But it was England specifically that I had in mind when I wrote that! I had run across something recently that said that London had a thriving "molly" subculture in the 1750s and was the place to be if you were gay. Of course, now that I think of it, the point of comparison was the American colonies, founded in part by Puritans, and even today, you can't go naked into your German sauna if there are Canadian savages Americans about. ;)
So, I guess it's all relative.
Imagine Peter asking after the Come d'Alberville, being disappointed there, going into a Dutch inn only to find out everyone is talking about how more sodomites should be executed in public, as gruesomely as possible. And then he finds out FW is after him.
ZOMG. Though since he's been stationed in Wesel all year, I was imagining he would have heard about the trials as they were happening...but the news is one thing, but yes, imagine walking into a bar and hearing the man on the street go, "More of that, please!"
Also, I've mentioned this before, but Peter was uneducated minor nobility sent to FW's court and exposed to FW at close range during a formative period of his sexuality, which means I do wonder how comfortable he was with being bisexual. (Some very ambiguous statements by Wilhelmine plus Fritz being gay now being our only evidence that Peter *was* bi, incidentally.)
Whether or not this is true, I suppose if someone had written about me that I deserve to be gruesomely executed and my wife keeps going on about what a great guy he is - or at least that's how I understand her - then I'd be somewhat resentful, too.
Ah, this makes a lot of sense! Yeah, people are three-dimensional and complicated. :/
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Re: Hephaistion and Alexander
Date: 2020-10-02 11:04 pm (UTC)Always with the caveat: in England.
But it was England specifically that I had in mind when I wrote that! I had run across something recently that said that London had a thriving "molly" subculture in the 1750s and was the place to be if you were gay. Of course, now that I think of it, the point of comparison was the American colonies, founded in part by Puritans, and even today, you can't go naked into your German sauna if there are
Canadian savagesAmericans about. ;)So, I guess it's all relative.
Imagine Peter asking after the Come d'Alberville, being disappointed there, going into a Dutch inn only to find out everyone is talking about how more sodomites should be executed in public, as gruesomely as possible. And then he finds out FW is after him.
ZOMG. Though since he's been stationed in Wesel all year, I was imagining he would have heard about the trials as they were happening...but the news is one thing, but yes, imagine walking into a bar and hearing the man on the street go, "More of that, please!"
Also, I've mentioned this before, but Peter was uneducated minor nobility sent to FW's court and exposed to FW at close range during a formative period of his sexuality, which means I do wonder how comfortable he was with being bisexual. (Some very ambiguous statements by Wilhelmine plus Fritz being gay now being our only evidence that Peter *was* bi, incidentally.)
Whether or not this is true, I suppose if someone had written about me that I deserve to be gruesomely executed and my wife keeps going on about what a great guy he is - or at least that's how I understand her - then I'd be somewhat resentful, too.
Ah, this makes a lot of sense! Yeah, people are three-dimensional and complicated. :/