User:Aemilius Adolphin/Ned Kelly draft
Patricia Highsmith lead
[edit]Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character Tom Ripley. She wrote 22 novels and numerous short stories in a career spanning nearly five decades, and her work has led to more than two dozen film adaptations. Her writing was influenced by existentialist literature, and questioned notions of identity and popular morality. She was dubbed "the poet of apprehension" by novelist Graham Greene.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, and mostly raised in her infancy by her maternal grandmother, Highsmith moved to New York City at the age of six to live with her mother and step father. After graduating college in 1942, she worked as a writer for comic books while writing her own short stories and novels in her spare time. Her literary breakthrough came with the publication of her first novel Strangers on a Train (1950) which was quickly adapted into a 1951 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Her 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley was well received in the United States and Europe, cementing her reputation as a major exponent of psychological thrillers.
In 1963, Highsmith moved to England where her critical reputation continued to grow. The breakdown of her relationship with a married Englishwoman left her seriously depressed and she moved to France in 1967 to try to rebuild her life. Her sales were now higher in Europe than in the United States which her American agent attributed to her subversion of the conventions of crime fiction. She moved permanently to Switzerland in 1982 where she continued to publish new work that increasingly divided critics. The last years of her life were marked by ill health and she died of aplastic anemia and lung cancer in Switzerland in 1995.
The Times said of Highsmith: "she puts the suspense story in a toweringly high place in the hierarchy of fiction."Bradford2021: 180 Her second novel, The Price of Salt, published under a pseudonym in 1952, was ground breaking for its positive depiction of lesbian relationships and optimistic ending.[Copy old citation]. She remains controversial for her antisemitic, racist and misanthropic statements.
The Price of Salt
Added content. Replaced poorly sourced content. Changed wording to reflect a wider range of sources. See Talk.
Hello all
I have added some content and reworded some content to reflect a wider range of sources. I have replaced some content sourced to blogs with similar content from more reliable sources Wikipedia:Reliable sources. I have change the reference to a "happy ending" to a "hopeful ending" given that Schenkar and Talbot point out that Carol has to give up custody of her child to be with Therese and Highsmith was more cautious about the ending, writing: "it had a happy ending for its two main characters, or at least they were going to try to have a future together." Talbot calls the novel "hopeful". Schenkar calls the ending "almost happy."
Happy to discuss
Carol Bloomsbury paperback[1]
Highsmith, Patricia (2010). "Afterword". Carol (1st paperback ed.). London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781408808979.
Major works (new)
[edit]Highsmith's second novel, The Price of Salt, was published in 1952 under the pen name Claire Morgan.Wilson2003: 171–172 Highsmith partly based the character Therese on herself. Schenkar2009: 49 The novel broke new ground in American lesbian fiction because of its hopeful ending cite:talbot, citeMeaker2003: 1 [a] and departure from lesbian stereotypes.Carlston In what BBC 2's The Late Show presenter Sarah Dunant described as a "literary coming out" after 38 years of disaffirmation,Wilson2003: 441-442 Highsmith finally acknowledged authorship of the novel publicly when she agreed, in 1990, to its republication by Bloomsbury under the title Carol. Highsmith wrote in the "Afterword" to the new edition:
If I were to write a novel about a lesbian relationship, would I then be labelled a lesbian-book writer? That was a possibility, even though I might never be inspired to write another such book in my life. So I decided to offer the book under another name. ...
The appeal of The Price of Salt was that it had a happy ending for its two main characters, or at least they were going to try to have a future together. Prior to this book, homosexuals male and female in American novels had had to pay for their deviation by cutting their wrists, drowning themselves in a swimming pool, or by switching to heterosexuality (so it was stated), or by collapsing – alone and miserable and shunned – into a depression equal to hell.[5]
The paperback version of the novel sold nearly one million copies before its 1990 reissue.[6] The Price of Salt is the only Highsmith novel in which no violent crime takes place[4] and, according to Harrison, the only one where sexual relations are portrayed openly and positively.Harrison 104.
Major works (old)
[edit]Highsmith's second novel, The Price of Salt, was published in 1952 under the pen name Claire Morgan.[7] [Private website. Unreliable source. Can replace cite.]
Highsmith mined her personal life for the novel's content. Its groundbreaking happy ending[2]: 1 [b] [Sources don't say H mined her personal life..." Use Schenkar cite.]
and departure from stereotypical conceptions about lesbians made it stand out in lesbian fiction.[8] [Source is very good Carlston article and this is fair summary of one of its points. But change to "American lesbian fiction"because that's what she is talking about.]
In what BBC 2's The Late Show presenter Sarah Dunant described as a "literary coming out" after 38 years of disaffirmation,[9] [Should be Wilson2003 page 442] Highsmith finally acknowledged authorship of the novel publicly when she agreed to the 1990 publication by Bloomsbury retitled Carol.
Highsmith wrote in the "Afterword" to the new edition:
If I were to write a novel about a lesbian relationship, would I then be labelled a lesbian-book writer? That was a possibility, even though I might never be inspired to write another such book in my life. So I decided to offer the book under another name.
The appeal of The Price of Salt was that it had a happy ending for its two main characters, or at least they were going to try to have a future together. Prior to this book, homosexuals male and female in American novels had had to pay for their deviation by cutting their wrists, drowning themselves in a swimming pool, or by switching to heterosexuality (so it was stated), or by collapsing – alone and miserable and shunned – into a depression equal to hell.[10]
The paperback version of the novel sold nearly one million copies before its 1990 reissue as Carol.[6] [Good article in online magazine.]
The Price of Salt is distinct for also being the only one of Highsmith's novels in which no violent crime takes place,[4] [Very good New Yorker article. A keeper.]
and where her characters have "more explicit sexual existences" and are allowed "to find happiness in their relationship."[11] [These are two quotes torn ut of context from a 24 year old Guardian article. This reads like a personal essay.]
The "Ripliad"
[edit]In 1955, Highsmith wrote The Talented Mr. Ripley, a novel about Tom Ripley, a charming criminal who murders a rich man and steals his identity. Highsmith wrote four sequels: Ripley Under Ground (1970), Ripley's Game (1974), The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980) and Ripley Under Water (1991), about Ripley's exploits as a con artist and serial killer who always gets away with his crimes. The series—collectively called "The Ripliad"—are some of Highsmith's most popular works. [Unsourced. Delete.]
The "suave, agreeable and utterly amoral" Ripley is Highsmith's most famous character, and has been critically acclaimed for being "both a likable character and a cold-blooded killer."[12] [Delete. Article doesn't say this. It is a Guardian reading group article as it is Sam Jordison's own opinion not "critical acclaim".]
He has typically been regarded as "cultivated", a "dapper sociopath", and an "agreeable and urbane psychopath."[13] [Website. Not reliable source. No does it say he has typically been regarded as this, they are just words used in the article.]
Sam Jordison of The Guardian wrote, "It is near impossible, I would say, not to root for Tom Ripley. Not to like him. Not, on some level, to want him to win. Patricia Highsmith does a fine job of ensuring he wheedles his way into our sympathies."[14] [Point can be made more concisely.]
Film critic Roger Ebert made a similar appraisal of the character in his review of Purple Noon, René Clément's 1960 film adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley: "Ripley is a criminal of intelligence and cunning who gets away with murder. He's charming and literate, and a monster. It's insidious, the way Highsmith seduces us into identifying with him and sharing his selfishness; Ripley believes that getting his own way is worth whatever price anyone else might have to pay. We all have a little of that in us."[15] [This is a film review by a film critic.]
Novelist Sarah Waters esteemed The Talented Mr. Ripley as the "one book I wish I'd written."[16] [Who is she?]
According to Schenkar, Highsmith only once gave a direct response to a question about the definition of a murderer. On the British late-night television discussion programme After Dark she said: "Frankly...I'd call them sick if they were murderers, mentally sick".[17] [She wasn't talking about Ripley and this is not what Schenkar was saying, she was saying that H only gave one straight answer on this show.]
The first three books of the "Ripley" series have been adapted into films five times. In 2015, The Hollywood Reporter announced that a group of production companies were planning a television series based on the novels.[18][19] Ripley ultimately premiered on Netflix in 2024, starring Andrew Scott in the title role.[20][21] [Move to adaptation section.]
Political views (old)
[edit]Highsmith described herself as a social democrat.[22] [Replace, Can delete cite.]
She believed in American democratic ideals and in "the promise" of U.S. history, but was also highly critical of the reality of the country's 20th-century culture and foreign policy.[citation needed] Beginning in 1963, she resided exclusively in Europe.[23] She retained her United States citizenship, despite the tax penalties, of which she complained bitterly while living for many years in France and Switzerland.[citation needed] [Delete all this. Unsourced or redundant]
Highsmith was a resolute atheist.[24] [Delete. Can replace cite. A more nuanced view is required based on biographies.]
Although she considered herself a liberal, and in her school years had gotten along with black students,[25] [Keep interview, which is very good. But use for another citation or further reading.]
in later years she believed that black people were responsible for the welfare crisis in America.[26]: 19 [Yes, but can be integrated better.]
She disliked Koreans because "they ate dogs".[22] [Replace text. Can delete cite.]
Highsmith supported Palestinian self-determination.[26] As a member of Amnesty International, she felt duty-bound to express publicly her opposition to the displacement of Palestinians.[26]: 429 Highsmith prohibited her books from being published in Israel after the election of Menachem Begin as prime minister in 1977.[26]: 431 She dedicated her 1983 novel People Who Knock on the Door to the Palestinian people:
To the courage of the Palestinian people and their leaders in the struggle to regain a part of their homeland. This book has nothing to do with their problem.
The inscription was dropped from the U.S. edition with permission from her agent but without consent from Highsmith.[26]: 418 [Cut this. Move citation to earlier line..]
Highsmith contributed financially to the Jewish Committee on the Middle East, an organization that represented American Jews who supported Palestinian self-determination.[26]: 430 She wrote in an August 1993 letter to Meaker: "USA could save 11 million per day if they would cut the dough to Israel. The Jewish vote is 1%."[27]
Although Highsmith was an active supporter of Palestinian rights, according to Carol screenwriter Phyllis Nagy, her expression of this "often teetered into outright antisemitism."[28] [Move cite but careful of duplicating it.]
Highsmith was an avowed antisemite; she described herself as a "Jew hater" and described The Holocaust as "the semicaust" and "Holocaust Inc."[29] [Replace this with
When she was living in Switzerland in the 1980s, she used nearly 40 aliases when writing to government bodies and newspapers deploring the state of Israel and the influence of the Jews.[30] [Replace Winterson review with Schenkar. Can replace all Wilson cites with Wilson2003].
Sexuality (old)
[edit]Highsmith's sexual relationships were predominantly with women.[31][32] [Replace cites to long chapters which don't state this. These cites define <ref name=wilsonyaddo> and <ref name=Schenkargirls>.]
She occasionally engaged in sex with men without physical desire for them, and wrote in her diary: "The male face doesn't attract me, isn't beautiful to me."[33][c][Replace Schenkar cite with Schenkar2009. Delete footnote. The cite and the footnote are the same with same citation.]
She told writer Marijane Meaker in the late 1950s that she had "tried to like men. I like most men better than I like women, but not in bed."[34] [Delete. Has already been said by Nagy.]
In a 1970 letter to her stepfather Stanley, Highsmith described sexual encounters with men as "steel wool in the face, a sensation of being raped in the wrong place—leading to a sensation of having to have, pretty soon, a boewl [sic] movement," stressing, "If these words are unpleasant to read, I can assure you it is a little more unpleasant in bed."[31] [Can replace cite with Wilson2003: 148 ]
Phyllis Nagy described Highsmith as "a lesbian who did not very much enjoy being around other women" and the few sexual dalliances she had had with men occurred just to "see if she could be into men in that way because she so much more preferred their company."[35] [This is fine.]
In 1943, Highsmith had an affair with artist Allela Cornell who, despondent over unrequited love from another woman, died by suicide in 1946 by drinking nitric acid.[36] [Can fix cite. Why mention this and omit other longer and important relationships?]
During her stay at Yaddo, Highsmith met writer Marc Brandel, son of author J. D. Beresford.[31] Even though she told him about her homosexuality,[31] they soon entered into a short-lived relationship.[37] [Rationalise citations to Wilson2003.]
He convinced her to visit him in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he introduced her to Ann Smith, a painter and designer with a previous métier as a Vogue fashion model, and the two became involved.[31] [Can change cite. Too detailed. Move and condense.]
After Smith left Provincetown, Highsmith felt she was "in prison" with Brandel and told him she was leaving. "[B]ecause of that I have to sleep with him, and only the fact that it is the last night strengthens me to bear it." Highsmith, who had never been sexually exclusive with Brandel, resented having sex with him.[38] [Delete. Too detailed. Can delete cite.]
Highsmith temporarily broke off the relationship with Brandel and continued to be involved with several women, reuniting with him after the well-received publication of his new novel. Beginning November 30, 1948, and continuing for the next six months, Highsmith underwent psychoanalysis in an effort "to regularize herself sexually" so she could marry Brandel. The analysis was brought to a stop by Highsmith, after which she ended her relationship with him.[38] [Summarise. Can change cite.]
After ending her engagement to Marc Brandel, she had an affair with psychoanalyst Kathryn Hamill Cohen, the wife of British publisher Dennis Cohen and founder of Cresset Press, which later published Strangers on a Train.[39][40] [Chronology wrong. Rewrite and change references. Delete cites? <ref name=schenkar287-289>(aka les girls pt 2) ]]
To help pay for the twice-a-week therapy sessions, Highsmith had taken a sales job during Christmas rush season in the toy section of Bloomingdale's department store.[38]
Ironically, it was during this attempt to "cure" her homosexuality that Highsmith was inspired to write her semi-autobiographical novel The Price of Salt, in which two women meet in a department store and begin a passionate affair.[41][42][d] [Summarise. Can delete 2 cites but not footnote which includes several cites. These need to be fixed. Footnote can be moved.]
Believing that Brandel's disclosure that she was homosexual, along with the publication of The Price of Salt, would hurt her professionally, Highsmith had an unsuccessful affair with Arthur Koestler in 1950, designed to hide her homosexuality.[46][47] [Remove.This doesn't make sense. It also isn't what Schenkar says, and there is no need to include every time she had sex with someone.]
In early September 1951, she began an affair with sociologist Ellen Blumenthal Hill, traveling back and forth to Europe to meet with her.[48] [Not enough about Hill, her longest relationship.]
When Highsmith and Hill came to New York in early May 1953, their affair ostensibly "in a fragile state", Highsmith began an "impossible" affair with the homosexual German photographer Rolf Tietgens, who had played a "sporadic, intense, and unconsummated role in her emotional life since 1943."[48] [Too much on Tietgens. A minor relationship. Can delete cites.]
She was reportedly attracted to Tietgens on account of his homosexuality, confiding that she felt with him "as if he is another girl, or a singularly innocent man." Tietgens shot several nude photographs of Highsmith, but only one has survived, torn in half at the waist so that only her upper body is visible.[49][48] She dedicated The Two Faces of January (1964) to Tietgens. [Too much on Tietgens. A minor relationship. Can delete cites.]
Between 1959 and 1961, Highsmith was in love with author Marijane Meaker.[50][51] [Delete 2nd cite.]
Meaker wrote lesbian stories under the pseudonym "Ann Aldrich" and mystery/suspense fiction as "Vin Packer", and later wrote young adult fiction as "M. E. Kerr."[51] [Delete. This is in link.]
In the late 1980s, after 27 years of separation, Highsmith began corresponding with Meaker again, and one day showed up on Meaker's doorstep, slightly drunk and ranting bitterly. Meaker later said she was horrified at how Highsmith's personality had changed.[e] [Delete. This isn't a proper citation. Doesn't support content. Also repeats information already in article.]
Highsmith was attracted to women of privilege who expected their lovers to treat them with veneration.[52] [So says Meaker. Delete. Or an be incorporated into broader discussion on what attracted her to people.]
According to Phyllis Nagy, she belonged to a "very particular subset of lesbians" and described her conduct with many women she was interested in as being comparable to a movie "studio boss" who chased starlets. Many of these women, who to some extent belonged to the Carol Aird-type[f] and her social set, remained friendly with Highsmith and confirmed the stories of seduction.[35] [Delete. Poor source and stupid quote. This doesn't make sense. Who is the studio boss? Who is the starlet? Note can also be deleted. The article already explains who Carol Aird is.]
An intensely private person, Highsmith was remarkably open and outspoken about her sexuality.[53][31] [This is nonsense. Can delete sources. Rewrite.]
She told Meaker: "the only difference between us and heterosexuals is what we do in bed."[54] [This is nonsense. And a non sequitur. Can move to somewhere more appropriate.]
Personal life old version
[edit]Highsmith endured cycles of depression, some of them deep, throughout her life. Despite literary success, she wrote in her diary of January 1970: "[I] am now cynical, fairly rich ... lonely, depressed, and totally pessimistic."[55] [Can replace citation.]
Over the years, Highsmith had female hormone deficiency (Hypoestrogenism), anorexia nervosa,[56] chronic anemia, Buerger's disease, and lung cancer.[57] [And many other ailments. Why list them? Can replace citations.]
According to her biographer, Andrew Wilson, Highsmith's personal life was a "troubled one". She was an alcoholic who, allegedly, never had an intimate relationship that lasted for more than a few years, and she was seen by some of her contemporaries and acquaintances as misanthropic and hostile.[58] [Find page reference and incorporate.]
Her chronic alcoholism intensified as she grew older.[59][60][Irish Times article doesn't say her alcoholism worsened as she aged. It just selectively quotes from her diaries. Schenker says H was an alcoholic who drank heavily from her 20s to her death.]
She famously preferred the company of animals to that of people and stated in a 1991 interview, "I choose to live alone because my imagination functions better when I don't have to speak with people."[61] [Remove or revise and move to Relationships section. Non-sequitur. And she said she preferred animals to people several times (not their company - she hated dogs- but several who knew her said she treated animals and people cruelly.]
Otto Penzler, her U.S. publisher through his Penzler Books imprint,[62] [can replace cite.] had met Highsmith in 1983, and four years later witnessed some of her theatrics intended to create havoc at dinner tables and shipwreck an evening.[63] [Can replace cite.] He said after her death that "[Highsmith] was a mean, cruel, hard, unlovable, unloving human being ... I could never penetrate how any human being could be that relentlessly ugly. ... But her books? Brilliant."[64] [Undue weight to one person's opinion. Penzler had a grudge against her.]
Other friends, publishers, and acquaintances held different views of Highsmith. Editor Gary Fisketjon, who published her later novels through Knopf, said that "She was very rough, very difficult ... But she was also plainspoken, dryly funny, and great fun to be around."[64] [Retain.]
Composer David Diamond met Highsmith in 1943 and described her as being "quite a depressed person—and I think people explain her by pulling out traits like cold and reserved, when in fact it all came from depression."[65] [Ok as a balance but these two didn't know her well. Can change cite.]
J. G. Ballard said of Highsmith, "The author of Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley was every bit as deviant and quirky as her mischievous heroes, and didn't seem to mind if everyone knew it."[66] [A stupid comment in a holday filler article. Based on reading Wilson. H was not a psychopathic serial killer.]
Screenwriter Phyllis Nagy, who adapted The Price of Salt into the 2015 film Carol, met Highsmith in 1987 and the two remained friends for the rest of Highsmith's life.[35] Nagy said that Highsmith was "very sweet" and "encouraging" to her as a young writer, as well as "wonderfully funny."[67][68] [So only met her once towards the end of her life.]
She was considered by some as "a lesbian with a misogynist streak."[69] [Weasel words. Possibly move to section on Politics, social views etc.].
Highsmith loved cats, and she bred about three hundred snails in her garden at home in Suffolk, England.[70] Highsmith once attended a London cocktail party with a "gigantic handbag" that "contained a head of lettuce and a hundred snails" which she said were her "companions for the evening."[70] [Trivia taken from Wilson and Schenkar biographiies. Can remove citation.]
She loved woodworking tools and made several pieces of furniture. Highsmith worked without stopping. In later life, she became stooped, with an osteoporotic hump.[48] [Need to preserve Sch 2009 citation, but remove page needed comment]
Though the 22 novels and 8 books of short stories she wrote were highly acclaimed, especially outside of the United States, Highsmith preferred her personal life to remain private.[53] [Random "facts" thrown together. Can remove cite.]
A lifelong diarist, Highsmith left behind eight thousand pages of handwritten notebooks and diaries.[71] [Move to last section of Life.]
Relationships and sexuality (new)
[edit]Sexuality (old)
[edit]As an adult, Patricia Highsmith's sexual relationships were predominantly with women.[31][32] She occasionally engaged in sex with men without physical desire for them, and wrote in her diary: "The male face doesn't attract me, isn't beautiful to me."[33][g] She told writer Marijane Meaker in the late 1950s that she had "tried to like men. I like most men better than I like women, but not in bed."[34] In a 1970 letter to her stepfather Stanley, Highsmith described sexual encounters with men as "steel wool in the face, a sensation of being raped in the wrong place—leading to a sensation of having to have, pretty soon, a boewl [sic] movement," stressing, "If these words are unpleasant to read, I can assure you it is a little more unpleasant in bed."[31] Phyllis Nagy described Highsmith as "a lesbian who did not very much enjoy being around other women" and the few sexual dalliances she had had with men occurred just to "see if she could be into men in that way because she so much more preferred their company."[35]
In 1943, Highsmith had an affair with artist Allela Cornell who, despondent over unrequited love from another woman, died by suicide in 1946 by drinking nitric acid.[36]
During her stay at Yaddo, Highsmith met writer Marc Brandel, son of author J. D. Beresford.[31] Even though she told him about her homosexuality,[31] they soon entered into a short-lived relationship.[37] He convinced her to visit him in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he introduced her to Ann Smith, a painter and designer with a previous métier as a Vogue fashion model, and the two became involved.[31] After Smith left Provincetown, Highsmith felt she was "in prison" with Brandel and told him she was leaving. "[B]ecause of that I have to sleep with him, and only the fact that it is the last night strengthens me to bear it." Highsmith, who had never been sexually exclusive with Brandel, resented having sex with him.[38] Highsmith temporarily broke off the relationship with Brandel and continued to be involved with several women, reuniting with him after the well-received publication of his new novel. Beginning November 30, 1948, and continuing for the next six months, Highsmith underwent psychoanalysis in an effort "to regularize herself sexually" so she could marry Brandel. The analysis was brought to a stop by Highsmith, after which she ended her relationship with him.[38]
After ending her engagement to Marc Brandel, she had an affair with psychoanalyst Kathryn Hamill Cohen, the wife of British publisher Dennis Cohen and founder of Cresset Press, which later published Strangers on a Train.[39][40]
To help pay for the twice-a-week therapy sessions, Highsmith had taken a sales job during Christmas rush season in the toy section of Bloomingdale's department store.[38] Ironically, it was during this attempt to "cure" her homosexuality that Highsmith was inspired to write her semi-autobiographical novel The Price of Salt, in which two women meet in a department store and begin a passionate affair.[41][42][h]
Believing that Brandel's disclosure that she was homosexual, along with the publication of The Price of Salt, would hurt her professionally, Highsmith had an unsuccessful affair with Arthur Koestler in 1950, designed to hide her homosexuality.[46][47]
In early September 1951, she began an affair with sociologist Ellen Blumenthal Hill, traveling back and forth to Europe to meet with her.[48] When Highsmith and Hill came to New York in early May 1953, their affair ostensibly "in a fragile state", Highsmith began an "impossible" affair with the homosexual German photographer Rolf Tietgens, who had played a "sporadic, intense, and unconsummated role in her emotional life since 1943."[48] She was reportedly attracted to Tietgens on account of his homosexuality, confiding that she felt with him "as if he is another girl, or a singularly innocent man." Tietgens shot several nude photographs of Highsmith, but only one has survived, torn in half at the waist so that only her upper body is visible.[49][48] She dedicated The Two Faces of January (1964) to Tietgens.
Between 1959 and 1961, Highsmith was in love with author Marijane Meaker.[50][51] Meaker wrote lesbian stories under the pseudonym "Ann Aldrich" and mystery/suspense fiction as "Vin Packer", and later wrote young adult fiction as "M. E. Kerr."[51] In the late 1980s, after 27 years of separation, Highsmith began corresponding with Meaker again, and one day showed up on Meaker's doorstep, slightly drunk and ranting bitterly. Meaker later said she was horrified at how Highsmith's personality had changed.[i]
Highsmith was attracted to women of privilege who expected their lovers to treat them with veneration.[52] According to Phyllis Nagy, she belonged to a "very particular subset of lesbians" and described her conduct with many women she was interested in as being comparable to a movie "studio boss" who chased starlets. Many of these women, who to some extent belonged to the Carol Aird-type[j] and her social set, remained friendly with Highsmith and confirmed the stories of seduction.[35]
An intensely private person, Highsmith was remarkably open and outspoken about her sexuality.[53][31] She told Meaker: "the only difference between us and heterosexuals is what we do in bed."[54]
Changes
[edit]Her father had not wanted a child and had persuaded her mother to have an abortion. Her mother, once after a failed attempt to abort her by drinking turpentine, decided to divorce Plangman. [source is Schenkar pp 63-64. Remove other superfluous source.] although a biography of Highsmith indicates Jay Plangman tried to persuade his wife to have the abortion but she refused.[3]: 65 Highsmith never resolved this developed a life-love love–hate relationship with her mother, which she fictionalized in "The Terrapin", her short story about a young boy who stabs his mother to death.[3] [Nonsense. H said she didn\t resent the abortion attempt. Schenker p. 64. She started to hate her mother at age 17. Also she doesn't say so crudely that The Terrapin fictionalizes her love/hate relationship with her mother. Sch 102 ] [Moved abortion story to logical place.]
Highsmith's mother predeceased her by only four years, dying at the age of 95.[73] [Move to personal relationships. Use better source. Dead link. MOVE SOURCE TO FURTHER READING.]
Highsmith's grandmother taught her to read at an early age, and she made good use of her grandmother's extensive library. [This wasn't in NYC. Too tangential.]
At the age of nine, she became fascinated by the case histories of abnormal psychology in The Human Mind by Karl Menninger, a popularizer of Freudian analysis.[3] [Rewrote close paraphrase. Sch p. 92]
She called this the "saddest year" of her life and felt "abandoned" by her mother. She returned to New York to continue living with her mother and stepfather, primarily in Manhattan, but also in Astoria, Queens. [Unsourced and wrong. They lived in Astoria before sending her back to Fort Worth. They lived in Greenwich Village afterwards.]
Highsmith's mother predeceased her by only four years, dying at the age of 95.[73] [Removed. We are told this in first sentence.]
Many of Highsmith's 22 novels were set in Greenwich Village.[74] [This doesn't belong here and isn't true. Schenkar (2011) states that many scenes are set in NYC or in New England and NY state. Only 3 are set mainly in Greenwich Village: MOVE TO FURTHER READING]
In 1942, Highsmith graduated from Barnard College, where she studied English literature, playwriting, and short story prose.[3] [Information already included.] After graduating from college, and despite endorsements from "highly placed professionals,"[3] she applied without success for a job at publications such as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Mademoiselle, Good Housekeeping, Time, Fortune, and The New Yorker.[75] [Superfluous source. It's just a journalist quoting Schekar. MOVE TO FURTHER READING]
When Highsmith wrote the psychological thriller novel The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955), one of the title character's first victims is a comic-book artist named Reddington: "Tom had a hunch about Reddington. He was a comic-book artist. He probably didn't know whether he was coming or going."[76] [This is trivia and is tangential.]
Michaud, Jon (January 25, 2010). "Book Club: Highsmith and The New Yorker". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
Doll, Jen (December 4, 2015). "The Bizarre True Story Behind "The Talented Mr. Ripley"". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
Works cited
[edit]Bradford, Richard (2021). Devils, Lusts and Strange desires: The Life of Patricia Highsmith. London: Bloomsbury Caravel. ISBN 9781448217908.
Harrison, Russell (1997). Patricia Highsmith (Twayne's United States Authors Series, No. 683) (1st ed.). New York: Twayne Publishers. ISBN 0-8057-4566-1.
Mawer, Noel (2004). A Critical Study of the Fiction of Patricia Highsmith: from the Psychological to the Political (Studies in American Literature, Vol 65). Lewiston, N.Y.: The Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 0773465081.
Peters, Fiona (2011). Anxiety and Evil in the Writings of Patricia Highsmith. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4094-2334-8.
Schenkar, Joan (2011). The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith. New York and London: Picador St Martin's Press. ISBN 9780312363819.
Wilson, Andrew (2003). Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith. New York and London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 1582341982.
Sources
[edit]- Bradford, Richard (2021). Devils, Lusts and Strange desires: The Life of Patricia Highsmith. London: Bloomsbury Caravel. ISBN 9781448217908.
- Schenkar, Joan (2011). The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith. New York and London: Picador St Martin's Press. ISBN 9780312363819.
- Wilson, Andrew (2003). Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith. New York and London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 1582341982.
Notes
[edit]- ^ Marijane Meaker (who wrote lesbian pulp fiction novels under the pseudonyms of "Ann Aldrich" and "Vin Packer") stated in her memoir: "[The Price of Salt] was for many years the only lesbian novel, in either hard or soft cover, with a happy ending."[2]: 1 Schenkar and Talbot, however, point out that the character Carol has to give up custody of her child to continue her relationship with Therese. Schenkar calls the book: "a lesbian novel with an almost happy ending."[3]: 50 Talbot calls the novel: "a youthful book, and a hopeful one." [4]
- ^ Marijane Meaker (who wrote lesbian pulp fiction novels under the pseudonyms of "Ann Aldrich" and "Vin Packer") stated in her memoir: "[The Price of Salt] was for many years the only lesbian novel, in either hard or soft cover, with a happy ending."[2]: 1
- ^ Highsmith wrote in her "Diary 8" on June 17, 1948: "What is so impossible, is that the male face doesn't attract me, isn't beautiful to me. Though I can imagine a familiarity with a man, which would ... allow us to work and make us happy—and certainly sane ... [t]he question is, whether men alone, their selves, don't get unbearably boring?"[33]
- ^ The character of Carol Aird and much of the plot of The Price of Salt was inspired by Highsmith's former lovers Kathryn Hamill Cohen and Philadelphia socialite Virginia Kent Catherwood,[40][36][43] and her relationships with them.[44][45] Catherwood lost custody of her daughter in divorce proceedings that involved tape-recorded lesbian trysts in hotel rooms.[4]
- ^ Meaker recalled: "[Patricia] was a wonderful, giving, funny person when I [first] met her. I can always remember her smile and her laughter because that was so much a part of her. But when she came back she was despicable. I couldn't believe her hatred for blacks, for Jews in particular, but even for gay people. She hated everybody."[51]
- ^ "Carol Aird" is the upper-class, married woman going through a difficult divorce in Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt.
- ^ Highsmith wrote in her "Diary 8" on June 17, 1948: "What is so impossible, is that the male face doesn't attract me, isn't beautiful to me. Though I can imagine a familiarity with a man, which would ... allow us to work and make us happy—and certainly sane ... [t]he question is, whether men alone, their selves, don't get unbearably boring?"[33]
- ^ The character of Carol Aird and much of the plot of The Price of Salt was inspired by Highsmith's former lovers Kathryn Hamill Cohen and Philadelphia socialite Virginia Kent Catherwood,[40][36][43] and her relationships with them.[44][72] Catherwood lost custody of her daughter in divorce proceedings that involved tape-recorded lesbian trysts in hotel rooms.[4]
- ^ Meaker recalled: "[Patricia] was a wonderful, giving, funny person when I [first] met her. I can always remember her smile and her laughter because that was so much a part of her. But when she came back she was despicable. I couldn't believe her hatred for blacks, for Jews in particular, but even for gay people. She hated everybody."[51]
- ^ "Carol Aird" is the upper-class, married woman going through a difficult divorce in Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt.
References
[edit]- ^ Highsmith, Patricia (2010). "Afterword". Carol (1st Paperback ed.). London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781408808979.
- ^ a b c Meaker, Marijane (2003). Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s (1st ed.). San Francisco: Cleis Press. ISBN 1-57344-171-6.
- ^ a b c d e f Schenkar, Joan (2009). The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312303754.
- ^ a b c d e Talbot, Margaret (November 30, 2015). "Forbidden Love". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
- ^ Highsmith, Patricia (2010). "Afterword". Carol (1st Paperback ed.). London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781408808979.
- ^ a b Rich, Frank (November 18, 2015). "Loving Carol". Vulture. New York. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
- ^ Jones, Nick (September 25, 2015). "Carol by Patricia Highsmith (Bloomsbury, 1990); Orig. The Price of Salt by Claire Morgan (Coward-McCann, 1952): Book Review". Existential Ennui. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
- ^ Carlston, Erin G. (November 22, 2015). "Essay: Patricia Highsmith's The Price of Salt, The Lesbian Novel That's Now A Major Motion Picture". The National Book Review. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
- ^ Wilson, Andrew (2003). "Art is not always healthy and why should it be? 1988–1992". Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0747563143.
- ^ Highsmith, Patricia (2010). "Afterword". Carol (1st Paperback ed.). London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781408808979.
- ^ Shore, Robert (January 7, 2000). "The talented Ms Highsmith". The Guardian. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- ^ Jordison, Sam (June 9, 2015). "Mr Ripley's great talent? Making us like a killer and his crimes". The Guardian. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
- ^ Silet, Charles L.P. "Patricia Highsmith's Thomas Ripley". MysteryNet. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
- ^ Jordison, Sam (June 2, 2015). "Tom Ripley, the likable psychopath". The Guardian. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (July 3, 1996). "Purple Noon". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ Gleeson, Sinead (June 13, 2015). "Patricia Highsmith: a talented writer who always let rip". The Irish Times. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- ^ Schenkar, Joan (2009). The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312303754. (pg. 191)
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (May 27, 2015). "Patricia Highsmith's 'Ripley' Book Series Headed to TV (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 24, 2016). "'Luther' Creator Neil Cross To Write TV Series Adaptation Of Tom Ripley Books". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
- ^ Petski, Denise (January 22, 2024). "'Ripley' Teaser Trailer Unveils First Look At Andrew Scott As Tom Ripley; Netflix Premiere Date". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Lloyd, Robert (April 4, 2024). "Netflix's 'Ripley' is a scrupulous, stylish adaptation with Andrew Scott as its star". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ a b Hodgson, Godfrey (February 6, 1995). "Obituary: Patricia Highsmith". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ Schenkar, Joan (2009). The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312303754.
- ^ Gray, John (May 17, 2013). "A Point of View: Tom Ripley and the meaning of evil". BBC News Magazine. BBC. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- ^ Attallah, Naim (May 27, 2010). "No Longer With Us: Patricia Highsmith". Naim Attallah Online. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Wilson, Andrew (2003). Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0747563143.
- ^ Meaker, Marijane (2003). "Epilogue". Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s (1st ed.). Cleis Press. p. 205. ISBN 1-57344-171-6.
- ^ Nagy, Phyllis (November 29, 2015). "Scotch, beer and cigarettes: my weekend with Patricia Highsmith". The Guardian. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
- ^ Brooks, Richard (January 17, 2021). "Patricia Highsmith: the 'Jew-hater' who took Jewish women as lovers". The Guardian. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ Winterson, Jeanette (December 16, 2009). "Patricia Highsmith, Hiding in Plain Sight". The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wilson, Andrew (2003). "Yaddo, shadow – shadow, Yaddo". Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0747563143.
- ^ a b Schenkar, Joan (2009). "Les Girls". The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. pp. 267–435. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ a b c d Schenkar, Joan (2009). "Social Studies Part 2". The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ a b Meaker, Marijane (2003). "Four". Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s (1st ed.). Cleis Press. p. 25. ISBN 1-57344-171-6.
- ^ a b c d e Gross, Terry (January 6, 2016). "In 'Carol,' 2 Women Leap Into An Unlikely Love Affair". Fresh Air. NPR. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Wilson, Andrew (2003). "How I adore my Virginias". Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0747563143.
- ^ a b Espana, Marco (May 6, 2015). "Famous First Words: Strangers on a Train". Late Night Library. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f Schenkar, Joan (2009). "Social Studies Part 2". The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ a b Schenkar, Joan (2009). "Les Girls: Part 2". The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. pp. 287–289. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ a b c d Wilson, Andrew (2003). "Instantly, I love her". Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0747563143.
- ^ a b Wilson, Andrew (2003). "Introduction". Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0747563143.
- ^ a b Hart, Kate (August 15, 2011). "The Inner Life of Patricia Highsmith". This Recording. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b Schenkar, Joan (2009). The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. pp. 282–286, 287–289. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ a b Wilson, Andrew (2003). "Carol, in a thousand cities". Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0747563143.
- ^ Jordan, Louis (November 19, 2015). "Carol's Happy Ending". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Schenkar, Joan (2009). "Les Girls: Part 2". The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. p. 293. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ a b Torrance, Kelly Jane (March 2010). "In cold blood". The New Criterion. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g Schenkar, Joan (2009). The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312303754.[page needed]
- ^ a b Gerratana, Mimmo (August 11, 2013). "Foto come ukiyo-e: immagini del mondo fluttuante" [Photo as ukiyo-e: images of the floating world]. I sensi della letteratura (in Italian). Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
- ^ a b Meaker, Marijane (2003). Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s (1st ed.). San Francisco: Cleis Press. ISBN 1-57344-171-6.
- ^ a b c d e f de Bertodano, Helena (June 16, 2003). "A passion that turned to poison". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b Meaker, Marijane (2003). "Eleven". Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s (1st ed.). Cleis Press. p. 63. ISBN 1-57344-171-6.
- ^ a b c Dawson, Jill (May 13, 2015). "Carol: the women behind Patricia Highsmith's lesbian novel". The Guardian. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b Meaker, Marijane (2003). "Four". Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s (1st ed.). Cleis Press. p. 24. ISBN 1-57344-171-6.
- ^ Schenkar, Joan (2009). "The Real Romance of Objects". The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ Schenkar, Joan (2009). "La Mamma: Part 3". The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ Schenkar, Joan (2009). "A Simple Act of Forgery". The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ Wilson, Andrew (2003). "This shimmery void 1967–1968". Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0747563143.
- ^ O'Neill, Anne (September 28, 2015). "Booze as muse: writers and alcohol, from Ernest Hemingway to Patricia Highsmith". The Irish Times. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- ^ Schenkar, Joan (2009). "Social Studies: Part 1". The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ Guinard, Mavis (August 17, 1991). "Patricia Highsmith: Alone With Ripley". The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ Wilson, Andrew (2003). "Work is more fun than play 1983–1986". Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0747563143.
- ^ Schenkar, Joan (2009). "The Cake That Was Shaped Like a Coffin". The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ a b Fierman, Daniel (January 14, 2000). "Mystery Girl: Deceased mistress of suspense Patricia Highsmith is finding new fans with The Talented Mr. Ripley". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ Schenkar, Joan (2009). "Alter Ego: Part 3". The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-30375-4.
- ^ Ballard, JG (July 21, 2003). "Summer reading: What I'll be reading this summer". The Sunday Telegraph. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- ^ Cocozza, Paula (November 12, 2015). "How Patricia Highsmith's Carol became a film: 'Lesbianism is not an issue. It's a state of normal'". The Guardian. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Emily (November 13, 2015). "Phyllis Nagy: On Screen Writing and CAROL". The Laughing Lesbian. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Walter, Natasha (July 11, 2003). "A lover, not a liker". The Guardian. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b Currey, Mason (2013). Daily Rituals: How Artists Work (1st ed.). Knopf. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-307-27360-4.
- ^ Schenkar, Joan (September 29, 2011). "After Patricia". The Paris Review. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ Jordan, Louis (November 19, 2015). "Carol's Happy Ending". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Doll, Jen (December 4, 2015). "The Bizarre True Story Behind "The Talented Mr. Ripley"". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
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- ^ Michaud, Jon (January 25, 2010). "Book Club: Highsmith and The New Yorker". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- ^ Highsmith, Patricia (2008). The Talented Mr. Ripley. W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-0-393-33214-8. Originally published by Coward-McCann, Inc., New York, 1955, LCCN 55010083.