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The Unlit Lamp
This novel portrays the love - and hate - that can exist between women. Joan's mother binds her daughter to her with hoops of steel, a trap which nothing can spring no career, no man and certainly no woman.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1924
About the author
Radclyffe Hall
77 books379 followersMarguerite Antonia Radclyffe Hall (12 August 1880 – 7 October 1943) was an English poet and author, best known for the novel The Well of Loneliness, a groundbreaking work in lesbian literature. In adulthood, Hall often went by the name John, rather than Marguerite.
In the drawing rooms of Edwardian society, Marguerite made a small name as a poet and librettist. In 1907, she met a middle-aged fashionable singer, Mrs. Mabel Batten, known as 'Ladye", who introduced her to influential people. Batten and Radclyffe Hall entered into a long-term relationship. But before Batten died in 1916, Radclyffe Hall, known in private as 'John', had taken up with the second love of her life, Una, Lady Troubridge, who gave up her own creative aspirations (she was the first English translator of the French novelist Colette) to manage the household which she shared with 'John' for 28 years. With Batten, Radclyffe Hall converted to Catholicism; in the company of Una, she pursued an interest in animals and spiritualism. In later life, Radclyffe Hall chased after a younger woman named Evguenia Souline, a White Russian refugee. She died from cancer of the colon in October 1943.
As Radclyffe Hall (no hyphen; prefixed neither by 'John' nor 'Marguerite'), she published a volume of stories, Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself (1934), which describes how British society utilised 'masculine' women during the First World War and then dropped them afterwards, and a total of seven novels. However, the novel on which Radclyffe Hall's reputation rests primarily is The Well of Loneliness (1928).
The novel was successfully prosecuted for obscenity when if first came out, and remained banned in Britain until 1948. Vilified as 'the bible of lesbianism' by fire-and-brimstone reactionaries. In the seventies, the halcyon days of radical feminism, it was hailed as the first portrayal of a 'butch' woman.
In the drawing rooms of Edwardian society, Marguerite made a small name as a poet and librettist. In 1907, she met a middle-aged fashionable singer, Mrs. Mabel Batten, known as 'Ladye", who introduced her to influential people. Batten and Radclyffe Hall entered into a long-term relationship. But before Batten died in 1916, Radclyffe Hall, known in private as 'John', had taken up with the second love of her life, Una, Lady Troubridge, who gave up her own creative aspirations (she was the first English translator of the French novelist Colette) to manage the household which she shared with 'John' for 28 years. With Batten, Radclyffe Hall converted to Catholicism; in the company of Una, she pursued an interest in animals and spiritualism. In later life, Radclyffe Hall chased after a younger woman named Evguenia Souline, a White Russian refugee. She died from cancer of the colon in October 1943.
As Radclyffe Hall (no hyphen; prefixed neither by 'John' nor 'Marguerite'), she published a volume of stories, Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself (1934), which describes how British society utilised 'masculine' women during the First World War and then dropped them afterwards, and a total of seven novels. However, the novel on which Radclyffe Hall's reputation rests primarily is The Well of Loneliness (1928).
The novel was successfully prosecuted for obscenity when if first came out, and remained banned in Britain until 1948. Vilified as 'the bible of lesbianism' by fire-and-brimstone reactionaries. In the seventies, the halcyon days of radical feminism, it was hailed as the first portrayal of a 'butch' woman.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
November 3, 2014
‘Joan! I don’t know you awfully well , and of course you’re only a kid as yet, but Elizabeth says you’re clever— and don’t you let yourself be bottled.’
‘Bottled?’ she queried.
‘Don’t you get all cramped up and fuggy, like one does when one sits over a fire all day. I know what I mean, it sounds all rot, only it isn’t rot. You look out! I have a presentiment that they mean to bottle you.’
I figured I would The Unlit Lamp before attempting Radclyffe Hall's more famous (or infamous) work The Well of Loneliness - simply because I wanted to see where her writing was coming from without having any expectations.
Radclyffe Hall doesn't quite manage to impress with her writing - there is a lot of telling rather than showing going on and a lot of repetition - but, to my surprise, I really liked The Unlit Lamp for being such an anti-hero of a book.
It is as depressing as any Hardy novel I have read, and even when read as a kind of cautionary tale about wasted lives, selfishness, responsibility, and infuriating parental manipulation, the story kept its pace until the very last.
Now I am still not sure who I want to slap more - Elizabeth or her mother.
‘Bottled?’ she queried.
‘Don’t you get all cramped up and fuggy, like one does when one sits over a fire all day. I know what I mean, it sounds all rot, only it isn’t rot. You look out! I have a presentiment that they mean to bottle you.’
I figured I would The Unlit Lamp before attempting Radclyffe Hall's more famous (or infamous) work The Well of Loneliness - simply because I wanted to see where her writing was coming from without having any expectations.
Radclyffe Hall doesn't quite manage to impress with her writing - there is a lot of telling rather than showing going on and a lot of repetition - but, to my surprise, I really liked The Unlit Lamp for being such an anti-hero of a book.
It is as depressing as any Hardy novel I have read, and even when read as a kind of cautionary tale about wasted lives, selfishness, responsibility, and infuriating parental manipulation, the story kept its pace until the very last.
Now I am still not sure who I want to slap more - Elizabeth or her mother.
February 14, 2012
Radclyffe Hall is one of my guilty pleasures. I just can't resist those honest, intense, miserable lesbians.
The Unlit Lamp is the usual early 20th-Century tale of gay women who sacrifice their happiness to satisfy the wants and expectations of others, resulting in unhappiness all round and painful martyrdom for the central characters, who turn down every happiness offered them.
The Unlit Lamp is the usual early 20th-Century tale of gay women who sacrifice their happiness to satisfy the wants and expectations of others, resulting in unhappiness all round and painful martyrdom for the central characters, who turn down every happiness offered them.
May 30, 2022
Wow. The introduction said this had trouble selling because of how gloomy it was, so I expected some gloom, but God I seriously underestimated the amount Hall would put in this novel! Things really went downhill. There were hopes for our protagonist, but no...This was seriously depressing. Also, my intro said that the only novel of Hall that had overt lesbian themes was The Well of Loneliness, and I definitely have to disagree - The Unlit Lamp is pretty obviously gay. Dunno what they meant by "overt" - this seemed incredibly overt to me. Although, I do look forward to reading The Well of Loneliness when I can get my hands on a copy.
January 4, 2018
Exquisitely written. Completely depressing. I loved it.
September 19, 2009
The Unlit Lamp, the story of Joan Ogden, a young girl who dreams of setting up a flat in London with her friend Elizabeth (a so-called Boston marriage) and studying to become a doctor, but feels trapped by her manipulative mother's emotional dependence on her. It's grim, you want to shake Joan so much, but Radclyffe Hall writes the story not just for this one character but for all women whose lives are lived in quiet desperation submitting to the will of others. A powerful story to make anyone hesitant to jump at the chances life offers us.
July 25, 2011
I loved this book so much. It may be the most depressing book I've ever read but it was brilliant! Not knowing much going in really helped. It was about two sisters growing up at the end of the 19th century. Both had dreams, one wanted to go to the Royal Collge of Music and play the violin, the other, a tall thin boyish girl, wanted to study and become a doctor. But they lived in a deadend town with selfish parents. The characterisation was just perfect. When I read the Well of loneliness I completely identified with Stephen. But when I read this I totally saw my mother in Mrs Ogden. She was selfish, melodramatic, passive-aggressive, needy, snobby, superior. It was almost painful to read. Of course my mother didn't have the obsessive love that Mrs Ogden did, but apart from that. She was truly evil. Then there was Elizabeth the governess who had fallen in love with Joan and just wanted her to live her dreams and move to London with her, and was wonderful and patient but in the end had to salvage her sanity. Milly the younger sister who was meant to be silly but I liked her anyway because she managed to do the things she wanted and was talented and tragic. And then there was Joan who was the saddest thing ever. Her story was not meant to have ended the way it did. But then this book was a warning to lesbians and other girls that you must have the strength to do the things you want to or life will become unbearable. I think if I had a time travel device I would send this book back to my 16 year old self. But then luckily I was able to leave home and go and live with my best friend and though I worried about leaving my sisters behind I did what was best and it all worked out ok in the end. But I digress, this book was so beautiful and sad. So full of women struggling against the world, and failing. I loved the not so subtle subtext of the book. The hope that was the two young girls at the end, the randomness of Claudine showing up, the sad tragic lesbians that weren't able to find happiness because they wanted to live in London together instead of getting married and how no one understood that. Except perhaps the man who wanted to marry Joan and understood the terrible way people clung to each other and stopped them doing the things they wanted to do. In a way I'm sad I read this in January as I don't think I'm going to read a book I love as much as this for the rest of the year.
March 22, 2020
Although I got quite involved with the main character Joan in this, Radclyffe Hall's second novel, I did find the whole thing a bit depressing. Mostly set in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it follows Joan from a young girl, living with her younger sister and parents in a seaside town that Morrissey would say many years later 'they forgot to close down'. Joan is full of potential - intellectually at least, which is not at the top of her parents' list of favoured attributes. The book is described as being about the love between mother and daughter, but also between sisters and friends, it is the first which is the most powerful and the one that has the biggest influence on Joan's life. The suggestions are of course made as to how life should have been for women in her situation, but I suspect this was more typical of the reality they experienced than other contemporary novels about women who did manage to break free from societal expectations.
July 8, 2025
uffff q horror, no quiero decir nada más de este libro, al menos de momento ajajajaj pero menudo horror enserio
2/10
2/10
September 25, 2017
El título original que Radclyffe Hall dio a Casi un amor fue The Unlit Lamp; no suelo entrar en la cuestión de la traducción de títulos, pero en este caso me ha llamado la atención, y no porque piense que esta no refleje, aunque sea en parte, la esencia del libro, sino porque creo que el original engloba todos los aspectos que trata la novela, cosa que el de la versión castellana, en mi opinión, no hace.
El libro narra la historia de Joan Ogden, una joven de finales del siglo XIX que lucha entre su deseo de libertad y la influencia que su madre ejerce sobre ella con la finalidad de atarla a su lado para siempre. La libertad que Joan persigue —con mayor o menor intensidad según el fragmento de la novela— consiste en escapar de Seabourne, el pequeño pueblo inglés donde vive con su madre y su hermana, y marcharse a Londres a estudiar medicina y a compartir su vida con Elizabeth. A medida que avanza la trama vemos cómo la relación entre Joan y Elizabeth, que llega a la casa de los Ogden como institutriz de las niñas, va evolucionando hasta convertirse en algo diferente al trato habitual entre una profesora y su alumna y que, aunque no llegue a mencionarse con todas las letras, implica un enamoramiento correspondido por las dos partes, del que la madre de Joan —entre nosotros: un bicho malo y egoísta— se da buena cuenta y trata de boicotear por medio del chantaje emocional a una hija con serias dificultades para negar nada a su pobre y delicada madre, que la necesita y a la que no puede abandonar.
El motivo por el que creo mejor el título original que el de la traducción es que Joan da muestras de ser una chica especial, no solo por desviarse del canon de feminidad del momento —a diferencia de su hermana Milly, que es bonita, encantadora y una virtuosa del violín, todo ello muy deseable en una chica de la época, Joan es desgarbada, lleva el pelo corto y está más interesada en la ciencia, Oh! Horreur!— sino por el talento y la inteligencia que, junto con la constancia con la que trabaja, la harían brillar con luz propia. Si consiguiera romper la atadura que la liga a una madre que quiere retenerla en el agujero en el que viven sin importar lo desgraciada que su hija vaya a ser. Si no, no —el título inglés es ya, en sí, un pedazo de spoiler, pero ¿no te parece acertado?—. Joan pierde, a través de la relación con su madre, su libertad, su desarrollo intelectual y personal y, por supuesto, su relación amorosa con Elizabeth. Todas estas cosas cabrían dentro de la luz de esa lámpara que, efectivamente, no se llega a encender. Y que conste que sí que me siento un poco culpable al contarte cómo acaban las cosas para Joan, ya que durante toda la novela he estado preguntándome si sería capaz de mandar a su madre a hacer puñetas y largarse a vivir su propia vida de una vez —si finalmente te decides a leerla entenderás perfectamente el porqué de mi odio al personaje de la señora Ogden—, sufriendo durante toda la lectura la frustración de ver claramente cómo Joan desecha una a una todas las oportunidades que otros personajes le brindan para escapar de allí.
He puesto a este post la etiqueta de literatura lésbica por dos razones: una, que, efectivamente, y aunque de forma velada, lo que la autora describe es una relación amorosa entre dos mujeres —casta y pura hasta donde el texto llega, eso sí— y, dos, que la misma Radclyffe Hall era una reconocida lesbiana y escribió El pozo de la soledad, una novela que, por abordar abiertamente el tema, le acarreó no pocos problemas con la justicia y de la que espero poder hablarte en breve porque, sí, acabo de hacerme con ella.
El libro narra la historia de Joan Ogden, una joven de finales del siglo XIX que lucha entre su deseo de libertad y la influencia que su madre ejerce sobre ella con la finalidad de atarla a su lado para siempre. La libertad que Joan persigue —con mayor o menor intensidad según el fragmento de la novela— consiste en escapar de Seabourne, el pequeño pueblo inglés donde vive con su madre y su hermana, y marcharse a Londres a estudiar medicina y a compartir su vida con Elizabeth. A medida que avanza la trama vemos cómo la relación entre Joan y Elizabeth, que llega a la casa de los Ogden como institutriz de las niñas, va evolucionando hasta convertirse en algo diferente al trato habitual entre una profesora y su alumna y que, aunque no llegue a mencionarse con todas las letras, implica un enamoramiento correspondido por las dos partes, del que la madre de Joan —entre nosotros: un bicho malo y egoísta— se da buena cuenta y trata de boicotear por medio del chantaje emocional a una hija con serias dificultades para negar nada a su pobre y delicada madre, que la necesita y a la que no puede abandonar.
El motivo por el que creo mejor el título original que el de la traducción es que Joan da muestras de ser una chica especial, no solo por desviarse del canon de feminidad del momento —a diferencia de su hermana Milly, que es bonita, encantadora y una virtuosa del violín, todo ello muy deseable en una chica de la época, Joan es desgarbada, lleva el pelo corto y está más interesada en la ciencia, Oh! Horreur!— sino por el talento y la inteligencia que, junto con la constancia con la que trabaja, la harían brillar con luz propia. Si consiguiera romper la atadura que la liga a una madre que quiere retenerla en el agujero en el que viven sin importar lo desgraciada que su hija vaya a ser. Si no, no —el título inglés es ya, en sí, un pedazo de spoiler, pero ¿no te parece acertado?—. Joan pierde, a través de la relación con su madre, su libertad, su desarrollo intelectual y personal y, por supuesto, su relación amorosa con Elizabeth. Todas estas cosas cabrían dentro de la luz de esa lámpara que, efectivamente, no se llega a encender. Y que conste que sí que me siento un poco culpable al contarte cómo acaban las cosas para Joan, ya que durante toda la novela he estado preguntándome si sería capaz de mandar a su madre a hacer puñetas y largarse a vivir su propia vida de una vez —si finalmente te decides a leerla entenderás perfectamente el porqué de mi odio al personaje de la señora Ogden—, sufriendo durante toda la lectura la frustración de ver claramente cómo Joan desecha una a una todas las oportunidades que otros personajes le brindan para escapar de allí.
He puesto a este post la etiqueta de literatura lésbica por dos razones: una, que, efectivamente, y aunque de forma velada, lo que la autora describe es una relación amorosa entre dos mujeres —casta y pura hasta donde el texto llega, eso sí— y, dos, que la misma Radclyffe Hall era una reconocida lesbiana y escribió El pozo de la soledad, una novela que, por abordar abiertamente el tema, le acarreó no pocos problemas con la justicia y de la que espero poder hablarte en breve porque, sí, acabo de hacerme con ella.
December 29, 2022
As usual, Raddclyffe Hall hits in the feels. I guess a lot of people might think that in this book nothing really happens, but it's so full of layers!!! It's a story about a lesbian girl named Joan who is guilt trapped by her mother into never being able to escape her hometown or her house, she's surrounded by selfish family members 'till the end. In all that rottenness, Elizabeth is a beacon of hope for the future, she wants to help her to be free and move to London and live together. There's so much love between the two of them and so much confussion until the both of them realize they want to be together and decipher their feelings for each other. The story might be really paused and frustrating, but it's the perfect way of writing such a suffocating story because you end up wanting to help Joan too. And I know most characters are annoying and flawed and that's the reason this story feels so real and why I loved it so much, and I obviously see myself in Joan but also in Elizabeth. As a queer person who is a hopeless romantic, the give and take of their love language and actions had me sobbing, because it was all so subtle but so loud. And not gonna lie, this is a love story that has a miserable outcome and journey, but god knows I love two gay martyrs more than anyone because I'm a period drama emo.
September 23, 2013
My second outing reading Radclyffe Hall (I had previously read the infamous The Well of Loneliness) and as with the other novel, I loved this book. So much feels preordained as the novel begins, but it's a page-turner nonetheless. Grappling head-on with the subjugation of women (within their own families) in a time not-so-distant from our own, the book particularly addresses the feelings of alienness gay people must certainly have felt as they recognized their own desires as different from the society at large. The Unlit Lamp strikes me as a better-written work than The Well of Loneliness--but it's equally powerful, and if Hall occasionally stumbles, it feels of a piece with her clear characterizations--many of the characters strive to break precedent and tradition in their own ways and time and again these characters stumble as well.
Heartfelt, heartbreaking, and very engaging; I highly recommend it.
Heartfelt, heartbreaking, and very engaging; I highly recommend it.
May 1, 2017
This book put me in a chokehold and refused to let go. Painfully pertinent, it focusses on love as a means of control and suffocation. Main character Joan is bound by her family, and disallowed not only to live her own life, but to realise she is deserved of her own life at all. It's a thing I've never read about before; families are sources of nurturance or they're so hateful as to demand escaping at the first opportunity. This book combines the two in a more nuanced situation that reflects what a lot of people experience, but don't feel they have the right to articulate: A family whose love for you keeps you bound and eventually becomes so hateful, yet your love for them makes them inescapable.
This book articulated and gave validation to some of my own personal experiences, helping me feel less alone, and in that it was both intensely sad but also necessary. One of the most important books I've read in a long time.
This book articulated and gave validation to some of my own personal experiences, helping me feel less alone, and in that it was both intensely sad but also necessary. One of the most important books I've read in a long time.
July 14, 2016
Absolutely beautiful human insight. I don't think am so lucky that a college professor made me read Radclyffe Hall. You share the experiences with all of her characters so tangibly. I feel like there should be more Radclyffe Hall and Willa Cather in schools less Catcher in the Rye.
October 5, 2022
Free download available at Project Gutenberg
I made the proofing of this book for Free Literature and Project Gutenberg will publish it.
This book was recommended by Wanda. Thanks dear friend!!
I made the proofing of this book for Free Literature and Project Gutenberg will publish it.
This book was recommended by Wanda. Thanks dear friend!!
April 6, 2024
Do you ever catch yourself shouting at the dim-witted characters while watching a horror movie? They seem to consistently make mind-bogglingly stupid decisions, don’t they?
No? Well, then what are you doing with your life? Go watch some pop horror films!
Yes? Ah, you’re in for a treat. You’ll encounter plenty of such moments in this story. Now, let’s keep in mind that this tale is set in the 19th century, so some of the choices made by our main character can be excused due to the extreme societal norms prevailing during that era. However, that doesn’t make them any less unbearable. The number of times I wanted to gauge my hair out in frustration cannot be counted on one hand.
Joan, a girl ensnared in the web of her possessive mother’s control, yearns for freedom. Her mother, a neglected wife, seeks solace by exerting authority over her daughters, bridging the emotional chasm left by her indifferent husband. As Joan’s life unfolds, she encounters two pivotal opportunities for liberation.
In one corner stands the allure a path with a woman that beckons love, resilience, and shared struggles. In the other, a man offers an escape, promising a life unshackled from maternal bonds.
The choice looms before Joan: woman, man, or the familiar chains of her mother’s possessiveness?
The 19th-century backdrop casts shadows on her decisions, where societal norms dictate her fate. Will she defy convention, embrace her own desires, and break free? Or will the weight of tradition and maternal influence hold her captive?
You might assume that I revealed the choice at the start of this review, and in a way, you’d be both right and wrong.
No? Well, then what are you doing with your life? Go watch some pop horror films!
Yes? Ah, you’re in for a treat. You’ll encounter plenty of such moments in this story. Now, let’s keep in mind that this tale is set in the 19th century, so some of the choices made by our main character can be excused due to the extreme societal norms prevailing during that era. However, that doesn’t make them any less unbearable. The number of times I wanted to gauge my hair out in frustration cannot be counted on one hand.
Joan, a girl ensnared in the web of her possessive mother’s control, yearns for freedom. Her mother, a neglected wife, seeks solace by exerting authority over her daughters, bridging the emotional chasm left by her indifferent husband. As Joan’s life unfolds, she encounters two pivotal opportunities for liberation.
In one corner stands the allure a path with a woman that beckons love, resilience, and shared struggles. In the other, a man offers an escape, promising a life unshackled from maternal bonds.
The choice looms before Joan: woman, man, or the familiar chains of her mother’s possessiveness?
The 19th-century backdrop casts shadows on her decisions, where societal norms dictate her fate. Will she defy convention, embrace her own desires, and break free? Or will the weight of tradition and maternal influence hold her captive?
You might assume that I revealed the choice at the start of this review, and in a way, you’d be both right and wrong.
Read
November 24, 2023Puedo llegar a entender el desdén que siente alguna gente hacia Radclyffe Hall porque esta señora solo supo escribir (maravillosamente, he de decir) lesbianas que tienen lo mismo de intensas que de infelices. Las muchachas no dejan de ser un reflejo de lo que deparaba la vida a personas como estas: una vida infeliz, incompleta, lejos de las posibilidades de aquellos que respondían a la norma. He odiado con todas mis fuerzas a la madre y también he querido darle dos guantazos a Joan para que se espabilara, pero a pesar de todo me ha parecido una historia que sirve de reflejo de una realidad que se ha vivido (y probablemente se siga viviendo) durante mucho tiempo.
November 1, 2025
I didn't think this was poorly written but somehow it ended up tedious, melodramatic, and ultimately boring. I never really understood Joan and I kind of wanted the book to be from the mother's perspective. Also, why were Richard and his brother so persistent in loving these lesbians?
I like to hear of other people's struggles with clothes moths.
"Bitter apple, naphthalene, even pepper, was showered all over the house, and every article that could by the wildest stretch of the imagination be supposed to tempt a moth's appetite was wrapped in newspaper and put away weeks before the house was left." (p. 277)
I like to hear of other people's struggles with clothes moths.
"Bitter apple, naphthalene, even pepper, was showered all over the house, and every article that could by the wildest stretch of the imagination be supposed to tempt a moth's appetite was wrapped in newspaper and put away weeks before the house was left." (p. 277)
December 30, 2025
(3.5) extremely harrowing novel about emotional incest and the failures of the nuclear family/the patriarchy in general. however I feel like it could have packed the same tragic punch in 50-75 less pages, the longer it went on the more annoyed I got at everyone involved and it began to drag.
January 1, 2025
Very depressing and sad. Our fortunes are in our own hands. This book is a grim remainder of that.
Read
July 25, 2024damn lesbians and their yearning
March 23, 2016
This was a slow-moving, character-based story about Joan Ogden's life, a girl who's smart and interested in medicine but constantly constrained by her parents, especially her mother's, small-mindedness and clingy love. On the other hand, there's Elizabeth, her teacher, friend and confidante, who grows to love her and who she grows to love.
It's a story about dependence, and being trapped by a person and a place, the desire to move on, move further from what we started with.
Joan feels responsible for her mother, who is the stereotypical naggy, old malade imaginaire type, yet she longs to make something of herself. It culminates in the choice of either staying with her weak mother in a calcifying dreary town, or leaving her to study medicine at Cambridge and live in London together with Elizabeth.
This book moved a little too slowly for me. It was based on the relationship of the characters and circulated around the same question again and again: Will Joan free herself from the trot of her family? It got a bit repetitive and hopelessly obvious after a while. The relationship with Elizabeth was never explicitly romantic (it was published in 1924, after all), but it certainly was, in a way. Joan's definitely a lesbian. And the plans they made and Elizabeth's willingness to sacrifice her time like that, waiting for Joan to make up her mind, just all pointed there. It was enjoyable, in parts. I especially liked the ending, because it felt conclusive and made sense, even if it was just as glum as the rest of the novel.
I'm definitely interested in reading more of Radclyffe Hall's writing.
It's a story about dependence, and being trapped by a person and a place, the desire to move on, move further from what we started with.
Joan feels responsible for her mother, who is the stereotypical naggy, old malade imaginaire type, yet she longs to make something of herself. It culminates in the choice of either staying with her weak mother in a calcifying dreary town, or leaving her to study medicine at Cambridge and live in London together with Elizabeth.
This book moved a little too slowly for me. It was based on the relationship of the characters and circulated around the same question again and again: Will Joan free herself from the trot of her family? It got a bit repetitive and hopelessly obvious after a while. The relationship with Elizabeth was never explicitly romantic (it was published in 1924, after all), but it certainly was, in a way. Joan's definitely a lesbian. And the plans they made and Elizabeth's willingness to sacrifice her time like that, waiting for Joan to make up her mind, just all pointed there. It was enjoyable, in parts. I especially liked the ending, because it felt conclusive and made sense, even if it was just as glum as the rest of the novel.
I'm definitely interested in reading more of Radclyffe Hall's writing.
February 28, 2025
Diferente a la literatura homosexual privilegiadamente androcéntrica, ‘El candil no encendido’ —también llamado ’La lámpara que no ardió’, ‘Casi un amor’, o ‘The Unlit Lamp’ como título original— denuncia el convencionalismo y la tradición patriarcal, viéndose claros los canones restrictivos y el rol servil conferido a la mujer.
Se nos presenta a la inicialmente disidente Joan Ogden y el vínculo disfuncional que tiene con su madre. Con celosa posesión, la señora Ogden debilita el autodominio en su hija mayor mediante recados, quehaceres, y múltiples dolencias ficticias, minando y carcomiendo la exaltación espiritual de Joan, obstaculizando su porvenir independiente nunca estrenado. Contraer matrimonio, ser admitida en la facultad de medicina clínica de Cambridge, y convivir con su íntima “”“amiga’’”””” en un departamento por fuera del ambiente barrial, resultan objetivos inabordables para su hija.
El Santo Grial de la libertad se escapa de las manos protagónicas y se hallan con un complejo de mártir inexpugnable. Joan es desgraciada a la manera ajena, con la ambición, autosuficiencia e iniciativa anuladas. Con la subordinación y el manipulable sentimentalismo surgiendo victoriosos en la rapiña del ser. Cuando pensás que reforzadores positivos externos como Elizabeth Rodney, o Richard Benson, pueden encumbrar y redirigir a Joan a la liberación de su grillete materno-filial, cambiar de rumbo y tomar la curva, la curva se torna esfera. Qué amargor me planta el desenlace cada vez que lo recuerdo…
Se nos presenta a la inicialmente disidente Joan Ogden y el vínculo disfuncional que tiene con su madre. Con celosa posesión, la señora Ogden debilita el autodominio en su hija mayor mediante recados, quehaceres, y múltiples dolencias ficticias, minando y carcomiendo la exaltación espiritual de Joan, obstaculizando su porvenir independiente nunca estrenado. Contraer matrimonio, ser admitida en la facultad de medicina clínica de Cambridge, y convivir con su íntima “”“amiga’’”””” en un departamento por fuera del ambiente barrial, resultan objetivos inabordables para su hija.
El Santo Grial de la libertad se escapa de las manos protagónicas y se hallan con un complejo de mártir inexpugnable. Joan es desgraciada a la manera ajena, con la ambición, autosuficiencia e iniciativa anuladas. Con la subordinación y el manipulable sentimentalismo surgiendo victoriosos en la rapiña del ser. Cuando pensás que reforzadores positivos externos como Elizabeth Rodney, o Richard Benson, pueden encumbrar y redirigir a Joan a la liberación de su grillete materno-filial, cambiar de rumbo y tomar la curva, la curva se torna esfera. Qué amargor me planta el desenlace cada vez que lo recuerdo…
January 23, 2017
I really loved this book about women all trying to escape from their lives and squeezing each other too tight in the process. It was pretty bleak at times, but there were funny bits too, and even when Joan's mother was awful to her, the author stayed sympathetic to her perspective as well. Better yet, it didn't give the impression of victim-blaming or going on the side of the abuser; rather, it indicated that they were all victims of the same system. That message could be a little heavy handed, and similar scenes happened several times, but it was very effective at showing the banality and monotony of the town where Joan lived.
When I read the introduction, I was surprised to learn that Radclyffe Hall didn't think this was a book about lesbians - when she wrote The Well of Loneliness it was because she felt that kind of story hadn't been written yet, or at least not by her. Joan and her teacher Elizabeth are completely devoted to each other, and even plan to move in together, even if they never have sex in the book. Oh well, it was still gay enough to satisfy me!
When I read the introduction, I was surprised to learn that Radclyffe Hall didn't think this was a book about lesbians - when she wrote The Well of Loneliness it was because she felt that kind of story hadn't been written yet, or at least not by her. Joan and her teacher Elizabeth are completely devoted to each other, and even plan to move in together, even if they never have sex in the book. Oh well, it was still gay enough to satisfy me!
December 28, 2013
I think the BBC or A&E should make a film or miniseries based on a book by Radclyffe Hall, preferably The Unlit Lamp or The Well of Loneliness.
The Unlit Lamp is depressing, but don't let that stop you from reading it. According to the author, she was inspired to write this book when she saw an elderly mother with a middle-aged spinster daughter waiting on her. While I don't people sued these clinical terms in the 1920s, it is obvious to me that the protagonist's parents both have major cases of narcissist personality disorder.
The Unlit Lamp is depressing, but don't let that stop you from reading it. According to the author, she was inspired to write this book when she saw an elderly mother with a middle-aged spinster daughter waiting on her. While I don't people sued these clinical terms in the 1920s, it is obvious to me that the protagonist's parents both have major cases of narcissist personality disorder.
January 19, 2018
Even though The Well of Loneliness has some really funky writing, I found it to be a pretty compelling and moving read. This one? It needed some serious editing. The writing wasn't as convoluted as TWoL, but it really should have been tightened up. The story itself was interesting but went a couple of directions, and wound up in a place, that didn't really make the tediousness of it all pay off.
August 4, 2024
I liked this book and will give it 4 stars. I usually gripe about books being too long and I was beginning to have thoughts about that when ploughing into this book but at some point I began to care about what was going to happen (what was the outcome at the end of the book) to the main protagonist in the book, Joan Ogden. She had one terrible mother-from-hell, Mrs. (Mary) Ogden. I can’t say much more beyond that because that would spoil the reading of the book, for those interested in doing so.
The novel that Radclyffe Hall is best known for is ‘The Well of Loneliness’, a novel about characters who were lesbians. It was scandalous when published and there was a trial over it. ‘The Unlit Lamp’, if you ask me, was about a lesbian relationship or a soon-to-be lesbian relationship between Joan and her governess, Elizabeth Rodney.
Reviews:
• (this reviewer didn’t like it but gives away the plot/theme of the book, so be forewarned: https://creative-shadows.com/2014/04/...
• I agree with this reviewer’s assessment: ‘It dragged in the beginning but picked up a bit around the middle once you got used to the claustrophobia of it all’ https://app.thestorygraph.com/book_re...
Note:
• Here is an interesting Wiki link of Radclyffe Hall’s bio — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radclyf.... After reading it, I could see there were some parts of Hall’s life embedded in some of her characters.
• From the Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Lady Troubridge Collection, Radclyffe Hall and Una Vincenzo Troubridge, a notebook containing parts of the novel handwritten! https://hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/digita... (Una Troubridge Troubridge) was a partner (lover) whom she lived with from 1917 to her death in 1943)
The novel that Radclyffe Hall is best known for is ‘The Well of Loneliness’, a novel about characters who were lesbians. It was scandalous when published and there was a trial over it. ‘The Unlit Lamp’, if you ask me, was about a lesbian relationship or a soon-to-be lesbian relationship between Joan and her governess, Elizabeth Rodney.
Reviews:
• (this reviewer didn’t like it but gives away the plot/theme of the book, so be forewarned: https://creative-shadows.com/2014/04/...
• I agree with this reviewer’s assessment: ‘It dragged in the beginning but picked up a bit around the middle once you got used to the claustrophobia of it all’ https://app.thestorygraph.com/book_re...
Note:
• Here is an interesting Wiki link of Radclyffe Hall’s bio — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radclyf.... After reading it, I could see there were some parts of Hall’s life embedded in some of her characters.
• From the Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Lady Troubridge Collection, Radclyffe Hall and Una Vincenzo Troubridge, a notebook containing parts of the novel handwritten! https://hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/digita... (Una Troubridge Troubridge) was a partner (lover) whom she lived with from 1917 to her death in 1943)
July 27, 2026
She got up and walked feverishly about the room. They must swim against the current; it was ridiculous, preposterous that because she did not marry she should be forced to live a crippled existence. What real difference could it possibly make to her mother's loneliness if her daughter shared a flat with Elizabeth instead of with a husband? No difference at all, except in precedent. Then it was only by submitting to precedent that you could be free? What she was proposing seemed cruel now, even to herself; and why? Because it was not softened and toned down by precedent, not wreathed in romance as the world understood romance. 'Good God!' she thought bitterly, 'can there no development of individuality in this world without hurting oneself or someone else?’ She clenched her fists. ‘I don’t care, I don’t care! I’ve a right to my life, and I shall go in August. I defy precedent. I’m Joan Ogden, a law unto myself, and I mean to prove it.’
*Spoiler* At this point in the book I wrote down something like "I'm believing you Joan, don't let me down.." and truly right until the very end I was hopeful. Ugh. *End of spoiler*
Anyway, I enjoyed reading this book so much, Radclyffe Hall has this great ability of making her characters feel so vividly three-dimensional, revealing their flaws, their ugly emotions, their insecurities and fears, as well as their hopes, dreams, and good qualities.
It's especially impressive to me the way she wrote a complex character like Mrs. Ogden, the overbearing narcissistic mother, letting the dialogue speak for her true nature, while Joan's thoughts and feelings about her (more often than not loving and benevolent against all logic) run alongside it throughout the novel.
With this type of writing style and characterization you can't help but feel invested in their lives and their complexities. Therefore, my beloved Virago copy of this is full of scribbles about my annoyance for Mrs. Ogden, my encouragement for Joan and my sympathy for Elisabeth.
I also found the book quite funny at times, especially at the beginning, when you're introduced to all the side characters from Seabourne and can't help but judge them alongside Joan.
I'm going to miss it, it really was one of those books you wish it would never end.
September 29, 2022
Its interesting to me to see the parallels and similarities of the childhood experiences between the main characters of this and the well of loneliness. I was at first surprised to find out half way through reading the unlit lamp that it was written prior the well of loneliness, although now it makes sense. and whilst the overarching stories have a very different concept and direction, to me it feels as though Hall may have taken direct advice from writing the unlit lamp into the writing of the well of loneliness, as despite the unwritten undertones of queer romance and love exist within the unlit lamp, it is thoroughly expanded upon in the well of loneliness.
This book has been quite impactful and reflects my own personal feelings of entrapment within my birthplace, and my own reluctance of finding a brighter future, but within its sorrow it has given me optimism and inspiration to not follow the in the footsteps of joan ogden.
This book has been quite impactful and reflects my own personal feelings of entrapment within my birthplace, and my own reluctance of finding a brighter future, but within its sorrow it has given me optimism and inspiration to not follow the in the footsteps of joan ogden.
July 10, 2024
J'ai adoré l'écriture de Radclyffe Hall. Ses phrases sont bien construites, les choses sont décrites mais sans que cela rendent la lecture complexe.
J'ai vu des commentaires parlé du fait que le bouquin est implicitement lesbien, mais il l'est même explicitement !! C'est écrit que Joan aime Elizabeth, elles sont ""très amies"". Joan dit clairement qu'elle n'est pas capable de se marier (car seulement possible avec un homme à l'époque)
à propos de la fin :
Je suis tellement triste pour Joan. La manipulation de sa mère a bousillé sa vie... Je suis en colère envers sa mère. Aussi j'aurais tellement aimé que quelqu'un vienne ouvrir les yeux de Joan à propos de sa mère, lui montrer la toxicité de la chose et qu'elle quitte de cette relation malsaine. J'ai l'impression qu'Elizabeth l'a réellement fait que dans sa lettre d'adieux... mais il était trop tard
J'ai vu des commentaires parlé du fait que le bouquin est implicitement lesbien, mais il l'est même explicitement !! C'est écrit que Joan aime Elizabeth, elles sont ""très amies"". Joan dit clairement qu'elle n'est pas capable de se marier (car seulement possible avec un homme à l'époque)
à propos de la fin :
Je suis tellement triste pour Joan. La manipulation de sa mère a bousillé sa vie... Je suis en colère envers sa mère. Aussi j'aurais tellement aimé que quelqu'un vienne ouvrir les yeux de Joan à propos de sa mère, lui montrer la toxicité de la chose et qu'elle quitte de cette relation malsaine. J'ai l'impression qu'Elizabeth l'a réellement fait que dans sa lettre d'adieux... mais il était trop tard
July 19, 2026
A real gem of a book, particularly as a predecessor to The Well of Loneliness. If the writing is a little heavy-handed at times, it does not deter from the pathos of a Hamlet-like tragedy of indecision and stagnation. Most striking was the queer protagonist’s bold assertion of her “right to life”. Like The Well, though ultimately tragic, the novel is tinged with glimmers of hope for emancipated [queer] women while foregrounding the “pioneers that got left behind”. Joan will given new life as one of the “millions” entering Stephen’s voice at the end of The Well, finding an afterlife in her tragic martyrdom — recalling the story of her medieval namesake.
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