#p. 115

‘Beneath the theatricality of their [Natalie Clifford Barney and Renée Vivien] romantic religion of love lay the unshakable conviction that Lesbianism was not merely a defensible alternative to heterosexuality. In its ideal manifestation, it provided the opportunity for a quasi-religious transcendence of the self, and perhaps, at some remove, the transformation of society. In this regard, Barney and Vivien were years ahead of their contemporaries, most of whom, like Radclyffe Hall, found themselves locked in a defensive posture which at best demanded toleration of an inescapable deviance.’

‘At Laurette’s or Midalge’s house, one talks art, music, even love with respect and ceremony. Beauty and money are never discussed in the same sentence. For dirty perverts, they are decidedly clean-minded. While that other fellow, . . . imagined Laurette’s house to be a house of ill repute. I’d like to see him at one of her salons, attending a string quartet or forced to listen to the poetry reading these professionals have been unable to put on!’

Para entrar no maldito labirinto, você precisa ser esperto, rápido, forte. Precisa ser capaz de tomar decisões, saber o grau certo de risco que deve correr. Não pode ser atirado, nem pode ser medroso também.