EVANGELICALISM AND THE MAKING OF SAME-SEX DESIRE: THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF CONSTANCE MAYNARD (1849-1935) by Naomi Lloyd A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (History) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2011 © Naomi Lloyd, 2011 ABSTRACT Although a devout Evangelical Anglican, living in an era that largely pre-dated the dissemination of sexological discourses of female same-sex desire, Constance Maynard, the prominent Victorian feminist and educational reformer, pursued a series of same-sex relationships. Religion is often understood to exercise a repressive influence on sexual desire. This study, however, takes as its starting point the historian of sexuality Michel Foucault‘s contention that sexual regulation produces desire rather than repressing it. It charts the role of Evangelical discourse – both regulatory and non-regulatory – in the structuring of Maynard‘s dissident sexual subjectivity. Arguing that sexuality, and female homoeroticism in particular, is crucial to an understanding of turn-of-the-century British culture, this dissertation explores transitions in Maynard‘s same-sex desire as they were occasioned by shifts in her religious subjectivity, examines the role of other cultural discourses in precipitating changes in her religious beliefs, and delineates the implications of transitions in the relationship between Evangelicalism and these other discourses for turn-of-the-century British society. A central focus of this dissertation is the discourse of modernity. Modernity is often represented as the product of the triumph of science, reason, and progress over an out-dated, irrational, repressive religion. This dichotomy is a gendered one; masculinity is often aligned with the former terms and femininity with the latter. Dominant narratives of modernity also fail to take into account the indebtedness of the latter to imperialism. The making of Maynard‘s same-sex desire disrupts the science/religion, masculine/feminine, and metropole/colony binaries that inform narratives of modernity. Maynard‘s sexual subjectivity and her modernizing sexual discourse were the products of Evangelicalism in dynamic interaction with, rather than in opposition to, the scientific discourses of natural theology, evolution, eugenics, and psychoanalysis. The constitution and contestation of Maynard‘s religio-scientific imperialist ii discourse in her same-sex relationships demonstrates the role of imperialism in the production of modern sexuality. Discourses of modern sexuality feature prominently in the making of contemporary geopolitical divides. To move beyond these divides it is necessary to recognize the complex interactions between religion and science that have produced modern western sexuality, and to situate its production in the context of the uneven relationship between metropole and colony. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... v Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1: Religious Desire and Human Eros: Childhood and Early Adulthood ............... 34 Chapter 2: “That Infidel Place”: Women’s Higher Education, the Crisis of Faith, and Dissident Sexuality ...................................................................................................................... 92 Chapter 3: Familiar Desires: Evangelicalism, Familial Discourse, and Homosexual Subjectivity ................................................................................................................................ 155 Chapter 4: Motherhood: A Class Act? Class, Race, and Empire in the Evangelical Middle- Class Family .............................................................................................................................. 227 Chapter 5: Queer Intimacies: Evangelicalism, Homoeroticism, and Empire ..................... 301 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 362 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 374 Appendices ................................................................................................................................ 388 Appendix A: Chronology of Constance Maynard‘s Life ...................................................................... 388 Appendix B: Dates of the Writing of the Autobiography ..................................................................... 389 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the product of a solitary journey in which the support of others has, nevertheless, been crucial. I am particularly grateful to Prof. Joy Dixon, my research supervisor. Not only is she a leading scholar in the field of religion, gender, and sexuality in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Britain but she has also been an attentive and generous supervisor. Her clear and incisive criticism of my work has been invaluable, as has her confidence in my ability to make a contribution to the field. The innovative theoretical frameworks that she has forged in her work have enabled me to think in more nuanced ways about the complex relationship between religion, gender, and sexuality. I have also been fortunate to have committee members who have provided valuable input at various stages of my project. I have appreciated Prof. Pamela Dalziel‘s ability to hone in on weaknesses in my work and to articulate these unflinchingly, while expressing a sustained confidence in it. Prof. Robert Brain joined the committee late in the process. I am indebted to him for his reading of my dissertation at short notice and his well-formed, thorough, and perceptive suggestions. Prof. William Pinar, with his wide-ranging and interdisciplinary interest in religion, queer sexuality, and critical race theory has prompted some important lines of enquiry. In the history department of UBC I have found an intellectually engaged, rigorous, and hospitable scholarly community. Faculty members have been willing to give generously of their time to students. I have also benefitted from the administrative expertise of the head of the department, Prof. Daniel Vickers, and two graduate advisors, Prof. William French and Prof. Alejandra Bronfman. The graduate secretary, Gloria Lees, has negotiated the complex bureaucratic processes with a well-practiced ease, has communicated the latter clearly to v students, and has persevered with both. This, along with the efficiency and flexibility of all the staff of the history department, has made the process a smoother one. My research has entailed intermittent trips to the archives of Queen Mary College, University of London and I have valued the assistance of the archivist, Lorraine Screene. Closer to home, the librarians and the staff in the reference, interlibrary loan, and thesis formatting departments of Koerner Library at UBC have also provided much-appreciated support, as have the staff at the Faculty of Graduate Studies. I started this intellectual journey in the women‘s and gender studies program at UBC. Prof. Sneja Gunew played an important formative role in the early stages of my scholarly development and I also benefitted from the support of Professors Geraldine Pratt and Valerie Raoul. The lively and welcoming student body produced friends who have been an inspiration through this process. My thanks, in particular, to Xin Huang who has demonstrated that rare combination of an intrepid, clear-sighted, and efficient approach to her own work with a generous interest in that of others. I am also indebted to Almas Zakiuddin and Itrath Syed whose interest in religion and gender has prompted some very fruitful conversations. Time spent in San Diego led to a friendship with Evelyn Kirkley and Jill Bormann; I have valued their unstinting and gracious support. It is often families who bear the brunt of sustained scholarly ventures such as this one. I am particularly grateful to my partner, Bethan Theunissen, for her unwavering conviction that this project was worth the many sacrifices entailed, her consistent interest in it, and her generous emotional and financial support. I have also benefitted from the support of my parents, Leslie and Jeannette Lloyd, and that of my siblings; they, along with my partner, have modeled the diverse ways in which faith might be negotiated. Finally, this project would not have been possible without generous funding from the University of British Columbia and for this I am very grateful. vi Introduction Marion and I stood on opposite sides of the tall white china stove, warming our hands . I could tell now that Marion was praying, and that God was near. I could only see part of her serge dress, and her knee and her foot. Once her long fingers came around the angle of the stove and we held hands for half a minute and then parted again. There was a thrill, a strange momentary smiling of the heart, an actual physical sensation, and I knew that I loved her. I had