oa Van het pad af

Strayed from the path. The portrayal of lesbian love in Edith Werkendam’s and Johan de Meester’s prose

Walmende lampen (1921) by Johan de Meester (1860-1931) is one of the first few literary novels that has descriptions of lesbian love. Although the novel addresses several sensitive matters, it was received relatively positive. The appreciation for the depiction of sexually deviant behaviour or perversions in literature was not self-evident: works of contemporary writer Edith Werkendam (1896-1952) received no such acclaim. That difference in reception raises a few questions, to which this article will try to find answers. Aided by the discourse analysis by Dominique Maingueneau both writers’ choice of scenography for the description of their topic, which normative position they take in choosing so and how this suits the contemporary societal discourse regarding homosexuality, will be analysed.