NOT THE MARRYING KIND
NOT THE MARRYING KIND
They didn’t have out and proud in 1899, but they certainly had gay people.
Probably not a revelation, but definitely a good place to start when we’re talking about Ella Shane’s cousin Tommy Hurley, one of my favorite characters for a bunch of reasons.
He’s a smart businessman, a standup guy, an avid history buff, and a devout Catholic. He’s also “not the marrying kind,” which is how Ella describes him. Close family and friends would know exactly what that meant.
And, since Tommy’s a former boxing champ, anyone who wasn’t close enough to trust with the truth would not ask too many questions. Tommy has a good bit more space to live his life than many gay people did, thanks to the very prejudices that built the closet.
A boxing champion, a big, sturdy handsome fellow, could not possibly be a “sissy,” which was one of the less offensive descriptions of a gay man at the time. Tommy, of course, is well aware of that, since he took a fair amount of playground bullying before he got his full height and polished his right cross.
Ella, by the way, was part of his problem, and his staunchest defender. His kindness to his little orphan cousin (as she was at the time) marked him as “soft” to the tenement bullies, and may have sparked their suspicions. Ella knew it, and threw in on his side anytime she could.
For the adult Tommy, though, life is a lot easier.
And that boxing trophy is a big part of it. The stereotypes of the time mean a fighter is the manliest of the manly. It would be very difficult for anyone to wrap their brain around the idea of him as anything else.
Not just in 1899, either. Part of my inspiration for handling Tommy’s orientation came from an old episode of “All in the Family.” A friend of Archie Bunker’s, played by a very virile Philip Carey, comes out to him…and Archie doesn’t believe it. He can’t process the idea that a “real man” could be gay.
Offensive stereotype for sure, but an opening for a person hoping to live some version of their truth in a closeted time. Tommy takes that opening and builds a life with it.
People assume that he lives with Ella because she needs him to run her business. (Yep, more stereotypes!) Nobody’s especially bothered by his close friendships with other men, either. Remember, in the 1800s, it wasn’t unusual for men or women to have intense same-sex friendships that they experienced and discussed in terms we would consider almost romantic.
Those friendships, by the way, are exactly that, most of the time. Tommy’s best friend, Father Michael Riley, is emotionally closer to him than anyone – including Ella. But there’s nothing else going on; as observant Catholics, neither Tommy nor Father Michael would even consider the possibility that there could be. As far as Tommy’s concerned, Father Michael’s heart belongs to God. Full stop.
But, things are a little different with Cabot Bridgewater. The patrician uncle of one of Ella’s stage-door johnnies, he shares Tommy and Ella’s interests in books, baseball and making the world a better place. Cabot, who’s never been married and has none of the usual nasty habits of rich single men, has been hanging around Washington Square a lot lately. We may be seeing more of him…
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments.
They didn’t have out and proud in 1899, but they certainly had gay people.
Probably not a revelation, but definitely a good place to start when we’re talking about Ella Shane’s cousin Tommy Hurley, one of my favorite characters for a bunch of reasons.
He’s a smart businessman, a standup guy, an avid history buff, and a devout Catholic. He’s also “not the marrying kind,” which is how Ella describes him. Close family and friends would know exactly what that meant.
And, since Tommy’s a former boxing champ, anyone who wasn’t close enough to trust with the truth would not ask too many questions. Tommy has a good bit more space to live his life than many gay people did, thanks to the very prejudices that built the closet.
A boxing champion, a big, sturdy handsome fellow, could not possibly be a “sissy,” which was one of the less offensive descriptions of a gay man at the time. Tommy, of course, is well aware of that, since he took a fair amount of playground bullying before he got his full height and polished his right cross.
Ella, by the way, was part of his problem, and his staunchest defender. His kindness to his little orphan cousin (as she was at the time) marked him as “soft” to the tenement bullies, and may have sparked their suspicions. Ella knew it, and threw in on his side anytime she could.
For the adult Tommy, though, life is a lot easier.
And that boxing trophy is a big part of it. The stereotypes of the time mean a fighter is the manliest of the manly. It would be very difficult for anyone to wrap their brain around the idea of him as anything else.
Not just in 1899, either. Part of my inspiration for handling Tommy’s orientation came from an old episode of “All in the Family.” A friend of Archie Bunker’s, played by a very virile Philip Carey, comes out to him…and Archie doesn’t believe it. He can’t process the idea that a “real man” could be gay.
Offensive stereotype for sure, but an opening for a person hoping to live some version of their truth in a closeted time. Tommy takes that opening and builds a life with it.
People assume that he lives with Ella because she needs him to run her business. (Yep, more stereotypes!) Nobody’s especially bothered by his close friendships with other men, either. Remember, in the 1800s, it wasn’t unusual for men or women to have intense same-sex friendships that they experienced and discussed in terms we would consider almost romantic.
Those friendships, by the way, are exactly that, most of the time. Tommy’s best friend, Father Michael Riley, is emotionally closer to him than anyone – including Ella. But there’s nothing else going on; as observant Catholics, neither Tommy nor Father Michael would even consider the possibility that there could be. As far as Tommy’s concerned, Father Michael’s heart belongs to God. Full stop.
But, things are a little different with Cabot Bridgewater. The patrician uncle of one of Ella’s stage-door johnnies, he shares Tommy and Ella’s interests in books, baseball and making the world a better place. Cabot, who’s never been married and has none of the usual nasty habits of rich single men, has been hanging around Washington Square a lot lately. We may be seeing more of him…
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments.
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