Textual Criticism and Queer Tavington
It's 1000 degrees outside. Horse owners are putting out signs asking their neighbors, with varying degrees of politeness, not to stress their animals to death making more noise in five hours of darkness than the British and Continental Armies made in five years of war. I am arming myself with summer-y beers and venturing into my yearly rewatch of The Patriot before my yearly sleepless night of thinking James Wilkins had the right idea when he locked his neighbors up in their church and set it ablaze. The horse-killing-est time of year is upon us once again!
This year, I want to take a break from writing about imperialist farmer and deadbeat dad Benjamin Martin and give due attention to the real main character: William Tavington. I know a lot of people share that opinion, but often when I read their interpretations of this character, I find we agree on little else. There are basically two categories of The Patriot enjoyers: men who want to be Benjamin Martin and women who want to fuck William Tavington. I'm neither, and my four years of writing meta and fic for this fandom have been a constant search for others like me, and we are few and far between.
All readers (or viewers) bring their own desires and experiences to their interpretation of any work. There is whole school of literary criticism, reader-response theory, centered around this phenomenon. A compelling case can be made that the reader/viewer's subjective experience matters as much if not more than the writer/director's intention in interpretation of a text. And I don't blame women for taking something for themselves from a film that is giving them absolutely nothing on purpose. But the main form of engagement with The Patriot that I see on this site not only centers one character but one scene that is not particularly revealing about him. He doesn't speak; he's fighting for his life. And I can see the appeal for an audience that wants nothing more than to map its own fantasies onto an aesthetically appealing blank slate. In every other scene, however, Tavington is a sassy, over the top, speech-making murderer of surrendering wounded soldiers, women, and children. The only way he could be more of a Disney villain would be for him to burst into song!
And like many classic Disney villains, Tavington is as queer as the July sun is hot.
I've hesitated to put my thoughts about this into a single formal argument because I've never seen anyone who reads him as straight do the same thing. Even though no one has put this pressure on me in relation to The Patriot, those who interpret characters whose sexualities are not obvious plot points as queer are often held to a higher standard of "proof" than those who read them as straight. In the case of straight Tavington, though, the proof of his sexuality is not in the pudding but in the baker (or stir-er if they're American). His scenes where women are present at all can easily be counted on the fingers of one hand. Only one of these women (Anne Howard) ever speaks to him, and Tavington completely ignores her. I have seen the argument that Tavington's lack of encounters with women is owing to the film's near exclusive focus on conflicts and comradery between men, and I would buy that if Tavington's willingness to target civilians was not one of his most character-defining features. By his second scene he's harassed the populace enough for them to have given him a nickname, and in the main action of the film he burns eight militamen's homes and murders their wives and children. His conversations with General Cornwallis suggest that he is trying unsuccessfully to get information from the populace even between these scenes while forbidden his preferred tactics. That Tavington does not attempt to seduce or sexually menace Patriot women in canon as he does in So Many fics on Ao3 is hardly because he lacks opportunity.
Obviously, lack of interest in women is not inherently queer; what makes Tavington readable as such is his coding. The clearest example of this comes from a scene titled "The Heart of a Villain" neither included in the theatrical release nor added back in the extended edition. It is available in the bonus features for DVD releases of both theatrical and extended cuts and on YouTube. In it, Tavington and Captain Wilkins are taking a break from interrogating a militia deserter. Tavington is admiring the "beautiful country" while examining a purple flower which he then brings into the house. The color purple has a longstanding connection to queer people of all genders in popular culture, as do flowers in general with gay men. Furthermore, why does Tavington need company for this break, and why they are concealed from the rest of the British soldiers outside? The tall stalks they are hiding in are corn. Cornholing is an American slang term for anal sex. Roland Emmerich is not a subtle director at the best of times, and this scene is no exception.
Even if we only consider the most accessible version of canon, Tavington's relationships with men on his own side go beyond professional norms. While he is obsequious towards General Cornwallis early on, he is later able to use Cornwallis's growing frustration with the militia to convince him to allow the use of brutal tactics his superior had previously forbidden. He has to use a light touch with his superior since he lacks power in that exchange, but when Wilkins hesitates to burn his neighbors inside their church, he uses the same strategy of seduction and reassurance that had worked on Cornwallis. Wilkins is not only under Tavington's command but surrounded by his fellow dragoons who never hesitate to follow orders. Tavington does not need to charm him; that's just the way Tavington is.
Finally, we have Tavington's obsession with Benjamin Martin, and the film makes it very clear that is the man he's after, not just victory and advancement. In the final battle, after he attempts to warn his men about the trap, Tavington does not even seem to notice that his side is losing. He only leads them into this trap because he sees Martin and cannot resist charging, with his whole regiment behind him, in pursuit. If Martin were any other enemy, Tavington would have killed him as efficiently as any other, and the end of the film would be much more satisfying. Instead, his desire for connection with Martin is so powerful that it leads to his death. And yet, somehow, slash fans are sleeping on this ship. One of the greatest evils of patriotism, I have no doubt!
None of this is to say people shouldn't create or enjoy canon divergent versions of Tavington. I have certainly done both. Nor am I saying the kind of formalist criticism that focuses on plot, dialogue, images and tropes in the text is morally superior to reader response's subjective focus on the viewer's relationship with the text. I just can imagine how disappointed people introduced to Tavington by fandom must be when they see him in context given how wildly different he is in most fanworks. And it's a shame because he is the best part of the story and for reasons that are actually present within it.
