‘A Kind of Homosexual Relation, Disguised’: Larkin’s Letters to Monica Jones

James Underwood

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

This essay reads Philip Larkin’s letters to his lifelong companion, Monica Jones, in order to present an alternative to the ‘easy misogynist’ and ‘crusty’ Tory caricatured and condemned by critics for more than two decades. Exploring Larkin’s textual construction of selfhood in these letters, the essay looks at the apolitical nature of the correspondence, its subtly gendered experience of the everyday, and its surprisingly subversive view of sex and sexuality. Anti-essentialist in his approach to gender, Larkin projects a feminine, almost lesbian sensibility. However, by adopting a text-centred approach to the correspondence, this essay also highlights the way in which Larkin’s constructed persona obscures and conceals – against the grain of the critical response so far, which has privileged the letters as exceptional in their vulnerability and revealing intimacy.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)38-57
Number of pages20
JournalEnglish
Volume65
Issue number248
Early online date15 Apr 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2016
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Letters
Tory
Persona
Lesbian
Intimacy
Essentialist
Misogynist
Companionship
Selfhood
Vulnerability
Sensibility
Sexuality

Cite this

Underwood, James. / ‘A Kind of Homosexual Relation, Disguised’ : Larkin’s Letters to Monica Jones. In: English. 2016 ; Vol. 65, No. 248. pp. 38-57.
@article{4963b40d91594aaf93a7baa7a5663691,
title = "‘A Kind of Homosexual Relation, Disguised’: Larkin’s Letters to Monica Jones",
abstract = "This essay reads Philip Larkin’s letters to his lifelong companion, Monica Jones, in order to present an alternative to the ‘easy misogynist’ and ‘crusty’ Tory caricatured and condemned by critics for more than two decades. Exploring Larkin’s textual construction of selfhood in these letters, the essay looks at the apolitical nature of the correspondence, its subtly gendered experience of the everyday, and its surprisingly subversive view of sex and sexuality. Anti-essentialist in his approach to gender, Larkin projects a feminine, almost lesbian sensibility. However, by adopting a text-centred approach to the correspondence, this essay also highlights the way in which Larkin’s constructed persona obscures and conceals – against the grain of the critical response so far, which has privileged the letters as exceptional in their vulnerability and revealing intimacy.",
keywords = "Philip Larkin, Monica Jones, epistolarity",
author = "James Underwood",
year = "2016",
month = "6",
doi = "10.1093/english/efw003",
language = "English",
volume = "65",
pages = "38--57",
journal = "English",
issn = "0013-8215",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",
number = "248",

}

Underwood, J 2016, '‘A Kind of Homosexual Relation, Disguised’: Larkin’s Letters to Monica Jones', English, vol. 65, no. 248, pp. 38-57. https://doi.org/10.1093/english/efw003

‘A Kind of Homosexual Relation, Disguised’ : Larkin’s Letters to Monica Jones. / Underwood, James.

In: English, Vol. 65, No. 248, 06.2016, p. 38-57.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

TY - JOUR

T1 - ‘A Kind of Homosexual Relation, Disguised’

T2 - Larkin’s Letters to Monica Jones

AU - Underwood, James

PY - 2016/6

Y1 - 2016/6

N2 - This essay reads Philip Larkin’s letters to his lifelong companion, Monica Jones, in order to present an alternative to the ‘easy misogynist’ and ‘crusty’ Tory caricatured and condemned by critics for more than two decades. Exploring Larkin’s textual construction of selfhood in these letters, the essay looks at the apolitical nature of the correspondence, its subtly gendered experience of the everyday, and its surprisingly subversive view of sex and sexuality. Anti-essentialist in his approach to gender, Larkin projects a feminine, almost lesbian sensibility. However, by adopting a text-centred approach to the correspondence, this essay also highlights the way in which Larkin’s constructed persona obscures and conceals – against the grain of the critical response so far, which has privileged the letters as exceptional in their vulnerability and revealing intimacy.

AB - This essay reads Philip Larkin’s letters to his lifelong companion, Monica Jones, in order to present an alternative to the ‘easy misogynist’ and ‘crusty’ Tory caricatured and condemned by critics for more than two decades. Exploring Larkin’s textual construction of selfhood in these letters, the essay looks at the apolitical nature of the correspondence, its subtly gendered experience of the everyday, and its surprisingly subversive view of sex and sexuality. Anti-essentialist in his approach to gender, Larkin projects a feminine, almost lesbian sensibility. However, by adopting a text-centred approach to the correspondence, this essay also highlights the way in which Larkin’s constructed persona obscures and conceals – against the grain of the critical response so far, which has privileged the letters as exceptional in their vulnerability and revealing intimacy.

KW - Philip Larkin

KW - Monica Jones

KW - epistolarity

U2 - 10.1093/english/efw003

DO - 10.1093/english/efw003

M3 - Article

VL - 65

SP - 38

EP - 57

JO - English

JF - English

SN - 0013-8215

IS - 248

ER -

Underwood J. ‘A Kind of Homosexual Relation, Disguised’: Larkin’s Letters to Monica Jones. English. 2016 Jun;65(248):38-57. https://doi.org/10.1093/english/efw003

Access to Document