Title: Between Women: Friendship, Desire, and Marriage in Victorian England Author: Sharon Marcus Publisher: Princeton University Press Publish Date: 2007 Pages: 356 Genres:: Literature, Lesbian, Non-Fiction, Straight Reviewer: J. Henry

Rating:

Between Women is a scholarly account of female relationships that range from the platonic to the sexual in nature as noted in literature (fiction, non-fiction, articles, etc.) during the Victorian period in England. Eighteenth century British literature is considered the basis of study for English literature students so the notes that Sharon Marcus makes in illustrating her points of the strength of the female relationship in not being overtly sexual in nature and having a romantic essence about it that has been ignored in critical circles over time serves as her type of dissertation. Marcus seeks to illustrate her points via numerous written works that pertain to the various representations of the female relationship. This bond pervades in different ways; in the end, the link between women as it was revealed in text cannot be ignored.

This tome is divided into three sections that focus on the different aspects of any relationship: friendship, desire and marriage. It is far from a short read with each chapter bordering on no less than 25 pages minimum.

Part one delves into the dichotomy of a platonic or romantic friendship as written in journals, memoirs, and parts of the literary canon. The build up of feelings of an indiscernible nature of one woman towards another was not looked down upon per se; rather, it was overlooked completely when reviewed by critics and even today. In regards to fiction, the feelings touched upon by the author never seemed to develop beyond that of a fleeting moment that would result in one or both of the female characters marrying a man or remaining alone. Novels like George Eliot’s Middlemarch and The Mill on the Floss illustrate Marcus’s illustration of how a brief thought or voiced opinion by a woman of how glorious another character is was never really followed up on from a tender standpoint by the author. Essentially, Marcus wants readers to look deeper into the meaning of these passing references and–as your professor may tell you–decipher between the characters thoughts and actions within the prose of one female protagonist to another character of the same gender.

Part two refers to the desire that women have for one another in addition to the feeling they want to evoke from members of the opposite sex. It’s not only noted from females’ personal journals during the latter part of the 18 th century. Women idolized dolls which represented a look of femininity that women were to emulate, thus encouraging men to desire them through the physical perception of beauty and womanliness. This inclination, as Sharon Marcus notes, was also relevant in fiction. Her prime example of such is Great Expectations, in which the protagonist Pip becomes enamored with the character of Estella. Estella was groomed by Miss Havisham to be the pinnacle of femininity, but Havisham also seemed to have a maniacal fascination with her adopted daughter Estella. Again, we must dig deeper to seek out the thought process of women who were extroverted about their sexuality and those that were more introverted in reality and literature.

Part three is dedicated to the marriage portion of Marcus’s reference and begins the section with the chapter entitled ‘Genealogy of Marriage.’ She traces back the roots of marriage as seemingly being a strictly heterosexual union over time. Same-sex unions have been a part of history as far back as the 19 th century or so as traced in England. As same-sex couples do now, they did then in residing together, owning property, listing each other in their last will and testaments. Essentially the same-sex couple is forming a life together that would be considered as viable as a heterosexual couple, just without the legality of being recognized by their country of residence.

Between Women is not easy reading on the subway; it is for the collegiate studying feminism or sexuality in literature who is trying to find supportive information for a hypothesis of Dickens or a Bronte sister. Or, it is for the professor adding to their collection or repartee of female sexuality in literature that may have been overlooked over time. Within the Victorian era authors noted substantive work you can find some semblance of eroticism between two women, as Marcus states throughout, you just have to read between the lines.