Lily Briscoe's Book Blog

  SECTION 1   Chapter 1 Chapter 1 brings forward the basic relationships of Stephen with his mother and father even before he is brought out in to the world. His parents expect a boy but instead Stephen is a girl. The mishap of the name also stems from this premonition of the baby being expected to be a boy. In the early 1900s when this was written I guess it was of a necessity to have a backstory as to the reason for Stephen being this "queer" kid.   The physical resemblance of Stephen to that of her father more than the angelic mother Anna is also emphasized and this chapter also sets forward the idea that Stephen and mom do not actually get together well and that there is some sort of inexplicable barrier between them. It seems to somewhat be attributed to the fact that Stephen and Sir Philip are similar in appearance as well. Stephen is an only child to the household and thus the shattered dreams and disappointment in both Sir Philip and lady Anna is...

The Well of Loneliness is a novel by Radclyffe Hall that is sent in a time period just before the first world war. It is a story about a girls transition from around the age of seven years to her mid- 30s. The well of loneliness dwells into the mind and actions of Stephen. (who is a lesbian or an invert as they referred to in the early 1900s) The obstacles, suppression , exile from her childhood home clearly paints the picture of what it was to be a lesbian in the early 1900s in England.   A section-wise review of the novel is as follows.   SECTION 1   Section 1 describes the life of Stephen from before she was born to roughly the age of 18. The expectation of a boy by Sir Philip and Anna and the disappointment when it is a girl is widely discussed as it was a huge factor in continuing with the legacy of the Gordon Family. In those time of age, it was necessary for a heir to keep up with the estates hence the need of a boy.   However, Stephen (a girl)...