The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (1816-1824)
"crytpohand" and secret lesbians!
How does Lister talk about herself/shape herself/her sexuality in the diary? How does she make herself known?
if she doesn't feel safe expressing desire uncoded
it's also about queer preservation--her ancestor didn't burn it because of his "antiquarian" and archival impulses
hiding in plain sight; it creates connections/communities
as a posthumous edition that collects a secret or dangerous idea
the edition is about creating and circulating knowledge and making queer past accessible and useful for classrooms
the italics signal the switch to code and creates a form of intimacy with the audience
it's a very comfortable and straightforward tone
Relationships
Anne Belcombe
Miss Browne
"I know my own heart"
"I love the fairer sex and am loved by them in turn" (161, January 29th
the code helps her say the things outright
they use their bedroom as a private, safe space; "just before getting into bed" "we were in bed" (1816 entries)
Wednesday 13 NOvember 1816 - well, "that the girls liked ne abd gad always liked me" (5)
T
C gets jealous (Monday 19 May 1816, pg 16): this entry really solidifes the love triangle/jealousy
it suggests he knows and is anxious enough to try and foreclose letter writing
sis, the cognitive dissonance
wearing all black and gentleman's "bracers" (suspenders);
click to edit
it's a statement about gender non-confomrity; it disrupts the idea of who the fashion is for, and how the fashion is for the marriage market
"make into wearable petticoats for me" (pg 11; and it's in code, so what is this saying about the sexuality of fashion. Friday 21 March mending my black silk petticoat and black worsted stockings (9)
Sunday June 28th "does your cock stand" (60-1)
there's a way that she understands she is looking for a woman of equal class, intellect, etc.
heterosexuality is a business transaction, but she's also maintaining that class line so hard;