Of love forbidden
Title
Of love forbidden
Alternative Title
The Scorpion
Creator
Date
Date Copyrighted
Subject
Description
Paperback reprint of a pre-1950s lesbian-themed novel
Publisher
Relation
The Scorpion is comprised of three volumes following Melitta (Mette) Rudolf from childhood to maturity. The first two volumes appeared unabridged in 1932 and 1948, but were shortened in 1958 and 1964 to Of Love Forbidden. Volume three appeared as The Outcast in 1933 and 1948. Later, in 1964 and 1975, they appeared toghether as The Scorpion.
Translator
Lesbian Pulp Fiction Type
Publisher Type
Physical Dimensions
192 pages
18 cm
Protagonist's Status at the Beginning
Protagonist's Status at the End
Female Protagonists Meet or Introduced to the Reader
Meeting Notes
Metta and Olga meet at Metta's friends' house.
Pages 15-16
Pages 15-16
Ratings and/or Awards
Reviews
Damon, Gene. "The Scorpion." Ladder, vol. 1, no. 8, May 1957, p. 11.
A portrayal of homosexual life in pre-Hitlerian Germany in its bittersweet (mostly bitter) aspects. Unfortunately, the quality of the work is marred by the author’s characterization of homosexuals by their lowest common denominator. [Posted with permission]
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This Book is Discussed in
- Nenno, Nancy P. "Bildung and Desire: Anna Elisabet Weirauch's Der Skorpion." Queering the Canon: Defying Sights in German Literature and Culture. Edited by Christoph Lorey, and John L. Plews. Camden House, Columbia, SC, 1998,
- Sutton, Katie. "Bridging the Rural/Urban Divide: Representations of Queer Female Experience in 1920s Germany." From Weimar to Christiania: German and Scandinavian Studies in Context. Edited by Florence Feiereisen, Kyle Frackman, and James E. Cathey. Cambridge Scholars, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, 2007.
- Sutton, Katie. "Representing the “Third Sex”: Cultural Translations of the Sexological Encounter in Early Twentieth-Century Germany." Sexology and Translation: Cultural and Scientific Encounters Across the Modern World. Edited by Heike Bauer. Temple UP, Philadelphia, PA, 2015.
- Sutton, Katie. The Masculine Woman in Weimar Germany. Berghahn, 2011.
NODL Evaluation Report
"The book's subject matter is totally objedtionable [sic] for young people.
It deals entirely with homosexuality and perversion."
"I read to p 73- then skimmed the rest- to my mind there is no way of handling the subject matter of this book so as to make it suitable for youth."
It deals entirely with homosexuality and perversion."
"I read to p 73- then skimmed the rest- to my mind there is no way of handling the subject matter of this book so as to make it suitable for youth."
More information about contested books
Contested in the U.S.A and Canada by the National Organization for Decent Literature.
The Scorpion was banned in Nazi Germany. It was listed in the index of dangerous and unwanted literature and was removed from German bookstores and libraries.
Cover, Front Text
A tender and haunting exploration of a strange passion.
Cover, Back Text
"So this was Olga! Never had Myra seen anyone so radiant, so superbly elegant as the tall, slender woman coming through the doorway. Olga's soft, deep voice had a cellolike quality and the bold gray eyes met Myra's with a strange, knowing intensity. The girl's heart began to beat wildly and a strange fearful thrill shivered through her innocent young body. She did not know what was happening - only that she could not take her eyes off Olga. She did not know then that this was the moment her life really began. 'Delicate handling of a daring them...not since The Well of Loneliness and Spring Fire has this forbidden subject been so honestly explored.' -Ann Aldrich" -Back cover
Cover Art Description
A naked woman is sitting on the floor facing the viewer with arms and legs crossed, her chin resting on her right, bent knee. The background is a textured turquoise colour field, and the scene is lit from the top right in a hard light.
Cover Art People
Cover Art Hair Colour
Cover Art Clothing and Fashion
Cover Art Setting
Cover Art Gaze
Item Relations
| Item: Weirauch, Anna Elisabet | Creator | This Item |
| Item: Fawcett Publications | Publisher | This Item |
Collection
Citation
Weirauch, Anna Elisabet, “Of love forbidden,” The Lesbian Pulp Fiction Collection @ Mount Saint Vincent University, accessed October 7, 2024, https://msvulpf.omeka.net/items/show/813.
Comments