“The Man Who Thought Himself a Woman”
The title story of the collection is attributed only to an anonymous writer. It is a tale of Japhet, a member of the Colbones clan whom his aunts desperately hope will “be free from all singularities, queerities, quips, quirks, and oddities.” In the end, however, Japhet’s suicide note begins with the assertion “I think I am a woman.”
“The Child’s Champion”
A short story by Walt Whitman in which a profligate and dissolute young man is wasting his medical degree and his entire life on drink. His redemption comes when he rescues a 13-year-old lured to a tavern by the music is preyed upon by a one-eyed sailor. The “queer” aspect of this story is the insinuation that the sailor is homosexual.
“The Haunted Valley”
The first short story by noted American author Ambrose Bierce is a detective story of sorts investigating the true nature of the death of a “Chinaman” by a white man acquitted by a jury. The solution is what makes this text appropriate for the collection: the “Chinaman” was actually a woman disguising herself as a male.
“How Nancy Jackson Married Kate Wilson”
This short story was written by Mark Twain, but never published during his lifetime. The title says it all; well, almost all. The how involves Nancy Jackson masquerading as a man named Robert Finlay. Keeping such a secret in place in a marriage naturally presents complications which Twain explores not for the purpose of satire or humor, but in a much more sensitive mode than usual.
“Paul’s Case: A Study in Temperament”
Willa Cather’s much-anthologized story about the suicide of an effete young aesthete named Paul has long been analyzed from the perspective of Paul’s depression being linked to homosexuality, though there is nothing in the story that explicitly makes this clear.
“Two Friends”
Mary Wilkins Freeman’s story about two spinsters living together is an example of what came to be known as a “Boston Marriage.” Technically, this term refers only to two women living together who are financially independent of any man. Only some of them were actually lesbian relationships. In this case, such a relationship is strongly hinted by virtue of one of the friends failing to relay a message about an offer of marriage and the other admitting that she would never have married the man in question.
“I and My Chimney”
At first glance, Herman Melville’s odd story about one man’s fetishistic relationship with his chimney may seem out of place in a collection of queer fiction. Everything makes sense at the point when the man cries out to his suspicious wife: “Secret ash-hole, wife, why don’t you have it? Yes, I dare say there is a secret ash-hole in the chimney; for where do all the ashes go to that we drop down the queer hole yonder?”
“Dave’s Neckliss”
Charles Chesnutt’s very serious candidate for the title of best American short story of all time also seems hopelessly out of step with the theme of queer fiction. This amazingly complex story touches so subtly on such a variety of topics that it takes quite a few readings to fully appreciate the genius of the author. The explanation is simple, however: this story is slotted (alongside Melville’s chimney) in the subgenre of “Queer Things.” Dave’s necklace turns out to be a queer thing, indeed: a ham held in place around his neck by a chain as punishment for suspicion of stealing.
“Lilacs”
The woman who wrote “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour” here presents a tale of a famous opera diva, Adrienne Farival, making her annual return to the convent school of her youth. She stays for two weeks and even participates in daily rituals while sharing a room with a childhood friend who is now Sister Agathe. A year later, the Mother Superior denies her access, returns her gifts and turns her away. With the title flowers Adrienne left behind on the steps being unceremoniously swept into the street, Sister Agathe is alone in her room, weeping uncontrollably.
