Queer Hospitality and Resistance: Navigating Desire and Power in Wharton’s The House of Mirth and Walker’s The Color Purple

Abstract

Hospitality, as a social and ethical concept, heavily influences the portrayal and negotiation of queer desire in American literature. This research explores how the works of Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple portray queer female protagonists as they navigate the limits and opportunities of hospitality. The difference in literary eras between the two works will provide significant overlook on how hospitality has shaped the queer experience throughout the times and if any other external factors such as social, cultural, and political contexts have had any significant impact on the presentation of queer desire in American literature. In addition to this, comparing the two texts will help us identify the recurring patterns that queer individuals use to deal with the challenges and opportunities of hospitality throughout the course of American history and literature. This thesis navigates how hospitality in The House of Mirth and The Color Purple isn’t just about letting people in; it is also about breaking down unfair power structures, and this is showcased throughout the two works in the struggle of the main female characters in striking a balance between the hope of finding accepting places and the pressure of society’s rules.