Cute, Cozy, Queer Stories

Part 35: Storm & Mr. Richardson

This too I know—and wise it were

If each could know the same—

That every prison that men build

Is built with bricks of shame,

And bound with bars lest Christ should see

How men their brothers maim

- The Ballad of Reading Gaol

The stanza looked at Storm from the whiteboard behind Mr. Richardson, written in his stuff, but delicate script. Storm felt the words gripping the edge of his heart.

"Oscar Wilde is best known for The Importance of Being Earnest—second only, perhaps, to his many potent quotables." Mr. Richardson chuckled at the joke only he seemed to get. His small, buck-toothed smile was almost hidden in the black mustache that dominated his face. Storm glanced around the classroom. Everyone either had their heads in their hands, nearly dozing, or was looking down at half-hidden phone screens.

Mr. Richardson was a cool guy—as far as teachers went. Rumors said he smoked pot—his weird printed shirts almost guaranteed it—and some said he even had a drug record. Rumors also said the school board hated him because he never followed the curriculum.

He was the first teacher Storm could recall who managed to bring that lofty word literature out of the ivory tower and into real-life. Still, Victorian playwrights were a hard sell at eight o' clock on a Monday morning.

"The Importance of Being Earnest was, in it's time, a witty performance for the English aristocracy," Mr. Richardson went on. "However, this is far from his most important work. To understand the meaning and significance behind Wilde's work, we have to return to what we discussed with last week," Richardson turned, writing on the whiteboard, seemingly for no one, and underlined the word, "context.

"Now, we've all heard of the concept of 'separating the artist from their work,' right? However, it is also important to understand that context plays an important role in the creation of these works at the time, and in deciphering their meaning today. This is what takes something like The Importance of Being Earnest or The Picture of Dorian Grey and brings it out of this," Richardson waved a hand in the air above his receding black hair "spacey, conceptual, weirdness, and into something tangible. Something that has meaning, here and now. You may not believe it, but Oscar Wilde's world deals with a subject that is still controversial today. In fact," Richardson's thick, sculpted eyebrows rose, putting his wide, brown eyes on full display, "Oscar Wilde was not as prim and proper as you might think. He was very controversial. He was even a criminal. He broke the law numerous times. Sometimes he would try to hide it, other times he was very open about it. He was even sentenced to two years hard labor for breaking the law."

Richardson scanned the class, his eyes wide with suspense. Some were still drifting off or texting, but several were now watching him.

"What law do you think he broke?" Richardson asked. He waited. "Come on. Give it a try. Was he burning down buildings? Stealing? Did he shoot someone in a duel? Did he pee on the Queen's Guard?"

Storm rolled his eyes. "He was queer."

The entire class turned. Storm drew a breath, feeling his face light up. Looking away from the twenty sets of eyes on him, he glanced at Mr. Richardson. Storm couldn't tell if he was impressed or surprised or about to tell him to fuck off to the principle's office.

"That's right. Oscar Wilde was a gay man, and among the first to be relatively public about his relationships with other men. This was a big risk. Because in England, at that time, it was a crime to be gay and to have a relationship with the same sex. In fact, there wasn't even a word for it—the word 'gay' just meant happy."