
Harriet Prescott Spofford’s 1863 short story “Desert Sands” recounts, at first glance, the jealous rivalry between an artist’s two muses. Yet when one applies a thin layer of turpentine to the top layer of the canvas that makes up the narrative of “Desert Sands,” it becomes clear that there is anoth...
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| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2019-11-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15192 |
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| author | H.J.E. Champion |
| author_facet | H.J.E. Champion |
| author_sort | H.J.E. Champion |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Harriet Prescott Spofford’s 1863 short story “Desert Sands” recounts, at first glance, the jealous rivalry between an artist’s two muses. Yet when one applies a thin layer of turpentine to the top layer of the canvas that makes up the narrative of “Desert Sands,” it becomes clear that there is another, much more unusual, image underneath. This article proposes a palimpsestic reading of the short story, one which attempts to underline the queer nature of the relationship between the muses Eos and Vespasia and goes on to pose questions about gender roles, deviant sexuality and transgression as related to women in the nineteenth century. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6e1dbea3859b4c72a1b78cfc07fd2fb1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-6e1dbea3859b4c72a1b78cfc07fd2fb12025-01-06T09:09:50ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362019-11-0114310.4000/ejas.15192Seductive Snakes and Asexual Angels: Queer Undercurrents in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Desert Sands”H.J.E. ChampionHarriet Prescott Spofford’s 1863 short story “Desert Sands” recounts, at first glance, the jealous rivalry between an artist’s two muses. Yet when one applies a thin layer of turpentine to the top layer of the canvas that makes up the narrative of “Desert Sands,” it becomes clear that there is another, much more unusual, image underneath. This article proposes a palimpsestic reading of the short story, one which attempts to underline the queer nature of the relationship between the muses Eos and Vespasia and goes on to pose questions about gender roles, deviant sexuality and transgression as related to women in the nineteenth century.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15192OrientalismgenderhomosexualityHarriet Prescott SpoffordQueer theoryAngel in the House |
| spellingShingle | H.J.E. Champion Seductive Snakes and Asexual Angels: Queer Undercurrents in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Desert Sands” European Journal of American Studies Orientalism gender homosexuality Harriet Prescott Spofford Queer theory Angel in the House |
| title | Seductive Snakes and Asexual Angels: Queer Undercurrents in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Desert Sands” |
| title_full | Seductive Snakes and Asexual Angels: Queer Undercurrents in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Desert Sands” |
| title_fullStr | Seductive Snakes and Asexual Angels: Queer Undercurrents in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Desert Sands” |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seductive Snakes and Asexual Angels: Queer Undercurrents in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Desert Sands” |
| title_short | Seductive Snakes and Asexual Angels: Queer Undercurrents in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “Desert Sands” |
| title_sort | seductive snakes and asexual angels queer undercurrents in harriet prescott spofford s desert sands |
| topic | Orientalism gender homosexuality Harriet Prescott Spofford Queer theory Angel in the House |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15192 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hjechampion seductivesnakesandasexualangelsqueerundercurrentsinharrietprescottspoffordsdesertsands |