Sexuality is one of the most common and one of the oldest themes in literature and, both psychologically and biologically speaking, in life. The stylistic freedom of the modern novel, however, in combination with ever changing societal sensibilities in regard to sex, has allowed for the expression of a wider range of sexuality in a greater variety of ways. Two very different literary examples of the modern era that exemplify this freedom of exploration in regards to sexuality, both with subject matter and stylistically, are the loosely autobiographical work of Samuel Delaney The Motion of Light in Water, and Shani Mootoo’s 1996 debut novel, Cereus Blooms at Night.
The first of these two works details the author’s life in the middle of the twentieth century as a gay African-American science fiction author living and working in the East Village of New York City, and includes tales of illustrious meetings with such figures as W. H. Auden and the whirlwind lifestyle of sex and writing available in New York City. Though some of the elements of sexuality and its discovery and exploration are similar in Cereus Bloom at Night, the setting and conclusions are vastly different. This work explores the life of an outcast woman and her ostracized, cross-dressing and homosexual nurse Tyler on a fictional island in the Caribbean. Both explore similar aspects of sexuality in wildly different ways, and much of this difference can be attributed to the vastly different settings of the two works.
In The Motion of Light in Water, the setting is the bustling and vice-ridden world of New York City’s East Village. The author details the circumstances of his early adulthood, from his impregnating and marrying a girl at the age of eighteen, to his struggles to carve out an identity for himself as a writer and an African-American, and perhaps especially as a homosexual in an era far less accepting of that lifestyle and sexual expression than our own, which still has its issues with homosexuality. The author’s explorations in this last regard take on many forms, from completely anonymous sex to lust-filled romances. His sexuality is marked by the hurry and opportunity that surrounds him; if the story—and the author’s life—were not set in such a busy metropolis, neither the sexual exploration nor the stylistic expression of it in this book would have been possible. The story is essentially urban on many levels, and the flurry of activity, people, and sexuality helps to illustrate the author’s isolation.
Ironically, the isolated island setting of Cereus Blooms at Night allows the two central figures of the novel to express their identities generally—and sexuality specifically, in Tyler’s case—more easily than in the metropolitan setting of The Motion of Light in Water. Though both Mala and Tyler are ostracized by the narrow and closed community that exists on this fictional island, both are able to discover and express themselves with much more ease than Delaney as he remembers himself. Elements of Mala’s sexuality in childhood show the constraint and forced nature of the island setting, which is certainly more oppressive than the New York City of Delaney’s day (or the current era, for that matter). Her father’s struggles with sexual expression as it related to his social place did not allow him the same freedom, but interestingly Mala and Tyler both display a certain immunity to this restrictive aspect of island life. In a paper that more full explores this line of thinking, Mala’s childhood and Tyler’s emergence and acknowledgement of his own identity will be contrasted with Delaney’s similar struggle in his autobiography, to determine the full effects the settings of these stories had on their search for sexual identity.
The two stories relate to the different situations in which the characters have to struggle to live in the circumstances that make them feel uncomfortable. They are however unable to cope up with the situation when they later on found an environment that was permissive to their situations. It is generally a story of natural homosexuals who try to live a normal life with hope by hiding their identity from the rest of the community. They are unable to handle the situation when they realize that they still have friends of similar sex that they can continue relating with without being discovered by other people.
In the story of the motion of light in water, Delany marries a girl after making her pregnant, although the two try to stay together; the relationship ends up in a split after Delany realizes that he is gay and decides to move on with life in the company of his male friend (Delany, 1989). There is a sense of acceptability in this story as Delany makes the bold decision of being what he is instead of pretending to be somebody he knows he cannot be. In the story of the Cereus Blooms at Night, is about a devout Christian by the name Chandin who ignorantly falls in love with a girl called Sarah not being aware of the fact that she is a homosexual. This happened after he failed to win the attention of Sarah’s friend Lavina whom they shared secret intimacy. Even though Sarah gets married to Chandin, she continues to relate with her friend Sarah. The secret is however unveiled when the two are caught by Chandin and they decide to elope. Chandin becomes so devastated that he gives up his faith and resorts to heavy drinking and sexually assaulting his daughters (Mootoo, 1999). In this story none of the characters is willing to openly admit his condition even after the truth comes down on them. Sarah tries to keep her affair secret from her husband and only accepts it when he is caught. Chandin on the other hand finds it hard to accept the situation he’s been caught in and resolves to escape measures that worsened his situation and that of his daughters.
It has not always been easy for people who find themselves in such situations to admit their identity due to the way the similar conditions are viewed in the society, for some who are found out will face all manner of ridicule from the larger society who may never accept it as a normal condition. It however takes a lot of courage for one to accept their condition and still be able to handle the pressure that comes from the society. Finding such a society in current life has been a bit challenging. Some communities have been able to come to terms with it and accept it as a normal situation and even give support to the people who are in such a situation. Some communities however still have little regard for homosexual relationships and strongly condemn them terming them evil.
Due to the pressure that homosexuals go through and the fact that it is accepted in some communities and condemned by others there has always been a need for them to move from their places of origin to some other environments where they will be accepted and appreciated. It is always common to find such people in a similar location where they are free to relate with each other without being looked at as abnormal. For such homosexuals who cannot come out in the light and admit their situation, they will either stay in relationships that do not satisfy them and maintain their integrity. Yet still some will attempt to keep more relationships like in the case of Sarah, one for integrity purpose and the other for satisfaction (Srikanth, 2004).
From the above situations we find that the environment of growth can have an influence on ones sexuality and identity. When one is borne in a conservative environment, it will have some effects on the way they behave in the life to come. With such an environment however, like in the case of Mala and Tyler shows us that with determination all this can be overcome by realizing ones identity and the need to work beyond societal odds to accept and appreciate who you are. A person’s ability to appreciate his or her sexual identity is generally determined by the setting of his environment and the intensity of influence that the people around him have.
Different societies have different expectations from their people. It may not always be easy to fit in conservative society and at the same time adapt to the changes within oneself. It requires a lot of dedication for one to be at par with the norms and requirements of the society and at the same time to be free from the pressure that comes with environmental change. It may quite be difficult to introduce change in such a society that will be appreciated and adopted by the people. However, it is much easier to adapt to a totally different way of life without necessarily affecting the community (Luyat, 2001). In most cases an individual may be caught between the pressures of handling things the way that seems appropriate to him and the desire to behave in away that will be acceptable to the society. This can be quiet challenging and will require one to make a choice between satisfying their needs or those of the society; the former is much easier as there is more satisfaction in doing things your way rather than trying to please a society that may never appreciate you.
In conclusion, sexual identity is one aspect of people’s nature that has drawn a lot of debate in contemporary life. It is even more challenging for the victims who are caught up to identify themselves. They always have to deal with their inner urge to be exactly what they feel and environmental factors in which they are required to adhere to the norms of the society. Most of these people will resort to acquiring two different identities in order to find a balance between their inner being and their environment.
References
Delany R. (1989): The Motion of Light in Water: New American Library
Luyat A. (2001): Flight from certainty: Rodopi
Mootoo S. (1999): Cereus Blooms at Night: HarperCollins
Srikanth R. (2004): The World Next Door: Temple University Press