Research Proposal on "Man Who Fell in Love With the Moon"

Research Proposal 5 pages (2080 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Man Who Fell in Love With Moon

If there is anything true about history, it is the saying, "what comes around, goes around." In fashion, for example, the same styles weave in and out of different eras. To the younger people, the fashion is new and exciting; to the older ones, it's nothing new. Modern fiction mimics the values and events of the time. Thus, those same styles would be in mentioned in books of one time period and then not again until another era begins to wear that fashion. It is often the same with what is or is not accepted by society. Homosexuality provides an example. since the beginning of Western civilization, when homosexuality was accepted as a part of society, it became more a part of the literature genre, from early Greek and Roman times, through later English history and to modern times.

The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-80), for example, goes down in history as a model husband and father and a supporter of the virtues of heterosexual marriage. In his noteworthy Meditations that he published in his later life, he noted that his father taught him to "to suppress all passion for young men" (Norton, 1998) Yet, as Emperor, he introduced no official regulations against homosexuality except to not recognize the existence of Antinous, boyfriend of his patron the Emperor Hadrian (Norton, 1998). Fronto came to Rome during Hadrian's reign, and it was not long before he was known as an orator only second to Cicero. Antonius Pius, recognizing his fame, bestowed on him the appointment of tutor to his adopted sons, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. The relationship between the two men, although their ages were quite far apart, is noted in their letters to one another. As Fronto says in one letter to Marcus: "Farewell, breath of my life. Should I not burn with love of you, who have written to me as you have! What shall I do? I cannot cease. Last year it befell me in this very place, and at this very time, to be consumed with a passionate longing for my mother. This year you inflame that my longing" (Norton, 1998).

In Greece, a number of different men and women authors wrote about homosexuality. Plato, for instance, is remembered not only because of his philosophy, but also one of the most memorable masters of Greek prose. His works included the Symposium and the Phaedrus, which are dialogues that deal specifically with the topic of male love and are complete with homoerotica comments. As Socrates returns from battle at the opening of the Charmides, he asks about the new beauties among the boys at the wrestling school and joins others who are ever aware of the power of youthful male beauty for excitement and inspiration (GLBTQ, 2002),

Many scholars believe that Shakespeare was gay if not bisexual based on his sonnets possessed homoerotic views and conceptions and that during this period homosexuality was accepted. Shakespeare writes about his great love, who happens to be a young man. While many people assume this to mean that he had a male lover and thus was either gay or bisexual, there are others who still believe that his male friend was not his lover but someone who was simply very close to him emotionally (Mabillard).

The sexual morals of Victorian England, however, did not permit much open conversation about homosexuality, rather than in the legal and medical fields. At the beginning of the century, when homosexuality was considered nearly completely as a crime, a sin, or both, men who actively participated in sex with each other were normally called sodomites. This quiet about the theme of sexuality in Victorian society also resulted in a related literary quiet. Except for very blatant texts only found in the much-alive underground, Victorian interest for pornography, homosexuality in literature as in daily life, was closeted, or buried under the guise of heterosexuality and acceptable same-sex affection (Evans & Onoroto, 1997).

John Michaelson, who writes gay romance novels, reports that it took quite some time for gay literature to become accepted again. There were many textbooks on the topic of gay history, most of them quite dry and boring. The recently published Gay and Lesbian Historical Fiction by Norman Jones is the only book that actually provides an overview of gay historical fiction. Books in the genre of historical novels did not even come onto the shelves until the 1950s, and there is even some disagreement about this. Based on the rules of the definition of the Historical Novel Society, the first historical novel could most apt to be Mary Renault's classic about Ancient Greece and Alexander the Great. Renault, a well-known and respected historian, had a great deal of work that was read considerably outside as well as inside the gay community. However, this was justified, as any sexual content had to be almost completely concealed for readers to finish these books. Then they congratulated themselves for reading such perfectly scholarly and highly researched books by a classics academician. Such books were all right to read; they were educational in nature. The romances of Alexander did not create a difficulty, because these were classical in nature. That was something that was done in early history, not by the readers in the 1950s. Vincent Virga's Gaywyck, which was written in the 1950s, is thought of as the first modern gay historical romance, according to several literature historians. In this book, there are many of the usual aspects of the traditional Gothic novel: mad associations, mysterious rooms, innocent people driven to madness and danger everywhere the character goes. The stories about gay men were comparable to romance novels bought by the millions by women today. Yet, in American, even the 1980s was too prim and proper to publish these in great quantity. There are not even more than a handful of books about gay men throughout history, such as find it odd that so few people have explored the many stories of gay men in the past, whether in fictionalized biography for famously gay men such as Byron or Michelangelo. In addition, there are not many purely fictional books on this topic either.

The next change did not come in literature until a decade later. This is when the book the Man Who fell in Love with the Moon by Tom Spanbauer came out, along with other books such as Beryl Bainbridge, Master Georgie and Philippa Gregory for her traditional books such as Earthly Joys about the decadent Duke of Buckingham. Now historical novel and romance readers began purchasing them, as did literature lovers. The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon is of interest because it not only covers the theme of bisexuality and homosexuality from a history of white cowboys and settlers in the Wild West at the turn of the century, but also about the difference between the Native American (in this case Navajo) and the settlers customs.

The Native Americans were represented by the main character Shed or Duivichi-un-Dua, who was part Native American and part white. Shed likes sex in general, but is more interested in homosexual relationships. In fact, he has a very erotic and emotional relationship and falls in love with Dellwood, who is truly a character is every sense of the word. Despite the fact that Shed believes, or wants to believe that Dellwood is his father, this relationship continues.

Prostitution is accepted at this time, even between Shed and men, because after all this was the Wild West. Men were not yet settled down as they would be in a few decades. Instead, they went to brothels and drank heavily after working all day. Another main character, Ida, lives and works at the Indian Head Hotel in the small town of Excellent, Idaho. it's the turn of the century, and the inn and its associated brothel is very busy and lucrative. His employer, Ida Richilieu, is a stubborn tough lady who operates the town as well as everybody else's lives. Shed believes that his mother is raped and killed by someone who is considered the devil. Shed does not know until the very end that he is the son of Ida and this horrible beast.

Sex is also an acceptable part of many Native American cultures. The shaman, medicine man or healer was often a homosexual or bisexual. Shamanism was not a type of religion. Instead, it was a healing procedure that started in early Native American history, 10,000 or more years ago. Shamanism and spirit life in all forms of animals as well as rocks, water, air etc. were an integral part of the society. It was an honor to be a shaman and these individuals had great respect by the others in the tribe. In many cases, the shamans were dual-sexed or third gender people. These androgynous individuals had both male and female heart and souls, they would also cross dress.

It appears that Spanbauer (1991)was… READ MORE

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