Heyo so just something neat I found.
So I recently got the "Briggs's dictionary of fairies Banshees boggarts & other folklore creatures" enjoying it. First book I've been able to read for hours in silence.
But I was curious about Tolkiens relationship with Ms Briggs so I went digging. And I did not find anything there.
But what I did find was a very sweet story of a woman with a deep love of folk lore and drive.
But as I was reading I kept waiting for something
a husband. briggs was born in 1898 and died in the 80s. Which is a hell of a time to be but back to the point, as I was reading from how Briggs was described I felt a lot of resonance and personally I believe she was most likely some form of nurodivergent but as I read I kept wondering if she could possibly be queer?
I figured this was wishful thinking, I'm used to the older writers I run into not being hateful but unless it's explicitly said they tend to be straight or homophobic.
But as I read I found no note of a love life, a husband or children.
80 years, in such a visible position to the point she had an award coined in her name there should be some note. (If there is and I missed it I'm begging someone let me know)
I think she was queer. Potentially aroace. Now there is a likelihood that she wouldn't call herself ethire, or anything but straight. Perhaps she was and just uninterested in anything long term or never found the right person.
And I'm taking comfort in that tonight.
I'm not aroace, being bi is half my shtick but the idea there was a queer nurodivergent woman who's also loved folk lore, so much it helped form a large part a academic society. It's a comfort. It's a feeling of belonging with a woman separated from my very existence by more than a decade shared something with me.
If I'm wrong please let me know, but yea.
I'm gonna be thinking about that the rest of my day and hoping they update more of her work because god it's hard to find outside of Amazon.
Right that's enough introspective shit I'll get back to yelling about fictional men after this but for now.
Thank you ms briggs, you have become one of my heros. May you rest eternally in peace
