’The masculine soul heaving in the female bosom’: Theories of inversion andThe Well of Loneliness

Abstract

The primary focus of this article is Stephen Gordon, the infamous ‘mannish lesbian’ of Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness. The article argues that conventional critical readings of Stephen Gordon have neglected the transgender aspects of the characterisation. It examines the sexological model of the female ‘invert’, which inspired and informed Hall's character, and demonstrates how theories of inversion failed to distinguish between cross‐gender identification and same‐sex desire. Finally, the article offers a reading of the novel which foregrounds Stephen Gordon's masculine identification, focusing specifically on issues surrounding the character's gendered embodiment.