Have I mused about the excellent HBO series called Gentleman Jack? It stars the wonderful Suranne Jones playing Gentleman Jack, one of several nicknames, mostly derisive, for a late 18th, early 19th century wealthy British woman named Anne Lister. Lister was a brilliant individual, the first known climber of the highest mountain in the French Pyrenees, a student of brain surgery under Georges Cuvier in Paris. The series shows how she developed coal mines on her estate, despite male intimidation, and we see her as a diarist, much of it written in a code which wasn't cracked until nearly a century after her death. She was a bold person, and often went out in public in clothing associated with men -- hence Gentleman Jack.
Gentleman Jack is primarily a love story though, because Lister is best known today for marrying another woman in 1834, earning her the title of the “first modern lesbian.” Obviously Lister and her partner were not legally married in an age where men discovered in homosexual relationships were sometimes executed. Interestingly, being a lesbian wasn't considered a crime -- women just weren't that important.
Anne Lister
In the series, based on Lister's diaries, she is determined to enter into a formal, covenantal relationship with her partner. She gives her a ring as a sign of commitment and wants them to receive communion together as a Christian seal of their love relationship. All this is portrayed with sensitivity.
Gentleman Jack is an excellent reminder that LGBTQ2 realities weren't "invented" during the past fifty years. And LGBTQ2 persons have desired committed relationships for centuries, before God and their peers.
Have any of you watched Gentleman Jack? Have you heard of her life? I certainly hadn't.
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