Bertram Cope’s Year · Question
How does Bertram Cope’s Year develop the theme of Unrequited and Ambiguous Desire?
Answer
Bertram Cope’s Year by Henry Blake Fuller develops Unrequited and Ambiguous Desire across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Multiple characters, including Amy, Hortense, Carolyn, and Randolph, project romantic or possessive feelings onto Cope, while Cope himself shows stronger emotional attachment to his male friend Arthur Lemoyne, creating a web of unreciprocated and subtly homoerotic tensions.
Cope's mental letter to Arthur reveals his longing for Arthur's company, contrasting with the forced socializing with the young women.
Cope's letter to Lemoyne is filled with longing and intimate details, suggesting a deep emotional bond and unspoken desire.
Cope's intense longing for Lemoyne's presence and Randolph's lingering physical contact with Cope suggest unspoken emotional and romantic tensions.
Evidence in the book
- III: Cope Is "Entertained"
Cope's mental letter to Arthur reveals his longing for Arthur's company, contrasting with the forced socializing with the young women.
- VI: Cope Dines—and Tells About It
Cope's letter to Lemoyne is filled with longing and intimate details, suggesting a deep emotional bond and unspoken desire.
- VII: Cope Under Scrutiny
Cope's intense longing for Lemoyne's presence and Randolph's lingering physical contact with Cope suggest unspoken emotional and romantic tensions.
- IX: Cope on the Edge of Things
Cope's anxiety about being 'caught' by women hints at ambiguous feelings.
- Cope Amidst Cross-Purposes
Both Cope and Randolph harbor unspoken desires for future domestic arrangements with another man—Cope with Lemoyne, Randolph with Cope—creating a triangle of unexpressed longing.
- XVII: Cope Among Crosscurrents
Amy's romanticized view of the rescue contrasts with Cope's disinterest and discomfort, while Randolph probes Cope's feelings about marriage.
- XVIII: Cope at the Call of Duty
Amy's idealization of Cope and Hortense's confrontational demand for attention both reflect ambiguous and unreciprocated feelings.
- XIX: Cope Finds Himself Committed
Cope's fundamental repugnance to Amy's advances contrasts with her confident assumptions, highlighting his ambiguous feelings and her unrequited pursuit.
