The book begins with an exploration of Sappho and classical literature, tracing the transition from ancient poetic expression to the severe theological restrictions of the Middle Ages. The author examines how the religious and social climate of medieval Europe suppressed sympathetic portrayals of female variance, treating such behavior as heresy or witchcraft. Through renaissance fiction and romantic poetry, the narrative follows the gradual re-emergence of variant themes, noting how authors from diverse cultures utilized disguised identities and pastoral settings to explore passionate attachments between women. The historical survey progresses into the nineteenth century, analyzing the influence of early psychiatric studies, the romantic movement, and emerging feminist ideologies upon the literary treatment of sex variance.
The author covers a wide array of imaginative writing, including the works of Balzac, Gautier, and Baudelaire, detailing how different literary movements reflected contemporary anxieties regarding the breakdown of traditional gender roles. A significant portion of the work is dedicated to late nineteenth-century French literature, where variant themes became increasingly prevalent within both realistic fiction and the decadent movement. The study concludes with a comprehensive review of the various psychological, social, and hereditary explanations that authors and early scientists proposed to account for female homosexuality. Throughout the survey, the emphasis remains upon the quantitative accumulation of evidence from belles-lettres, demonstrating how imaginative writing has consistently mirrored the hidden emotional realities of human behavior.
