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Homo-Heroic Love: Male Friendship on the Restoration Stage

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Homo-Heroic Love: Male Friendship on the Restoration Stage Homo-Heroic Love: Male Friendship on the Restoration Stage by David Weston M.A. (English Language and Literature), Queen’s University, 2012 B.A (English), Simon Fraser University, 2011 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © David Weston 2018 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2018 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: David Weston Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: Homo-Heroic Love: Male Friendship on the Restoration Stage Examining Committee: Chair: Clint Burnham Professor Diana Solomon Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Betty Schellenberg Supervisor Professor Peter Dickinson Supervisor Professor Lara Campbell Internal Examiner Professor Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Jean Marsden External Examiner Professor Department of English University of Connecticut Date Defended/Approved: November 16, 2018 ii Abstract “Homo-Heroic Love: Male Friendship on the Restoration Stage” asks why, while sodomy and homosexuality were still criminalized, did the London Restoration stage depict men in love? Scholars have resisted reading these male friendships—where men kiss, hug, and declare their constancy to each other—as exhibiting same-sex desire, an approach that overlooks these texts’ importance as historical sites of non-normative sexual expression. In order to combat the denial of same-sex desire within these tragedies, I coin the term “homo-heroic love” to describe male relationships that are physically demonstrative, emotionally intimate, and socially revered. For example, in Nathanial Lee’s The Rival Queens (1677), Hephestion hierarchizes male love above heteronormative affection, transforming homoerotic desire into something that is honourable and revered: “Such is not Womans love, / So fond a friendship, such a sacred flame, / As I must doubt to find in Breasts above.” Combining queer theory and performance studies, I demonstrate how homoeroticism was appropriated as an advantageous tool in reinforcing patriarchal power, and how the promotion of “homo-heroic” love was a response to concerns about Charles II’s newly restored, but unstable, monarchy. Keywords: Restoration and eighteenth century; heroic tragedy; homoeroticism; queer theory; performance studies; John Dryden; Nathanial Lee; Thomas Otway; Edward Ravenscroft iii Dedication To my parents—for their unwavering support. iv Acknowledgements This dissertation would not exist if it were not for the tireless work and support of many people. I want to thank my primary supervisor, Dr. Diana Solomon, for the years of support, guidance, expertise, and most importantly, friendship. Dr. Solomon and I met eleven years ago when I was an undergraduate student, and since then, I have had the privilege of working with her as a student, as a research assistant and conference co- organizer, as a travel and theatre watching companion, and as a colleague. Her commitment to research, to students, and the broader academic community continue to inspire me. I also want to thank Dr. Betty Schellenberg for her exceptional generosity; for the past six years, Dr. Schellenberg has modelled academic kindness while undertaking meticulous and inspiring scholarly work. Thank you as well to Dr. Peter Dickinson for introducing me to performance and queer theory and providing thoughtful, kind, and helpful suggestions at all stages of this project. It is not lost on me how lucky I am to have worked with such generous and accomplished scholars. Simon Fraser University has been my home for close to ten years and I thank all who supported me along the way. Thank you to the graduate chairs who were always looking out for me: Dr. Carolyn Lesjak, Dr. Jeff Derksen, Dr. Michelle Levy, and Dr. Clint Burnham. I would also like to acknowledge the faculty members who provided mentorship, advice, and wonderful hallway chats, especially Dr. Ronda Arab, Dr. Paul Budra, Dr. David Coley, Dr. Stephen Collis, Dr. Leith Davis, Dr. Nicky Didicher, Dr. Michael Everton, Dr. Anne Higgins, Dr. Christine Kim, Dr. Paul St Pierre, Dr. Tiffany Werth, and Dr. Sean Zwagerman. I must also express my gratitude to Dr. Stephen Guy- Bray and Dr. Jess Battis for their mentorship, and Dr. Leslie Ritchie and Dr. Frederick P. Lock for their feedback during the early stages of this project. A huge thank you to the SFU English staff: Maureen Curtin, Wendy Harris, Elaine Tkaczuk, Christa Gruninger, Joseph Tilley, and Laura Walker. v I am blessed to have been supported by so many incredible colleagues and friends. To Samantha MacFarlane, Kimberly O’Donnell, Kandice Sharon, Taylor Morphett, Stefan Krecsy, Dr. Nico Dicecco, and Dr. Nathan Szymanski—thank you from the bottom of my heart for the endless words of encouragement and for providing feedback on this dissertation. Your friendship has meant a great deal to me. I also thank Dr. Rob Bittner, Dr. Sarah Creel, Dr. Erin Keating, Dr. Jennifer Scott, Dr. Katherine Allen, Dr. Taryn Beukema, Dr. Natalie Knight, Dr. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dr. Erin Weinberg, Kelsey Blair, Ben Hynes, Emily Seitz, Anna Burn, Allie Goff, Nicky Pacas, and Nicole Slipp. Thank you to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for their support of this project. I also thank the SFU English Department for the many private awards that made working on this dissertation possible. Thanks to Cameron Duder for his help in preparing the final version of this dissertation. I also want to respectfully acknowledge that SFU is on unceded Tsleil-Waututh, Skwxwú7mesh, and Musqueam lands. Thank you to my colleagues at Beach House Theatre and Capilano University for their patience. My family has been incredibly helpful and understanding over the years, especially Matthew and Sarah Weston, Andrew and Leah Weston, Caitlin Weston, Claire Moseley, and William Weston. Also Sandy and Ron Hall, and Kirsten Hall and Jason Wexler. I would like to acknowledge my friends, who checked in regularly and who understood that ordering pizza was often the best course of action: Kate Parisotto, Claire Fenton, Ariana Astle, Mark Bradshaw, Melinda Lee, Craig David Long, Stephanie Werner, Sean McKenna, Scott Lansdowne, Richard McGraw, Laura Stewart, Stevie Benisch, Steve Nowk, Ashley Collins, and Geoff Manton. Claire Wilson and Michael Megalli—this process would have been so lonely without you. Thank you for constantly being there even when it seemed that I did not need it. vi Dr. David Hall –Thank you for everything, but especially for reminding me that I could do this. And finally, I thank my parents. Despite the growing popularity in recent years of the so- called “applicable degree,” they have remained steadfast in their belief that the arts and the humanities have value. My freedom in studying queer Restoration and eighteenth- century dramatic texts is the result of their support and openness. This dissertation is dedicated to them. vii Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. viii Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 The Performance of Friendship .......................................................................................... 6 The Sodomite and the Friend ............................................................................................ 14 The Heroic Genre and Politics .......................................................................................... 17 Performance Studies and the Repertoire of Friendship .................................................... 24 Chapter Outline ................................................................................................................. 31 Chapter 1. Homo-Heroic Love and the Performance of Friendship ....................... 34 The Rival Queens (1677) and the Disruption of Male Space ............................................ 36 The Stability of Male Bonds in All for Love; or, The World Well Lost (1677) ................ 59 Chapter 2. Queerly Conservative: Male Love and Patriarchal Power in Thomas Otway’s Venice Preserv’d (1682) ......................................................................... 75 Male Friendship and the Embrace .................................................................................... 77 The Repertoire of Same-Sex Intimacy .............................................................................. 99 Chapter 3. The Menace and Merriment of Male Love: Homo-Heroic Parody .... 108 Sodomy and Social Stability in Sodom, or the Quintessence of Debauchery (1684) ..... 112 Meaningless Gestures and Comedic Drag in Colley Cibber’s The Rival Queans (1710) ........................................................................................................................................
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