"Sick & Disordered a Creature": Queerness, Disease, and Shame in The Portrait of a Lady

Abstract

Abstract:The idea of queerness as disease has pervaded Western imagination for centuries. Drawing on insights from queer theory and disability studies, I explore the pathologization of queerness in The Portrait of a Lady as reflected in Ralph Touchett's character. While serving historically to justify marginalization and persecution, the interplay between sexuality and disease in Portrait provides opportunities to push the boundaries of socially acceptable existence. Echoing James's struggles with illness and desire, Ralph's character allows his author to conceptualize a mode of being outside heteronormative, capitalist hegemony, transcending the shame society imposes upon the violators of its prescriptions of respectability.