After watching the movie and reading Maurice, I truly felt sorry for some of the characters. I can’t imagine living in a society where you would lose all respect and the love from your family and friends because of your sexuality. I am glad we have come a long way in today’s society where such acts of sexuality do not wind up in instant betrayal. Its a shame how society’s view controls Maurice and ultimately pushes him to an emotional breakdown. Halperin shows some of the same examples from classical Athens. While it was wrong for Maurice to have a relationship with the same sex, it is also wrong in Athens for an individual to have a relationship with someone with the same position in society.
Halperin’s work showed me how much has changed though the years. In classical Athens, it wasn’t a big deal at all for men to sleep with other men or boys. In fact, it showed power and your position in society. Now, going back to Maurice, the same experiences resulted in a crime. Watching the movie Maurice really put it into perspective for me of what life was like to be gay in the early 1900’s. Forced to live a secret life and be in constant fear of others going against you would keep me highly stressed 24/7.
I personally felt sorry for Maurice having to go through life trying to fulfill society’s expectations all the time. He should have been able to express feelings of celebration and happiness instead of demonstrating confusion and disappointment.
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