Restorative Erotica : "Let the Friend, and the Lover Be Handsomely Mixed"

Abstract

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu expected the people of Imperial Britain to respect her choices and her true identity, but because they didn't she was forced into the arms of another country, and furthermore women of other countries. Having empowered herself by transcending typical gender roles of the time, Montagu chose voicelessness in her travels abroad and did so not only to live outside of the elitist status she held in her homeland, but also to allow herself to be physically manipulated and dominated homoerotically, only to have her voice restored in very private letters to her homosexual lovers back home. However, the letters have been edited over time to blur the real experiences and true identity of Lady Mary. Restoration of Montagu's truth reveals many of the characteristics of the subaltern and calls for reconsideration of subaltern identity and theory.