![]() ![]() Others, like Ruskin’s biographer Mary Lutyens, thought that since Ruskin’s only interaction with the female form came from studying smooth, white, Greek statues, that seeing her pubic hair would have been a shock to him. However, there are no known sexual liaisons or romantic letters linking Ruskin to other men. Of course, this was a time where gay marriage wasn’t an option and being a homosexual was not accepted for a wealthy gentleman. Not only was Ruskin not attracted to Effie, it seems he was repulsed by her. On the contrary, there were certain circumstances in her person which completely checked it.” But though her face was beautiful, her person was not formed to excite passion. In a statement to his lawyer, Ruskin admitted, “It may be thought strange that I could abstain from a woman who to most people was so attractive. “ alleged various reasons, hatred of children, religious motives, a desire to preserve my beauty, and finally this last year he told me his true reason… that he had imagined women were quite different to what he saw I was, and that the reason he did not make me his wife was because he was disgusted with my person the first evening 10th April.” Some clues emerge when we take a look at a letter Effie wrote to her father, where she explains what Ruskin told her was the reason he would not have sex with her. So, why would a man like Ruskin, who was so fond of Effie when she was young, not want to have a sexual relationship with her when she became his wife? This question has become the subject of much speculation over the last 150 years, inspiring numerous writings, plays and movies. Effie was able to obtain an annulment on the grounds of impotence and left the marriage still a virgin. Six lonely years passed for Effie, with no marital consummation. In real life and in the film, Effie presented herself naked to her husband on their wedding night, but he refused her - an act that would certainly upset any doting bride. ![]() More: Exclusive clip: Susan Sarandon, Dakota Fanning bare their claws in Errol Flynn biopicĮffie was 19 when she and Ruskin were married. It was a fairy story called The King of the Golden River, which dealt with themes of nature, self-sacrifice and the rewards of a powerful dwarf king. When Effie was 12, Ruskin was 22 and befriended the pretty young girl, even writing a book for her. The real Euphemia “Effie” Gray was brought up in Scotland, in a home where John Ruskin’s own grandfather, John Thomas Ruskin, killed himself - a grim omen that would hang over Effie’s troubled marriage to John Ruskin like a dark cloud.īut Gray and Ruskin had known each other for seven years before they were married.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |