Despised and Rejected is a 1918 novel by Rose Allatini (using the pen name AT Fitzroy) that was banned and pulled off the market for being ‘morally unhealthy’ following a trial of its publisher CW Daniel. The Gay Men’s Press republished the novel in 1988 and the Persephone Press edition that I read came out in 2018. Set during WWI, the novel’s main characters are a bisexual woman named Antoinette and a gay man named Dennis who is also a conscientious objector. The novel begins on the eve of the war and follows these characters over the course of about two years as they come to terms with their sexuality and pacifism — both of which society at large considers ‘abnormal.’
The novel opens in the summer of 1914 amongst a set of wealthy families on holiday. Allatini introduces her readers to the main characters and their privileged socio-economic milieu. These families send their sons to boarding school and university, and throw parties to introduce their daughters to young men of the right background. Antoinette is a young woman who is on friendly terms with the daughters of these families. Her parents and grandmother are French and can be overbearing and stifling to the beautiful and free-spirited Antoinette. As a result, she is always looking for excuses to be away from them and with these girls. Antoinette is very attracted to a woman on one of these excursions, and so Allatini immediately sets up the potential for a lesbian relationship here. Dennis Blackwood is the eldest son of one of these prominent families. Dennis is a budding composer and spends much of his time away from his family amongst his more bohemian friends in London and elsewhere. He is also the black sheep of the family. His younger brothers are much more “manly” in their father’s eyes, but Mrs. Blackwood and younger sister Doreen adore Dennis. When he comes to visit during one of the party weekends, he and Antoinette strike up a relationship that develops throughout the rest of the novel. We learn along with Antoinette that Dennis is gay but that he has always tried to suppress his true nature, knowing that his family and society in general would reject him for it. Dennis initially thinks that if he can somehow make himself have a relationship with Antoinette, he will seem ‘normal’ and life will be easier, but Antoinette is unprepared for this kind of relationship at first. Dennis later meets a young man to whom he is deeply attracted, but he runs away, afraid of following his heart. The relationship between Antoinette and Dennis is full of ups and downs as Dennis battles with himself over his own sexuality and later as Antoinette realizes how deep her feelings for Dennis really are.
Not long after the party where Dennis and Antoinette meet, World War I begins. Naturally, the Blackwoods and other families are completely in support of the war and proud of their sons for signing up to fight. The young women are equally proud of their boyfriends and brothers. Dennis’ younger brother Clive is among the first to sign up, making his father very proud, but Dennis refuses to do so. This creates some uncomfortable moments for Mrs. Blackwood when her friends question Dennis’ patriotism, but she has always had a soft spot for her eldest and cannot be as harsh in judgment as Mr. Blackwood is. Allatini’s depiction of conscientious objectors (COs) and the pacifist movement during the war is outstanding, and it would have probably been shocking, if not offensive, to many readers in 1918. Dennis is part of a larger group of COs who meet to discuss ways to promote pacifism and later to defend themselves when brought up for trial. COs faced accusations of cowardice and lack of patriotism, but in this novel, it is clear that taking a wildly unpopular stance vs family, society and the government required great courage and a willingness to suffer the consequences. And “suffer” is the appropriate word; Allatini describes what sort of things might really happen to COs who not only refused to fight but also refused to take on non-combatant roles, believing that to do so only freed up other men to be sent to the front.
As the novel progresses, we see that time is running out for Dennis and his friends, and that they have a variety of responses to the government’s insistence that they fight. Since this is a WWI novel, there is going to be death. The Blackwoods and other families must face the horrible consequences of this senseless war. Men who were wounded or killed are heroes and their wives/girlfriends/mothers grieve them but are proud. It is here that Antoinette stands quite alone. She is an interesting character. On one hand, while Dennis picked her out early on as being “abnormal” like him, Antoinette never really thought of her inclinations that way. That realization came later for her. She also sees that when she grieves for the brave young men who fought against fighting, and when she sees them die or be locked away, no one recognizes her grief as legitimate. The one person who can see her grief is a friend of Dennis who is sympathetic to the COs. To him Antoinette says,
“Everybody seems to imagine that you’re abnormal because you like being abnormal…. As if being different from normal people weren’t curse enough in itself, without having them think it’s your own choice, and that you enjoy being different.”
This is a pretty powerful statement for 1918, basically telling readers that being gay is not a matter of choice. Allateri has another character make a powerful statement about gay love not long after this:
“For people made as we are it’s natural and it’s beautiful to love as we love, and it’s perversion in the true sense to try and force ourselves to love differently.”
I was surprised and impressed by this novel. Allateri seems to have been far ahead of her time in dealing with matters of sexuality and even geo-politics. The COs in the story say that this “war to end all wars” will do no such thing; it will simply lead to an imbalance of power that will lead to a much worse war later. I highly recommend this novel, particularly if you are interested in WWI literature and stories featuring lesbian/gay/bisexual characters.