To Kill A Mockingbird Essays: Mary's Relationship With Ann

Mary’s desire to be faithful does not stop her from developing a deeper relationship with Ann, however. Although it is never stated explicitly as being romantic or sexual, there are multiple times when Mary hints at it, but then corrects herself. As Johnson argues, “Despite—or perhaps because of—the unconventionality of Mary's attachment to Ann, Mary frequently denies that it is the sort of passion a woman would feel for a man. But denial often implies the presence of something to be denied, and in this novel Mary's attachment to Ann is brought into specific conflict with heterosexual norms” (55). This being said, there is a strong implication that the relationship between Mary and Ann is, indeed, sexual—but it is scattered throughout most

But she does have a passion for someone: Ann. When speaking of Mary’s relationship with Ann, it states, “Her friendship for Ann occupied her heart, and resembled a passion. She had had, indeed, several transient likings; but they did not amount to love” (Wollstonecraft, Mary 36). If Mary has, indeed, some sexual knowledge, then it would likely be with Ann—the only person she ever loved or had passion for. Moreover, her having some familiarity with carnal knowledge changes the meaning of one of the sentences in the convent chapter tremendously. If “to pity and relieve (emphasis mine) were the same thing to her,” the text heavily implies that those who Mary pitied for their sexual frustration were, in some way, relieved by Mary, as well, utilizing experience which she would have presumably received through her relationship with

Johnson, in her examination of sentimentality, does take issue with considering it the equivalent of a lesbian relationship today. She argues, “Even if it were possible to demonstrate that the relationship between Mary and Ann was sexual, however, this would not mean that it existed in the discursive space now called ‘lesbian.’ The complexity of this relationship consists in its indiscursibility, in the fact that it cannot be so designated” (54). In this, I am inclined to agree with her, although not entirely. Mary seems to have an understanding of what she feels for Ann, but never truly expresses these feelings openly. The relationship is most certainly sexual to some degree, but it might not be one of open