Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
A STUDY OF SOURCES FOR SWINBURNE'S LESBIA BRANDON
by
DUNCAN PATRICK MUNN, B.A.
A THESIS
IN
ENGLISH
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
Approved
Accepted
May, 1971
Ai^ -^HZO
1971
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my indebtedness to Dr. Thomas
A. Langford for his help and guidance in preparing this
thesis. I would also like to thank Mrs. Margaret Massey for
her assistance in translating portions of Lafourcade's criti
cism of Swinburne's works. My special thanks go to my wife,
Jewell Ann Munn, for her typing and particularly for her
moral support.
11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. INTRODUCTION 1
II. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ASPECTS 11
Childhood 11
Eton and Beyond 21
III. SADE'S INFLUENCE 32
IV. SIGNIFICANCE 48
A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 56
111
•RBsr
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Algernon Charles Swinburne's position as an impor
tant Victorian poet is now firmly established. A great
deal has been written about Swinburne as a poet, but
relatively few people even know that he also made several
attempts to enter the area of fiction. He did, in fact,
write two novels: Love's Cross-Currents and Lesbia Brandon.
The latter has been termed unfinished, and this description
is at least partly true. Only eight of the seventeen chap
ters have titles and in some instances portions of the
manuscript are missing. However, the novel does possess
a beginning, a developmental or thematic section, and a
conclusion.
Swinburne began the work in the 18 60's and sent
the majority of it to the printers. Some sections of the
novel are ambiguous and unclear, and toward the end several
references to particular characters become so vague that
we are not sure about whom Swinburne is writing. This
lack of clarity results largely because some portions of
the manuscript were lost, and also because Swinburne appar
ently never had the opportunity to rewrite his work after
the galley proofs were returned. In all other aspects,
however, the novel is complete; it is not "unfinished"
in the sense that Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood is
unfinished.
Swinburne undoubtedly would have published the
novel in its completed form had he been allowed to have
his own way. The novel was, in fact, suppressed; at first
by his friend and protector, Watts-Dunton, and later by
his bibliographers, Edmund Gosse and T. J. Wise. In the
Bonchurch edition of Swinburne's works, Gosse mentions
Lesbia Brandon in only one footnote, and then only to dis
miss it as unworthy of discussion and to suggest that it
"never be printed." Indeed, it was not until 1952 that
the novel, annotated with a commentary, was published by
2 Randolph Hughes. Another edition, combined with Love's
3 Cross-Currents, was published in 196 2. Critical work
is also limited, the chief contributors being Georges
Algernon C. Swinburne, The Complete Works, Bonchurch Edition, ed. by E. Gosse and T. J. Wise, IXX (20 vols.; London: William Heinmen, Ltd., 1925-1927), 152. Lesbia Brandon is discussed in more detail in the Bibliography, Vol. XX.
2 Lesbia Brandon: An Historical and Critical Com
mentary Being Largely a_ Study (and Evaluation) of Swinburne as a Novelist (London: The Falcon Press, 1952).
3 Edmund Wilson, ed., The Novels of A. C. Swinburne
Love's Cross-Currents [and] Lesbia Brandon~(New York: Farrar, Strauss and Cuhady, 1962). References to the novel will be to this edition, hereafter referred to as Lesbia Brandon.
4 5 6
Lafourcade, Humphrey Hare, and Randolph Hughes. Lesbia
Brandon was suppressed for several reasons, the prime one
being the rather unusual subject matter in the novel. It
is a novel dealing with perhaps the most sordid and per
verted human emotions: homosexuality, adultery, sadism,
masochism, and incest. A hint of transvestism is even
present. There is little doubt that Swinburne wrote his
book with the idea of shocking the prim and proper (at
least externally) Victorian reading public. There is
also the probability, as various critics have suggested,
that Lesbia Brandon reflects a good deal of Swinburne's
own personality. Watts-Dunton begged him to give up try
ing to write the novel, presumably not so much because
Swinburne was not a capable novelist, but more because
there was too much of Swinburne himself in the work.
It might be well to mention here that "Lesbia
Brandon" was probably not the title Swinburne would have
given the novel. Hughes maintains that Gosse assigned
the title to the work because he considered the central
4 ^^ Jeunesse de Swinburne, 2 Vols. (London: Oxford
University Press, 1928) , and Swinburne: A Literary Biography (London: Oxford University Press, 1932).
5 Swinburne: A Biographical Approach (London: H. F.
& G. Witxherby, Ltd., 1949).
See Hughes' lengthy "Commentary," pp. 193-448 in his edition of Lesbia Brandon.
7 character to be Lesbia Brandon. How the novel received
its title is really immaterial, except that Lesbia is not,
in the truest sense, the principle character. The growth
and development of Herbert Seyton renders the novel a
Bildungsroman with Seyton as the main figure, although
the grotesque and perverted aspects of the other charac
ters are important to the overall effect of the novel.
The novel begins with the death of Herbert's father
Herbert is adopted by his sister Margaret and her husband.
Lord Wariston. He moves to her home near the coast and
in effect becomes the eldest son in the family. For two
years Herbert runs free, doing for the most part whatever
he pleases. During this time Herbert's character begins
to take on certain abnormalities. He develops an unusual
affinity for the ocean. Herbert loves to swim in rough
and dangerous water and be lashed and beaten by the waves; o
he becomes "a small satisfied pagan."
His freedom ends when his sister employs a tutor,
Mr. Denham. Denham begins to prepare Herbert for Eton,
not only scholastically but also physically. At that
time students were flogged as an incentive to study and
master their lessons, and such action was expected and
condoned. Denham lays the birch on Herbert with no
7 Hughes, p. iii.
o
Lesbia Brandon, p. 199.
\
compassion; he seems to enjoy inflicting pain, and Herbert
gradually begins to accept and apparently enjoy this
treatment. Outside the realm of scholarship he and Den
ham are friends and frequently swim together.
At this time an unnatural relationship begins to
develop between Herbert and Margaret, perhaps unintention
ally on the part of the sister. However, her involvement
with Denham is not so unintentional, for he begins to feel
an intense desire for her which she does not discourage.
Later they become lovers, but at this time their lust and
desires have to be held in check. Denham's love takes an
odd course; at first he wants Margaret desperately, then
he wishes she were dead or suffering. He expresses a
desire to hurt her and to have her inflict pain on him.
This desire for mutual suffering to replace love is a
further indication of his sadism. Other characters are
introduced in the first four chapters, and all have some
preoccupation with pain, either physical or mental.
At this point Lesbia Brandon makes her entry into
the novel. Although her name is a common Irish surname,
Swinburne has used it as an index to her character, as
she is indeed a Lesbian, or female homosexual. It is
unusual and perhaps fitting that on their first meeting,
Lesbia encounters Herbert in the clothes of a girl, donned
because of his part in a play. He is introduced to Lesbia
as a girl and plays a convincing role, perhaps too
convincing. Lesbia shows some interest in him, even after
he is revealed as a boy. Herbert ultimately comes to love
Lesbia, but their relationship is impossible because of
her intense homosexuality. Lesbia in fact is attracted
to Margaret, although this desire is never made manifest.
Lesbia, exhibiting definite male characteristics in spite
of her striking beauty, is referred to as "poetess and 9
pagan" and much of her abnormal character is revealed
through her poetry.
Denham and Margaret finally become physical lovers
and enjoy a year or two of adulterous pleasure. The cli
max of the novel occurs when it is revealed that Denham
is Margaret's half-brother. They were unaware of this
relationship, which was the result of an earlier adultery,
and therefore they have in effect been engaging not only
in fornication but also in incest. Denham commits suicide
and Margaret's life, at least as far as she is concerned,
is ruined.
Shortly thereafter Lesbia calls Herbert to her
home and reveals that she is dying. She has caused her
own death by tciking opium and eau-de-Cologne. He kisses
her as she lies on her deathbed and she recoils, her
Lesbianism being overpowering even at the edge of death.
Her death is, for all practical purposes, the end of the
9 Lesbia Brandon, p. 305,
novel, for although an additional chapter is included,
Swinburne tells us that he does not know what became of
Herbert.
Lesbia Brandon is a novel of character. Although
action and plot development are present in limited form,
the abnormal and perverted aspects of the human mind
provide the themes on which the novel depends. Homo
sexuality is manifested in Lesbia, masochism and incest
are examined through Denham and Margaret, and sadism in
general abounds throughout the volume. The events in the
novel are at times seemingly unrelated and the unifying
elements barely achieve their purpose. There is even some
question as to whether or not Margaret is the woman Denham
has an affair with, although the context of the novel
indicates fairly conclusively that she was indeed that
woman.
Swinburne might be criticized for incoherence,
lack of unity, and a faulty conclusion, but he must be
praised for his deep insight into the characters in Lesbia
Brandon, no matter how perverted they may be. It has been
suggested that no one could enjoy or find merit in the
novel unless he shared the abnormal tendencies revealed
within it. But this does not seem adequate reason to
forego the experience of exploring an artistically well
developed character, even if that character does exhibit
abnormal sexual drives. Lesbia Brandon is a part of an
8
important poet's total production, and it would seem that
the novel deserves more consideration and attention than
it has received to date.
Since the characters and their feelings are so
highly unusual, the question naturally arises as to the
sources of inspiration for the creation of such abnormal
individuals. No person in the novel who is developed to
any extent is "normal" and the myriad of perversions exem
plified are fascinating in addition to being grotesque
and rather disgusting. The purpose of this paper, then,
is to explore the possible sources Swinburne consulted
in gaining his inspiration and ideas for Lesbia Brandon.
In pursuing this study it is hoped that not only a better
understanding and, ultimately, a better appreciation of
the novel may be reached, but also that Swinburne him
self, as a literary artist, may be more fully understood.
It is important to note here that a psychological
study of Swinburne is not proposed. However, upon exam
ination, parallels between Herbert Seyton and Swinburne
become so obvious that a certain amount of autobiographical
material, whether included intentionally or not, becomes
evident. Swinburne's own life, therefore, is one of the
sources from which I suggest he drew his material. His
childhood, adolescent development, and known abnormal
tendencies compare closely with certain elements in the
novel, particularly in relation to Herbert Seyton.
Herbert's development and subsequent abnormalities can
be linked or compared to Swinburne's own life in enough
detail to convincingly suggest that it was from his own
experiences that he drew the character of the orphaned
boy.
Another source from which I maintain Swinburne
received inspiration was the writings of Donatien-Alphonse-
Francois de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade,
the madman-author whose name has become the representation
of pleasure through pain. It is known that Swinburne
read several of Sade's novels before writing Lesbia Brandon,
and while none of the Marquis' tales are repeated or
incorporated verbatim in the novel, it appears that some
of his characters and philosophy is present. This source
seems to be less emphasized than Swinburne's own exper
iences; nevertheless, the overall sadistic tone of the
novel suggests that Swinburne was motivated and influenced
by Sade's style and subjects to a significant degree.
These two sources will be discussed in relation
to Lesbia Brandon; in addition, abnormal themes which
reappear in Swinburne's later poetry will be examined.
Chapter II will deal with autobiographical aspects, and
Chapter III will be involved with the influence of Sade.
Chapter IV will briefly take up abnormal themes present
in some of Swinburne's poetry, and will conclude with
an evaluation of the novel in terms of the sources and
10
as an art form, as well as project the literary signifi
cance of this study.
There will be no attempt to draw any conclusions
about Swinburne as an individual or to condemn him because
of his beliefs or actions. Again, this is not intended
to be a psychological study of Swinburne with the idea of
proving him abnormal, and therefore unfit to occupy the
literary position which he deserves. It is not an attempt
to prove, or even suggest, that he was a pervert, a homo
sexual, or anything else other than an excellent poet
whose prose has been sadly neglected. References to his
abnormal tendencies are well known and documented; any
further conclusions about Swinburne's moral or sexual
character will have to be formulated by the individual,
as it is not my purpose to draw them here.
CHAPTER II
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ASPECTS
Childhood
In Swinburne: A Literary Biography Georges Lafour
cade says, "I wish Swinburne had postponed for another
hundred pages the introduction of Denham and Lesbia and
Mariani, and described at full length the growth of Her
bert Seyton's mind; his novel might then well have been
a masterpiece." This is an appropriate criticism, for,
despite the title, the central characters in Lesbia
Brandon are Herbert and his sister Margaret. These two
develop along roughly parallel lines, each experiencing
a mental awakening and each being drawn into some kind
of abnormal love affair.
The character development of Herbert is perhaps
the strongest asset in the novel, and the question natu
rally arises as to the source of Swinburne's inspiration
for such a complex character. Upon examining the author
and the character, we find that the parallels between
Georges Lafourcade, Swinburne: A Literary Biography (New York: William Morrow and Company, 19 32), p. 21
11
12
Herbert and Swinburne himself are undeniable. Points in
Herbert's boyhood and adolescent development are much
like those in Swinburne's: the absence of a father, the
domination by women, the love for the sea, and the unnat
ural pleasures derived from flagellation. It seems to
me that rather convincing evidence can be presented to
show that in reality, Herbert Seyton is Algernon Swin
burne, or at least a manifestation of Swinburne as he
believed himself to be as a boy.
At the beginning of Lesbia Brandon Herbert is left
fatherless and is taken in by his sister Margaret. She
becomes his principle guardian, as her husband. Lord
Wariston, has little to do with Herbert; in fact, V7aris-
ton appears very few times in the novel at all. Herbert
is allowed to run free for a time, and when his sister
is absent, he is left to be looked after by a permissive
local clergyman.
Even Swinburne's early childhood, at least the
little we know of, is remarkably similar to Herbert's
youth. Although Swinburne's father, Captain Charles
Henry Swinburne, was not actually "dead" in the literal
sense, he was absent from his home at East Dene for long
periods of time. The Captain was often away on naval 2
duty with only occasional leaves at home. When he was
2 John A. Cassidy, Algernon C. Swinburne (New York
Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1964), p. 20.
13
at home, his military gruffness probably prevented much
communion between him and his small, frail son. Swin
burne therefore grew up surrounded by four sisters and a
female cousin. The only other male, his brother Edward,
was not born until 1849, when Swinburne was twelve. Like
Herbert, at the Wariston's home at Ensdon, Swinburne roamed
during his early years at East Dene and lived "at large
3
and strayed at will." It is also noteworthy that occa
sionally Swinburne was tutored by Reverend C. Foster Fen-
wick, much as Herbert was looked after by that "parish 4
clergyman, a man meeker than Moses,"
There is no real evidence that Swinburne was homo-
sexually inclined, or that any of his relationships with
his sisters or female cousin were abnormal. Still, the
absence of a father figure cannot be discounted as having
no bearing on his personal life and literary output.
There is the suggestion that he enjoyed a sort of domi
nation by his sisters, and although Swinburne never men
tioned any physical desire on his part, as did Herbert
Seyton, he did indicate that he voluntarily submitted 5
to a tender bullying by his female siblings.
"The Sisters," written in 1891, is perhaps a
3 Lafourcade, p. 22. 4 Lesbia Brandon, pp. 195-96, 5 Hare, p, 11.
14
representation of Swinburne's own childhood memories.
In this passage, Reginald Clavering is addressed in loving
tones by Mabel:
Well, you always were the best to me; The brightest, bravest, kindest boy you were That ever let a girl misuse him—make His loving sense of honour, courage, faith. Devotion, rods to whip him—literally You know—and never by one word or look Protested.6
This indicates not only female domination, but also brings
up one of Swinburne's favorite subjects—flagellation.
It should be stated again that there is no record of any
physical intimacies between Swinburne and his sisters;
nevertheless he no doubt had an exaggerated idea of his
own boyhood in mind when he described Herbert's devotion
to Margaret:
Kneeling with his face lifted to hers, he inhaled the hot fragrance of her neck, and trembled with intense and tender delight. Her perfume thrilled and stung him; he bent down and kissed her feet, reached up and kissed her throat.^
Notice that the passage shows some emotions stirring with
in him; in addition, the use of the word stung perhaps
foreshadows an even darker emotion which will soon become
more apparent.
Shortly after this outburst of devotion, Herbert
further exhibits unnatural, incestuous love toward Margaret
Hare, p, 11, 7 Lesbia Brandon, p. 264,
15
and also shows indications of a masochistic temperament.
She laughed and winced under the heat of his hard kiss, drawing one foot back and striking lightly with the other, which he took and pressed upon his neck.
"Oh, I should like you to tread me to death! darling!"8
From this time on Herbert adores his sister, although
she perhaps does not recognize the sexual implications
in his devotion. He gladly submits to Margaret's domi
nation and "became (in Lord Wariston's words) his sister's 9
lapdog and lackey,"
All this is not to say that Swinburne sexually
desired any of his sisters. There is, however, a rather
apparent connection between the female domination Swin
burne experienced as a youth and the role into which he
casts Bertie early in the novel. Furthermore, both Her
bert and Swinburne are characterized as being effeminate.
"There was a strong feminine element in Bertie Seyton;
he ought to have been a pretty and rather boyish girl."
We are told that "while yet a boy her [Margaret's] brother
was so like her that the description may serve for him.
. . . " This is reminiscent of Swinburne as a boy, who
o
Lesbia Brandon, p, 264,
^Ibid., p. 267,
•"• Ibid, , p, 190.
Ibid,
16
in addition to being endowed with feminine characteristics,
was also comically grotesque. "His huge head, covered
with carroty red hair, was out of proportion to his slight
body and dainty hands and feet. In size he was diminutive,
and his voice, always high pitched, often rose with excite-
12
ment until it became a screech." It appears that Swin
burne created Herbert Seyton in his own mental as well as
physical image. That is, it was at least the image he
nostalgically conceived of himself as a child.
Another parallel between Bertie and the young Swin
burne was the devotion of both boys for riding and for the
sea. Is it merely coincidence that the favorite pastimes
Swinburne enjoyed became those Herbert also enjoyed?
Swinburne is known to have said, "I never cared for any
13 , , . sport . . . except . , , riding and swimming,"
Herbert's meek clergyman "taught him riding on the meekest
of steeds," and we are told that "reading and riding and
14 wandering, he felt no want in life. . . . "
A more dominant interest, both to Swinburne and
Herbert, was that of the sea. It has been demonstrated
that Swinburne enjoyed the sea as a youth; yet this affinity
with water reached beyond his boyhood years and frequently
12 Cassidy, p. 21.
• " Hare, p. 10.
14 Lesbia Brandon, p, 196,
17
appears in his poetry, often as an embodiment of physical
passion. It has been suggested that Swinburne used the
sea as a symbol of the womb. All of this may or may not
be true, but it is certain that Swinburne had some sort
of violent attraction to the ocean. An example of this
occurs in a passage from "The Triumph of Time":
I will go back to the great sweet mother. Mother and lover of men, the sea.
I will go down to her, I and none other. Close with her, kiss her and mix her with me;
Cling to her, strive with her, hold her fast.^^
"I remember," Swinburne wrote in a letter, "being
17 afraid of other things, but never the sea." Herbert's
love for the sea, like Swinburne's, follows an odd course;
it is the roughness of the waves which he most enjoys.
"It was rather desire than courage that attracted him to
18 the water," On several occasions Swinburne describes
Herbert and his adventures in the ocean, but perhaps the
following passage best combines both the natural and the
sexual attractions Herbert has for it:
Herbert wanted no teaching to make him face a heavy sea; he panted and shouted with pleasure among breakers where he could not stand two
John Orr Jordan, "The Novels of A. C. Swinburne" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, 1968), p, 156,
16 Complete Works, p. 177.
17 Hare, p. 12.
18 Lesbia Brandon, p, 206.
18
minutes; the blow of a roller that beat him off his feet made him laugh and cry out in ecstasy: he rioted in the roaring water like a young sea beast, sprang at the throat of waves that threw him flat, pressed up against their soft fierce bosoms and fought for their sharp embraces; grappled with them as lover with lover, flung himself upon them with limbs that laboured and yielded deliciously, till the scourging of the surf made him red from the shoulders to the knees, and sent on shore whipped by the sea into a single blush of the whole skin, breathless and untried. Denham had to drive him out of the water once or twice; he was insatiable and would have revelled by the hour among waves that lashed and caressed him with all their might and all their foam.-'-
Lafourcade says that Herbert learned two things: "the
blind cruelty of natural forces, and the element of
pleasure which, in some circumstances, attaches to the
20 infliction or the suffering of pain." This seems to
be born out by the fact that Herbert "revelled" in an
element which "whipped" and "scourged" him. Also, Lafour
cade further enforces the link between Herbert and Swin
burne and the sea. "There can be little doubt that those
experiences were to a degree those of Swinburne's as a
child. " -
Even the educational facilities placed at Herbert's
disposal are much like Swinburne's. Two of Swinburne's
homes, Capheaton and Ashburnham Place, were rich in
19 Lesbia Brandon, pp. 205-06.
Lafourcade, p. 25.
21 Ibid, , p. 26.
19
literature. They "boasted two of the finest private
libraries in the Kingdom."^^ There is little doubt that
Swinburne spent much time reading and assimilating great
literature, particularly that of eighteenth century France
Swinburne recreated in Herbert his love for literature:
"The boy fell upon the Ensdon library shelves with miscel
laneous voracity, reading various books desirable and
otherwise, swallowing a marvelous quantity of English
23 and French verse and fiction." Perhaps there is even
some meaning in the phrase "desirable or otherwise," for
we know that Swinburne, at least later in his literary
career, read and then wrote that which would have been^
at the very least, undesirable in Victorian England.
Because Swinburne was surrounded predominantly
by females, it is possible that his male development was
hampered or even misdirected. Again, there is no con
crete proof to indicate that he leaned toward homosex
uality, and even less to substantiate the theory that
any latent homosexuality was a result of his upbringing.
However, it is not implausible that he was at least un
usually influenced by a female atmosphere. It is said
that "the boy . . . grew and took form in a feminine
environment, indulged, pampered, and perhaps even treated
22 Lafourcade, p. 28.
23 Lesbia Brandon, p. 196.
20
as another girl."
It is known that he began to write at an early
age, and "with his sisters and cousin, to act out extrav-
25
agant dramas." Although we do not know what parts
Swinburne took in these plays, the idea of family theatri
cal productions can be linked to an important passage in
Lesbia Brandon. Herbert first meets Lesbia while he is
dressed in girls' clothing. The family is presenting
"Lucretia Borgia" for some friends, and Herbert, to avoid
ruining his elaborately styled hairpiece, dresses in his
sister's clothing for dinner. He is presented to Lesbia
and the others as his own sister, and carries off the part
remarkably well. Here a slight and subdued hint of trans-26
vestism is present; Herbert is "passable as a girl,"
He begins to enjoy his masquerade and engages in an exten
sive conversation with Miss Brandon. It is significant
that Lesbia seems more attracted to Herbert as a girl
than later when he is revealed as a boy. Indeed, she is
attracted to Margaret sexually, but can never feel more
than sisterly affection for Bertie. Perhaps Swinburne
took at least a part of this episode from his own exper
ience as a participant in his early plays; in any case.
Cassidy, p. 22.
^^Ibid., p. 23.
26 Lesbia Brandon, p. 271.
21
it suggests a similarity between his childhood male-female
relationships and Bertie's relationships with women.
When all of this evidence is considered as a unit,
there seems to be little doubt that Herbert Seyton's youth
is a reflection of Swinburne's own childhood. The simi
larities are too obvious to be mere coincidence: both,
for all practical purposes, had no father; both had an
odd attraction for the sea; both developed under the influ
ence of female domination. Lafourcade discusses these
similarities and remarks upon the autobiographical impli
cations in the novel:
True, Bertie's childhood is not exactly like Swinburne's; he is described as more solitary in his early years than the poet ever was; true, Ensdon fantastically combines the features of East Dene, Ashburnham Place and Capheaton. But the autobiographical element far outweighs the fiction. Bertie's state of mind is exactly what at fifteen years' distance, Swinburne, to the best of his belief, conceived his own to have been. And, as he is dealing not with facts, but with sentiments, there is little danger of his being mistaken. For here we have not to do with a few details of an external character, but with the most spontaneous and almost animal reactions of a child's soul.^^
Eton and Beyond
So far the similarities between Swinburne and
Herbert Seyton have been demonstrated to be somewhat odd
but relatively harmless boyhood parallels. There still
exists a question concerning the more abnormal tendencies
27 Lafourcade, p. 22.
22
which Herbert develops; his masochistic desires and plea
sure through flagellation are suggested throughout the
early sections of the novel. However, they become much
more evident when the sadistic tutor Denham is introduced.
Margaret and Lord VJariston hire Denham to prepare Herbert
for Eton, and the tutor concentrates more perhaps on pre
paring him for the whippings he will receive than on his
academic pursuits.
At that time, flogging was expected in the schools
and considered to be necessary in a boy's development to
manhood. A public flogging block was often used, and
this was the case at Eton. The descriptions of the flog
gings Denham gives Herbert are quite detailed, but per
haps more important, they are almost glorified, as if
Swinburne took some special joy in writing them. And,
as will be indicated, this is probably exactly what occurred
Lesbia Brandon again is autobiographical in that it is
Swinburne's instrument to disclose the perverted pleasures
he admitted feeling under the whip.
Denham's sadistic nature causes him to flog Herbert
at the slightest provocation; indeed, the boy can expect
a whipping each Friday without fail, even if the rest of
the week has been relatively calm. Throughout the novel
the idea of pleasure through pain is dominant; when Denham
arrives at Ensdon he inquires if Herbert has ever been
flogged. "'I can answer that if he won't,' said his
23
sister; 'Herbert has that pleasure yet to come.'"^^
Denham wastes no time; within two days Herbert receives
his first whipping. Soon after, Denham begins to feel
sexual desires for Margaret (which are not reciprocated
for a time) and on one occasion Herbert's offhand refer
ences to Electra remind Denham of his lust. He whips the
boy for straying from the subject of his lessons, and
vents his sexual frustrations through the birch rod.
"Herbert . . . had a flogging which left him incapable
of any sense but wonder why Denham should hit so hard
this time, and give him two sharp cuts extra which took
29 his breath away, making him gasp and sob."
In another episode, Swinburne goes to great detail
in describing an actual flogging of the boy and the plea
sure Denham receives on giving it:
He tied the small wrists tight and laid on the lithe tough twigs with all the strength of his arm. There was a rage in him now more bitter than anger. The boy sobbed and flinched at each cut, feeling his eyes fill and blushing at his tears; but the cuts stung like fire, and burning with shame and pain alike, he pressed his hot wet face down on his hands, bit his sleeve, his fingers, anything; his teeth drew blood, as well as the birch; he chewed the flesh of his hands rather than cry out, till Denham glittered with passion. A fresh rod was applied and he sang out sharply: then drew himself tight as it were all over, trying to brace his muscles and harden his flesh into rigid resistance; but the pain
2 8 Lesbia Brandon, p, 204,
^^Ibid,, p, 210,
24
beat him; as he turned and raised his face, tears streamed over the inflamed cheeks and imploring lips. It was not the mere habit of sharp discipline, sense of official duty or flash of transient anger, that impelled his tormentor; had it been any of these he might have been more easily let off. As it was, Denham laid on every stripe with a cold fury that grew slowly to white heat; and when at length he made an end, he was seized with a fierce dumb sense of inner laughter; it was such an absurd relief this, and so slight. When these fits were on him he could have taken life to ease his bitter and wrathful despair of delight.30
In this passage we can readily see the perverted motives
Denham has, but the fact that Herbert begins to enjoy
pain, and in fact probably enjoys the floggings, is not
revealed until later in the novel.
After Herbert's terrible flogging, Margaret finds
out that he was not guilty of the crime for which he was
punished. In his bedroom, she comforts him, and their
mutual affection almost borders on lovemaking: "she drew
up his face against her own and kissed him time after
31 time with all her strength." Herbert is obviously
aroused, and his heretofore latent masochistic tendencies
become manifest. "All the day's pleasure and pain came
32 suddenly to flower and bore fruit in him at the moment."
Certainly this statement reveals the concept of pleasure-
in-pain characteristic in Herbert.
30
Lesbia Brandon, pp. 219-220.
" •''Ibid. , p, 265,
^^Ibid,
25
He continues and allows his incestuous and maso
chistic wishes to come out in full force, "I wish you
would kill me someday; it would be jolly to feel you kill
ing me. Not like it? Shouldn't I! You just hurt me,
33 and see." When Margaret complies, the boy's now-obvious
abnormalities become even clearer: "She pinched him so
sharply that he laughed and panted with pleasure."
Finally, he admits to the pleasure he would receive in a
whipping, provided it were linked with his sexual attrac
tion for his sister, "I should like to be swished [flog
ged] even, I think, if you were to complain of me or if
35
I knew you liked," Here it is obvious that if his sis
ter would find some pleasure in seeing him flagellated,
he too would enjoy that same pleasure. This section is
a clear indication of Herbert's masochism and also of his
incestuous love for his sister.
The connection between Herbert's floggings and
subsequent wish for pleasure through pain, and Swinburne's
own abnormal desires can be readily substantiated.
Although it is doubtful that Swinburne experienced exactly
the same treatment as Herbert, it is nonetheless true that
throughout his life he became increasingly interested and
33
Lesbia Brandon, p, 265.
" Ibid,
^^Ibid,
26
involved in flagellation. Probably the descriptions of
the floggings in Lesbia Brandon are outgrowths of Swin
burne's preoccupation with this type of masochism. From
various sources we know that his interest in flagellation
began at Eton and steadily increased throughout his life.
In a letter written in 1867 he said that he "should like
to see two things there {at Eton] again [sic] the river—
36
and the [flogging] block," A poem Swinburne wrote com
memorating the 450th anniversary of Eton is well known;
however, there exists another poem called Eton: Another
Ode in which he presents a rather different view of his
former school:
Dawn smiles on the fields of Eton, and wakes from slumber her youthful flock,
Lad by lad, whether good or bad: alas for those who at nine o'clock
Seek the room of disgraceful doom, to smart like fun on the flogging block.
Swish, swish, swish! 0 I wish, I wish I'd not been late for lock-up last night!
Swish, that mill I'm bruised from still (I couldn't help it--I had to fight)
Makes the beast (I suppose at least) who flogs me flog me with all his might.
'Tell me, S[winburn]e, does shame within burn as hot (Swish! Swish!) as your stripes my lad.
Burn outside, have I tamed your pride? I'm glad to see how it hurts you—glad--
Swish! I wish it may cure you. Swish! Get up'. By Jove, what a dose I've had.^^
36 Cecil Y, Lang, ed. The Swinburne Letters (6
vols,; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959), I, 256 37 Lafourcade, p, 47,
27
There are also indications that Swinburne's tutor,
James Leigh Joynes, flogged him occasionally, but certainly
not to the extent that Denham flogs Herbert. Joynes' in
tentions were probably honorable, as he was a scholar of
some distinction and was at one time offered the headmas-
38 tership of Eton. One of Swinburne's floggings at Joynes'
hands was particularly special to him, for he recounts in
a letter to Richard Monckton Milnes how "once before giv
ing me a swishing that I had the marks of for more than a
39 month, he let me saturate my face in eau-de-Cologne,"
Presumably this was done either to heighten Swinburne's
pleasure at being whipped, or so Joynes could determine
what effect flogging really had on the boy.
The mention of a letter to Milnes brings us to
another revealing aspect of Swinburne's masochism,
Richard Monckton Milnes, later Lord Houghton, was intro
duced to Swinburne about the time he was writing Lesbia
40 Brandon, probably in 1861, Through his letters to
Milnes, who was also interested in flagellation, Swin
burne revealed a great deal of his masochistic tendencies,
as his friend encouraged him to develop and write about
these perversions. In a letter written to Milnes in 18 62
38 Cassidy, p, 41.
39 ^Letters, I, p. 78, Cassidy, p, 71,
28
Swinburne voiced amazement and disgust at "an incredibly
base and absurd story against the use of birch on boys."" -
In another letter written in 1863, he defined what he
thought to be the correct way of applying a flogging:
No canes. No fustian men. Nothing greasy. Nor do I approve of restoratives and housekeepers. Still less of the rod of thorny roses—except as a metaphor . , . Nothing that bruises. Nothing that lacerates. Black and blue is hideous. Mere scratches and .scars and gashes are stupid. Sting your victim well at each cut. Make fair red weals on him, tingling ridges of throbbing purple and darkening crimson. You will hurt more pungently if less roughly and savagely. No brutality.^2
This would seem to indicate that Swinburne considered
flagellation to be an art, and thought of himself as a
master of that art. His preoccupation with the whipping
block at Eton remained with him, and in a letter to George
Powell he reproached him for "not remembering to invest
for me in at least two of the large photographs of the
flogging block, when you knew how I wanted them and was
43 shy of writing to order them?"
In another letter to Milnes Swinburne used the
idea of a flogging as a metaphor for the criticism levied
at some verse written by an imaginary character, and
signed it "Your affectionate though much-flogged pupil.
41
Letters, I, p. 67.
Ibid., p. 75.
^^Ibid., II, p, 290.
29
II4 4
Frank." This fiction was the result of a mutual agree
ment between Milnes and Swinburne to write stories about
flagellation and exchange them. This literature seems to
have been, as was Lesbia Brandon, an emotional outlet
Swinburne used to express his real masochistic feelings.
In the same letter in which he described the perfect
method of flogging, he admitted to Milnes his intense
preoccupation with flagellation:
You must excuse my scribbling at this rate when I once begin, for the sake of that autobiographical fact about perfume and pain, which you can now vouch for the experience of a real live boy. I always wanted to knov7 if other fellows shared that feeling. Conceive trying it in a grove of budding birch-trees scented all over with the green spring. Ah-h-h!^^
These letters, along with many other things that
Swinburne wrote, bear out his masochistic tendencies.
Other sources verify the existence of this perversion,
and it is known, but seldom publicized, that Swinburne
located a brothel in London which specialized in flagel-
46 lation. This house had special chairs in which the
clients were tied to receive their "pleasures." For a
time at least, Swinburne frequented this establishment.
His friend Dante Gabriel Rossetti became worried about
44 Letters, I, p. 122.
" Ibid. , p, 78.
46 Lesbia Brandon, "Introduction," p, 29.
30
him and tried to get him to develop more normal habits,
but whether his endeavors were successful or not is un
known. At any rate, the point is that Lesbia Brandon
represents the culmination and exposition of Swinburne's
abnormal tendencies. In the novel he "pulls out all the A ^
stops, and howls of pain become cries of ecstasy."
From the preceding evidence, it appears to be fairly
obvious that the floggings Swinburne received at Eton and
the masochism which appeared in his later life are directly
reflected in the character of Herbert Seyton. Herbert
might be said to be Swinburne in capsule form; his develop
ment in the novel is perhaps overly perverted because it
compacts a much longer period of development in Swinburne's
own life. John Orr Jordan, in an evaluation of the novel,
sees this similarity and suggests that: Herbert's delight in flagellation serves merely as an excuse for Swinburne to indulge his own masochistic tendencies. For instance, the flogging scenes between Denham and his pupil are much too lengthy in proportion to the chapters where they appear, and there is far too much emphasis on the painful participles which describe the unfortunate victim: blushing,.g burning, quivering, tingling, sobbing, etc.
Jordan also maintains that Swinburne was able to "con
front his own sexual abnormality and transform his most
private fantasies into a work of art . . . in this strongly
47 Lesbia Brandon, p, 29. Jordan, p, 170,
31
autobiographical novel. . , . "^^
One could go on, but it does not seem necessary
to belabor the point. There are obvious and undeniable
autobiographical elements in Herbert Seyton, although
the novel as a whole should not be taken as a literal
autobiography. Herbert's youth is roughly parallel to
Swinburne's, and the masochism of both individuals has
been adequately demonstrated. The character of Herbert
is clearly the conception Swinburne had of himself as a
boy, and, as Lafourcade says, it is unfortunate that
other characters are introduced so soon. If Swinburne
had concentrated more on Herbert, we might have even greater
insight into the poet himself. However, Herbert is not the
only character in the novel, and personal recollections are
not the only sources from which Swinburne drew inspiration
for Lesbia Brandon. Other sources may not be so evident,
or so easily proven, but nevertheless they do exist. It
seems appropriate now to consider some of the more exter
nal sources of the perversion themes in the novel.
49 Jordan, p, 169,
CHAPTER III
SADE'S INFLUENCE
Aside from the autobiographical elements in the
novel, one possible source for the material in Lesbia
Brandon is the novels and stories of Donatien-Alphonse-
Francois de Sade, the infamous Marquis de Sade. Two
of his works were definitely read by Swinburne: Justine
ou les Malheurs de la vertu (hereafter referred to as
2 Justine) , and La. Philosophie dans le boudoir. Although
he drew characters from both of these works, the resem
blance is somewhat vague; nevertheless, some of the minor
characters in Lesbia Brandon can accurately be traced to
Sade. A less exacting but perhaps more plausible connec
tion exists in the tone and general direction Swinburne's
novel takes. Love's Cross-Currents is similar to Lesbia
Brandon in subject matter, and some of the characters in
the first reappear in the second. There are also auto
biographical aspects in Love's Cross-Currents, but the
The Marquis de Sade, comp. and trans, by Richard Seaver and~~Austryn WaTnhouse (New York: Grove Press, 1965) ,
^Ibid.
32
33
sexual abnormalities which appear in this novel are more
subdued and certainly less shocking. Although not pub
lished as a unit until 1877, the novel was completed by
1862, before Swinburne had read any of Sade's works. The
difference in force between Love's Cross-Currents and
Lesbia Brandon suggests that Swinburne may have been some
what reluctant at first to touch on abnormal topics, but/
after examining the Marquis' outspoken and shocking style,
decided to plunge headfirst into a novel which was much
more emphatic and direct than anything he had written up
to that time. In support of this observation, we know
that Swinburne admired Sade and found his works interest
ing and even humorous. Perhaps it would be appropriate
to discuss his introduction to Sade and some of his com
ments concerning the Marquis.
As has been shown, Swinburne became acquainted
with Richard Monckton Milnes at about the same time Lesbia
Brandon was being conceived. The first evidence of this
meeting exists in the form of a letter to Milnes dated
3 May 4, 1861. Although Swinburne had heard of Sade and
even mentioned him in some of his poetry, he did not read
any of Sade's material until Milnes introduced him to it.
Milnes was an admirer of Sade and encouraged Swinburne to
study him, and also to write about abnormal practices such
3 Letters, I, p. 44.
34
as flagellation. In a letter dated August 18, 1862,
Swinburne wrote Milnes, saying, "i have just read 'Justine
ou les Malheurs de la Vertu'.""^ in his letter Swinburne
expressed his opinion of the work. One who has even a
slight knowledge of Justine knows it to be extremely can
did and perhaps even revolting; it examines the many
sadistic sexual tortures put to its heroine. Yet Swin
burne's comments on it reflect a highly unusual attitude:
"At first, I quite expected to add another to the gifted
author's list of victims; I really thought I must have
died or split open or choked with laughter." Although
one might consider Justine somewhat ridiculous because
of its seemingly impossible chain of events, it is doubt
ful that it would, in the main, be taken as uproariously
humorous. Swinburne went on to criticize the novel and
termed it a "fiasco," but based his criticism on the way
it was written, not on the subject matter. To him the
work failed because it contained extensive examples of
sadistic events but no "great" examples of torture. He
said, "De Sade is like a Hindoo mythologist; he takes
bulk and number for greatness." Swinburne further stated
that the sensation derived from an act, rather than the
4 Letters, I, p. 53.
^Ibid., p. 54.
^Ibid.
35
mere description of many such acts, should be the criteria
for greatness in such literature. Further, he suggested
that he could do a much better job of describing such
acts than had Sade.
In spite of his initial criticism of Sade, Swin
burne admired the author and often spoke of him in his
letters. While describing a personal act of flagellation,
Swinburne once referred to Sade as "our Master and chief-7
est among the prophets." Also, he began referring to
Milnes as "M. Rodin" and "Mon cher Rodin."^ Throughout
his letters and works references to Sade can be found,
both in regard to Justine and other works. In a letter
written in 1866 he refers to Dolmance, the principle fig-
9
ure m La_ Philosophie dans le boudoir. After discussing
Sade with Milnes, Swinburne's attitude toward the author
changed, and he no longer thought that Sade exaggerated
in his fiction. Swinburne even flattered himself that his
handwriting closely resembled that of the Marquis.
Lafourcade, in his A Literary Biography, states that Swin
burne was drawn to the characters.in Sade's works because
7 Letters, I, p. 75,
^Ibid., pp. 66-70. Rodin is a character in Justine who revels in flagellating young male and female students.
^Ibid, , p, 311,
Lafourcade, p, 104.
36
they "confirmed in him his own instincts. "•-'- He suggests
that they caused Swinburne to drop any pretenses he may
have had. "Thanks to Sade Swinburne reached a full con
science of his personality," says Lafourcade, and contin
ues, "Instead of 'Laugh and Lie Down' and 'Tebaldeo
Tebaldei' he wrote 'Anastoria' and Lesbia Brandon."^^
In Lesbia Brandon and in later poetic works, one can find,
at the very least, hints of Sade's influence on Swinburne.
Concerning Lesbia Brandon, Swinburne wrote in 18 67,
"I have in hand a scheme of mixed verse and prose . . .
which I flatter myself will be more offensive and objec
tionable to Britannia than anything I have yet done. You
see I now have a character to keep up, and by the grace
of Cotytto I will endeavour not to come short of it—at
13 least m my writing." Had the novel been published,
undoubtedly it would have been extremely offensive; in
fact, it was offensive enough to Swinburne's friends that
they discouraged its publication. It seems logical to
hypothesize that Swinburne may have been laboring under
the influence of Sade when he issued the above statement
about Lesbia Brandon. The Marquis' works were scandalous
to the point that they had been outlawed in France and
Lafourcade, p. 105.
-'• Ibid, , pp, 105-06,
13 Letters, I, p, 224. Cotytto was a goddess of
Trace, worshipped, like Venus, with licentious rites.
37
England, and only through Milnes' private library of
pornography was Swinburne able to gain access to this
forbidden literature,
Swinburne's novel was not assembled and published
until 19 52, and Sade's works were not translated into
English until this century. The point is that both author's
works were suppressed, for various reasons, for an exten
sive period of time. It seems that the main reason for
this suppression lies in the subject matter of the two
men; their themes concerning debauchery and perversion,
although different in perspective and presentation, are
similar enough that it does not seem odd that the novelists
should be disinterred, so to speak, at approximately the
same time.
It is doubtful that the literary world will ever
hold Sade in the same esteem that Swinburne did. On one
occasion he said, "The day and the century will come when
statues will be erected to him in the walls of every city,
and at the base of every statue, sacrifices will be offered
up to him." However, Sade's influence on other writers
may well have been more than we realize, as is the case
with Swinburne. He once referred to Sade as "this great
man to whom I am indebted (and what, indeed, do I not owe
to him?) for whatever I have inadequately been able to
As quoted in The Marquis de Sade, "Preface," p, xii
38
express with regard to my sentiments toward God and
1,15 man, "
As far as establishing a concrete link between
Sade's novels and Lesbia Brandon is concerned, it would
be difficult to show many absolute and undeniable paral
lels. In general, it is a difficult task to prove that
one author, after reading another, has been influenced
by the latter, especially in the areas of tone and style.
It is, for example, easy enough to link The Spanish Trag
edy to Hamlet, but it would be an altogether different
and more difficult task to attempt to prove that Shake
speare's style was influenced by an earlier playwright.
Such is the case, to an extent, with Swinburne and Sade.
However, the uniqueness of the subject matter itself helps
to establish some connection between the two. Overt dis
cussions of sexual abnormalities such as flagellation.
Lesbianism, and incest are not overly frequent in litera
ture, although they do appear in more subdued forms; that
is, they are often hinted at but seldom exploited as major
themes. The fact that the majority of the work done on
Lesbia Brandon occurred after he had read Sade, and the
fact that Swinburne described various abnormal sexual
relationships in great detail, leads me to believe that
he followed Sade's examples rather closely.
15 As quoted in The Marquis de Sade, "Preface," p, xii
39
Flagellation, homosexuality, incest and other such
perversions are described in detail in Sade's v/orks, and
it is not difficult to believe that Swinburne, after see
ing such matters discussed openly, decided to duplicate
that openness in his own novel. Of course, Swinburne was
too much an artist to let himself go to the lengths Sade
had gone. Although he stated that his novel would shock
Britain, he restricted his material to the extent that it
is grotesque without becoming completely disgusting. For
instance, the love affair between Denham and Margaret is
presented but not put on display; Sade would no doubt have
described them engaging in sexual intercourse. Likewise,
we know that Lesbia is a homosexual, but she engages in
no overt relationships. Sade often described in detail
homosexual acts between women. Swinburne used Sade as a
source for direction and tone rather than as a model for
pornographic descriptions.
As I have said, there seems to be no indication
that Swinburne took any events per se from Sade, and there
also does not appear to be any identical character repro
duction. However, if one approaches Swinburne's novel
in a broad and liberal analysis, some of the characters
can be accurately linked to Sade. Lady Midhurst, an impor
tant character in Love's Cross-Currents but a rather minor
one in Lesbia Brandon, is for the most part cruel, but at
times reverts to a kindlier nature, Swinburne tells us.
40
"she was not a bad woman for a cynic. Cruel she certainly
was on occasion; cruelty amused her and she liked to make
'her cuts tell, but she was not, like some, impregnated
with cruelty like a sponge with water." However, at
the dinner party she admits her cruelty to Herbert when
she says, "I feel so vicious, """ Lady Midhurst can defi
nitely be compared to many of Sade's women, although gen
erally his female characters are either virtuous or ex
tremely disgusting. In her one can see something of
Juliette (in Justine), who is indeed vicious but finally
finds compassion for her long lost sister. Lady Midhurst's
interest in cruelty suggests another of Sade's characters,
Madame de Saint-Ange in Lra Philosophie dans le boudoir,
Although an undeniably foul woman, she does on rare occa
sions offer sympathy of a sort to others. In a conversa
tion with a young, innocent girl about to be violated,
she says, "It has pleased Nature so to make us that we
18 attain happiness only by way of pain." Although Lady
Midhurst is concerned more with the infliction of mental
agony, her philosophy for the most part compares to that
of Madame de Saint-Ange,
Mr, Linley is, in his own way, probably the most
Lesbia Brandon, p, 24 6,
•'•' Ibid, , p, 250,
18 The Marquis de Sade, p, 202,
41
sadistic character in Lesbia Brandon. Early in the novel
his vicious tendencies are exposed, and there is a hint
that he collects erotic books and articles. "He was a
scholar and a collector, fond of books, coins, prints,
and bric-a-brac of a secret kind, kept under locks and
19 behind curtains, . . . " It is Linley who finds and
educates the harlot Leonora Harley, and it is also Linley
who finally reveals all of the adultery and incest involv
ing Denham, Margaret, Herbert, and Lesbia. He is in
effect the agent who causes the ruin of so many lives and
the death by suicide of Denham. In short, it seems to be
Linley's desire to destroy life or, that failing, crush
the human spirit. Of Sade's characters, one in particu
lar comes to mind in reference to Linley. This is the
Comte de Bressac, a man who rescues Justine and subse
quently involves her in a plot to kill his aunt. Although
Bressac is a homosexual and Linley, as far as we know, is
not, the urge to destroy is dominant in both men. There
is a basic similarity in the philosophy of the two char
acters; Bressac denounces virtue and godliness, as do
most of Sade's characters, and Linley, as Lady Midhurst
tells us, believes that one "must face the misfortunes of
virtue in this universe, . . . and put up with prosperities
19 Lesbia Brandon, p. 232,
42
of vice."^°
Some of Sade's major themes are concerned with the
rejection of virtue, chastity, and religion. Linley also
rejects these; this is demonstrated in his procurement of
prostitutes, his desire to torment others, and his appar
ent joy at being the bearer of bad news. His pure sadism
is again evidenced when he forces Herbert to describe a
flogging to him, and there is a suggestion of contempt
for religious rites when he asks, "And now, Mr. Herbert,
will you inform me when the habitual rites of marriage
21 were last solemnized between your person and the birch?"
He torments Herbert further and there are indications that
he must virtually indulge in sadism in order to exist.
Symbolically, Linley lives and feeds on the pain of others,
for we are told that his "eyes devoured the boy's drawn
face and twisted hands; he seemed to inhale his pain and
22
shame like a fine and pungent essence. . . . " Bressac
also feeds on torment; at least twice he tortures Justine,
and his motive for killing his aunt is greed for her money.
Both men's existence seems to depend on the pain and suf
fering they inflict on others. Another character who can be linked to Sade is
20
Lesbia Brandon, p, 249.
-"•Ibid., p. 251.
^^Ibid., p. 252.
43
Leonora Harley, the prostitute who is procured and edu
cated by Linley. We are told that she seeks security in
marriage and finally attains her goal. She is comparable
to Juliette, the sister of Justine, who marries for wealth
and then does away with her husbands. The two women are
similar in that both are interested in material gain and
are incapable of any real love; Leonora "could neither
23 love or reflect" and Juliette is "oblivious of all the
fine feelings that had been hers by birthright and good 24
education." In character they are quite different:
Juliette is a well-educated, cruel murderess, while Leo
nora is an uneducated farm girl, shallow and despised even
by those who make love to her. "She was active, and vital,
25 and stupid."
The comparison, therefore, lies in the presenta
tion of two women who are willing to prostitute themselves
for worldly gain. Both achieve their desires and emerge
free women; Leonora through the divorce courts and Juliette
through acts of violence. Leonora, whose only asset is
a knowledge of French (her English is too bad to be spo
ken) , is evidently too ignorant to contemplate anything
as drastic as murder, and Linley is disappointed in her
23 Lesbia Brandon, p. 290.
24 The Marquis de Sade, p. 465.
25 Lesbia Brandon, p. 290,
44
because she "was not, in his opinion, properly vicious,"^^
Juliette is more what Linley would have admired; she ruins
the lives of thirteen high ranking officials, murders
three other men, and commits three or four infanticides.
It is quite probable that Swinburne borrowed from Sade
the idea of a wanton woman trying to marry for money, but
drastically changed the character of such a woman so she
would better fit into his novel. Based on her relative
unimportance in Lesbia Brandon, I suggest that Leonora
was an experiment on Swinburne's part, and that he took
the elements for this experiment from Sade.
Perhaps the one character in the novel who comes
directly from Sade is Denham. We have observed the pos
sible sexual pleasure he derives from whipping Herbert;
the floggings the tutor administers are numerous and exten
sively described. We also know that Herbert can expect
a beating on Friday even if he has been spared for the
rest of the week. In Justine Sade creates a similar
schoolmaster. Monsieur Rodin, who also finds pleasure in
beating his students. He has a school for children only
between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, and the pupils
number exactly fourteen boys and fourteen girls. Rodin
administers corporal punishment to male and female alike,
and the day on which Justine witnesses several beatings
26 Lesbia Brandon, p, 352,
45
is Friday, one of the days he sets aside for discipline.
His daughter takes Justine to a hiding place where she
can watch him punish the students, and informs Justine
that the misconduct attributed to the children is fabri
cated by Rodin. She then views the punishment.
First, with great lechery, he whips a young girl,
then a boy, and so on. Before he has finished he has
flagellated five boys and four girls, each act giving him
more pleasure than the last. Rodin whips his students to
relieve his own desires; in comparison, on at least one
occasion Denham whips Herbert because of the tutor's un
satisfied lust for Margaret. Another point in comparison
is that Herbert is approximately the same age as the per
verted schoolmaster's victims. Although Swinburne took
his own school day floggings as a source for Herbert's
beatings, it is doubtful that he received the degree of
punishment Herbert underwent. However, the passion with
which Denham inflicts lashings is quite comparable to the
intensity Rodin demonstrates in his floggings. It seems
that the degree of sadism present in both men is about
equal, and their desires are satisfied in the same manner.
Swinburne may have drawn the concept of flogging from his
own experience and then substituted the character of Rodin
for his own more humane tutors. In both novels the ages
of the students, the reason for and degree of punishment,
and even the days on which the beatings are administered
46
are quite similar. These parallels indicate that Swin
burne probably patterned the character of Denham after
that of Rodin,
The influence of Sade on Swinburne as evidenced
in this particular novel should not be overemphasized.
To say that Swinburne tried to consciously imitate Sade,
or that he attempted to create characters exactly like
the Marquis', would be misleading and for the most part
incorrect. On the other hand, a partial influence must
be admitted. We know that Swinburne read Sade as early
as 18 62 and that he did not begin work on his novel until
1864. By examining some of his earlier works, particu
larly Love's Cross-Currents, we find an absence of the
frankness which is present in Lesbia Brandon, This indi
cates that something caused Swinburne to expand his dis
cussion of sexual abnormalities, and since his preoccupa
tion with Sade became manifest in the early 1860's, one
feels secure in assuming the madman's writing had a
marked effect on Swinburne as a novelist.
Swinburne himself admitted a debt to Sade, and
mentioned him on several occasions in his later poetry.
Also, some of the minor characters in Lesbia Brandon
appear to have at least perfunctory roots in Justine or
La Philosophie dans le boudoir. Again, no characters in
Lesbia Brandon are exact mirror images of Sade's charac
ters; Swinburne's sense of art prevented him from sinking
47
to the level of debauchery which Sade maintained. One
can see the shadows of Rodin, Juliette, Bressac, and
Madame de Saint-Ange in Denham, Leonora, Linley, and
Lady Midhurst, but it would be an error to try to place
these characters in a one-to-one relationship. Although
similarities in style and characterization are somewhat
vague in a comparison of Swinburne and Sade, I think they
exist in adequate proportions, especially when one con
siders the fact that Sade's work was relatively new to
Swinburne, When one places the similarities and differ
ences in their proper perspectives, it becomes quite evi
dent that Sade had a notable influence on Swinburne as
he created certain portions of Lesbia Brandon.
CHAPTER IV
SIGNIFICANCE
It has been my primary intent to develop two prob
able sources for the material found in Lesbia Brandon.
There are doubtlessly other sources, some obvious and
some rather vague; a few have been dealt with in detail
in other places. It seems appropriate to discuss briefly
two of these additional sources as they are related to the
idea of sexual abnormality which is so prevalent in the
novel. These additional sources are not intended to be
developed in detail but do deserve at least succinct men
tion.
There is no doubt that the French novelist Honore
Balzac (1899-1850) had a good deal of influence on Swin
burne in general and on the writing of Lesbia Brandon in
particular. Lady Midhurst is an admirer of Balzac, and
it is quite likely that her praise of the author is
actually Swinburne's praise. She says that she finds
in Balzac:
See Hughes' "Commentary" in his edition of Lesbia Brandon for a discussion of other possible sources.
48
49
"Lightening, and a noise of water and wind," she said, with a faint inflection of the mock-epic sort: "sounds and sights worth attention in their way. Reading this man's prose is all but seeing a battle. Reading Balzac is all but eating the fruit of knowledge and seeing men with the eyes and the sense of gods."2
Balzac explored dark areas in human relationships;
many of his novels and stories deal with sexual abnormali
ties. Swinburne is known to have read Balzac extensively
while at Oxford; two of Balzac's stories in particular
can be linked to Lesbia Brandon. These are "Seraphita"
3 and "Sarrasine." The latter, like Lesbia Brandon, is
concerned with love that cannot be fulfilled because of
homosexual problems. Balzac is in turn supposed to have
been influenced by an earlier French writer, and we cannot
know how far back in French literature some of the sources
for Swinburne's novel may be found. We do know that Swin
burne was consciously copying Balzac's style; in an early
description of Lesbia Brandon he refers to it as "a sort
4 of etude a la Balzac plus the poetry,"
This is in keeping with Swinburne's desire to shock
his country with Lesbia Brandon, since Balzac was in dis
repute in England at the time the novel was being composed
2
Lesbia Brandon, p. 255.
Hughes, p. 403.
^Letters, I, p. 224,
50
By the end of the century, Balzac was hailed as a genius,
but in the 1860's his novels were still being shunned as
5 unfit literature. This is one reason why Swinburne
admired him.
There is one character in the novel who is given
considerable mention, yet who serves no useful purpose.
This man is Attilio Mariani, a crippled Italian revolu
tionary who at the time of the novel lives in England.
There is little doubt that he is drawn from Mazzini, the
exiled Italian patriot whom Swinburne idolized in his later
poetry, notably in "A Song of Italy," There are some dif
ferences between Mariani and Mazzini: the former is de
picted as a rather tragic failure, while the latter was
considered a hero by Swinburne. Possibly the explanation
is that Swinburne barely knew Mazzini when Lesbia Brandon
was being written, as they did not meet until 1867. It
was not until somewhat later that he began to admire the
Italian in earnest.
The insertion of Mariani (or Mazzini) in Lesbia
Brandon reinforces an important aspect of Swinburne's
masochism: that of hero worship. A person with maso
chistic tendencies often focuses abnormal amounts of
5 Clarence R. Decker, The Victorian Conscience
(New York: Twayne Publishers, 1952), p, 61,
"Samuel C, Chew, Swinburne (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1929), p, 100,
51
admiration on some popular or spectacular figure, and
Swinburne was no exception. Throughout his life Swin
burne engaged in hero worship of one type or another,
childishly idolizing one person for a time, then turning
to another with equal av7e and praise. This worship can
be seen not only in his relationship with Mazzini, but
also in connection with Rossetti, Milnes, Adah Menken,
and others. Since this hero worship is in fact connected
with a type of sexual abnormality, it is not unusual that
an example of it occurs in Lesbia Brandon. Although
Mariani and Mazzini differ in some ways, the similarities
between the two men are too obvious to be merely coinci
dental.
The question naturally arises as to the validity
of exploring possible source material for such an obscure
novel. It is true that the novel is, in the strictest
sense, unfinished; it was never published as a complete
unit during Swinburne's life. It would seem that a study
of the sources for Lesbia Brandon would only benefit those
specifically interested in the life and work of Swinburne,
but this is not the case, A study of this novel can help
anyone trying to comprehend the overall literary output
of Swinburne. The themes which Swinburne took up in
7 Adah Isaacs Menken was an American performer from
New Orleans who rode a horse on stage in her presentation of Byron's "Mazeppa."
52
Lesbia Brandon are repeated later in his poetry, and
although they are perhaps more artistically handled and
subtly presented, they are undoubtedly the same themes:
homosexuality and sadism.
Some of Swinburne's well-knov/n poetry embodies
the themes prevalent in Lesbia Brandon, Poems and Bal
lads , published in 1866 at about the same time as the
major work on the novel was being done, contains ideas
which may be seen in more detail in Lesbia Brandon. In
one of the poems in the volume, "The Triumph of Time,"
Swinburne admits his abnormality and asserts his love for
the sea, a love he recreated in Herbert Seyton:
O fair green-girdled mother of mine. Sea, that art clothed with the sun and the rain. Thy sweet hard kisses are strong like wine. Thy large embraces are keen like pain. Save me and hide me with all thy waves. Find me one grave of thy thousand graves. Those pure cold populous graves of thine g Wrought without hand in a world without stain.
In "Faustine," another poem in the collection,
the concept of a "shameless, nameless love," or Lesbian
ism, is discussed:
Stray breaths of Sapphic song that blew Through Mitylene Shook the fierce quivering blood in you By night, Faustine,
The shameless, nameless love that makes Hell's iron gin
o
Complete Works, I, p. 177,
53
Shut on you like a trap that breaks The soul, Faustine.^
Still another poem, "Dolores," parallels the chap
ter in Lesbia Brandon titled "Via Dolorosa," This poem
is subtitled "Our Lady of Pain," and is involved with
masochism, Sade is mentioned in "Dolores" as a "prophet":
Did he lie? did he laugh? does he know it. Now he lies out of reach, out of breath. Thy prophet, thy preacher, thy poet. Sin's child by incestuous Death? Did he find out in fire at his waking, Or discern as his eyelids lost light, When the bands of the body were breaking And all came in sight?10
"Sapphics," also in Poems and Ballads, again takes
up the theme of Lesbianism. The poem praises Sappho, a
Greek poetess who lived on the island of Lesbos. There
is a connection between her and Lesbia Brandon, "poetess
and pagan." Lesbia's greatest gift is her poetic ability;
in comparison, we are told that Sappho, the tenth muse,
, . . sang wonderful things they knew not. Ah the tenth, the Lesbian! the nine were silent, None endured, the sound of her song for weeping; Laurel by laurel, . . . - ^
The list could continue, because throughout his
life Swinburne returned to these abnormal themes in his
poetry. Although he wrote about countless other subjects
Q
Complete Works, I, p. 242.
•^^Ibid, , p, 296.
^^Ibid,, p. 334.
54
and produced beautiful verses which contained normal or
at least acceptable themes, homosexuality, sadism, and
masochism always managed to reappear from time to time.
Toward the end of his life, his literary output and way
of living were carefully controlled by Watts-Dunton,
which accounts for a mellowing of tone and the absence
of unusual topics in Swinburne's poetry. In fact, one
reason why Lesbia Brandon was never published was that
Watts-Dunton suppressed it and even refused to return
certain portions of the manuscript to Swinburne. However,
as long as Swinburne had control over what he published,
the idea of perverted, abnormal love came up again and
again.
This thematic repetition then gives validity to
a source study of Lesbia Brandon, for an understanding
of the sources of the novel provides us with a better
grasp of some of Swinburne's later poetry. Lesbia
Brandon is a concise and direct collection of themes
which become scattered and less obvious in other works.
Swinburne's abnormal childhood, his masochism, his con
nection with Milnes, his admiration of Sade, and his
intense hero worship all can be seen in capsule form in
Lesbia Brandon.
Artistically speaking, the novel fails. This
failure is due to its fragmentary nature and to the many
excesses in the work. Perhaps Swinburne never wrote the
55
missing sections of Lesbia Brandon because he fulfilled
his purpose in the portions that are in existence. Even
if the missing portions were to be found, the novel would
not be much improved.
However, the quality of the novel is not the
important focal point in this study. Even though Lesbia
Brandon may fail as a novel, it does succeed in giving us
an insight into Swinburne as a poet and as an individual.
We should not hold up Lesbia Brandon as an example by
which to judge Swinburne as an artist, but, with care, we
can quite effectively utilize the novel as a tool for a
better understanding and appreciation of Swinburne's total
literary output.
A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, E. K. and J. 0. Bailey, eds. Victorian Poetry. New York: The Roland Press Co., 1962.
Cassidy, John A. Algernon C. Swinburne. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1964.
Chew, Samuel C. Sv;inburne. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1929.
Daiches, David. Review of The Novels of A. C. Swinburne: Love's Cross-Currents [and] Lesbia Brandon, edited by Edmund Wilson. vTctorian Studies, VII (March, 1964), 314-16.
Decker, Clarence R. The Victorian Conscience. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1952.
Hare, Humphrey. Swinburne: A Biographical Approach. London: H. F. and G. Witherby, 19 49.
Hughes, Randolph, ed. Lesbia Brandon: An Historical and Critical Commentary Being Largely a Study (and Evaluation) of Swinburne as a Novelist. London: The Falcon Press, 1952.
Hyder, Clyde K. Swinburne's Literary Career and Fame. New York: Russell and Russell, New Edition, 1963.
Jordon, John Orr. "The Novels of A. C. Swinburne." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, 1968.
Lafourcade, Georges. La. Jeunesse de Swinburne. 2 vols. London: Oxford University Press, 1929.
. Swinburne; A Literary Biography. London: Oxford University Press, 1932.
Lang, Cecil Y., ed. The Swinburne Letters. 6 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959-1962.
56
57
Lindsay, Jack. "Swinburne the Novelist," The Twentieth Century, CLII (July, 1952), 75-85.
Peters, Robert L. The Crowns of Apollo. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1965.
Rosenburg, John D. "Swinburne," Victorian Studies, XI (December, 1967), 131-52.
Seaver, Richard and Austryn Wainhouse, comp. and trans. The Marquis de Sade. New York: Grove Press, Inc., T96"5.
Swinburne, Algernon Charles. The Complete Works. Bonchurch ed., eds. E. Gosse and T. J. Wise, 20 vols. London: William Heinemenn, Ltd., 19 25-1927.
Welby, T. Earle. A Study of Swinburne. New York: George H. Doran Co., 1926.
Wilson, Edmund, ed. The Novels of A. C. Swinburne: Love's Cross-Currents [and] Lesbia Brandon, with an introduction by the editor. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Cuhady, 1962.
Wise, Thomas J. A Bibliography of the Writings in Prose and Verse of Algernon Charles Swinburne. 2 vols. London: Richard Clay and Sons, Ltd., 1919.
mhi
S
•4v'
•1?"^
^ - -
A-' r
•h >
^
&;
' . < • > '
V
f ' :i,;.l?
ht
?:^:
'4*
w
l ^ < t a i &
i-~^<,; 1 2? i •^ * *' .»!
^ ^S'-
