Significance of Greece in Maurice - Halperin

After viewing and reading Maurice and reading Halperin’s essay, I cannot stop thinking of the significance of Greece throughout the story. Ancient Greece appears to be a metaphor for sexual liberation for the characters; reading Plato’s Symposium, the Maurice and his friends are introduced to a world where having homosexual sex is acceptable. If Greece is indeed a metaphor for sexual liberation, then, perhaps, Clive’s solo journey to Greece is symbolic of his sexual awakening and subsequent decision to squelch his desires by marrying a woman. In addition to the metaphorical qualities of Greece in Maurice, several ideas come to mind.

Halperin discusses the significance of social status and same sex relationships in ancient Greece in great detail. Penetrating someone of a lower social status was completely socially acceptable, however the inverse or two people of the same status having intercourse was not acceptable. Maurice and Clive are from a similar social background; the parallel social status of the two makes them unsuitable sexual partners from a classical Greek standpoint. Maurice’s relationship with Scudder, however, would be perfectly acceptable as he is both younger and from a lower social standing.

Penetration seems to equate to power in ancient Greece. Those with the power to penetrate had to want to penetrate; those who would rather be penetrated were deemed “sick”. Similarly, without the ability to penetrate, women would always remain second- class citizens in Greece; those who tried to challenge the status quo were equated as sick as well.

Though a cursory glance would suggest that Greece was more sexually liberated, one must ask “for who?” A small group of men with the ability to wield power over a entire society is not unusual; in fact, it seems that Ancient Greece and present-day America have a lot in common in that sense.