controlled, âgoodâ behaviour because he separated his drinking from his cruising. When Trevor asked Dash why he enjoyed this lifestyle so much, he said, âIâm not very good at sex.â This certainly smelled of paradox for someone who had sex so frequently. So Trevor suggested, âDoes that mean youâre practicing?â which apparently Dash laughed at, or rather Trevor couldnât really remember what his response was. At another point, after the death of his Shakespeare conference, Dash was very depressed. He confided to Trevor, âI donât really want to go to the baths, but I have to because my boyfriend wonât have sex with me.â Trevor became instantly sympathetic â heâs a very sympathetic type of fellow â and wanted to talk to Dash about his âproblem.â But Dash became defensive, saying, âItâs not because my boyfriend and I donât have sex.â He then specified, âThat is, we donât have sex, but itâs not because of that.â Trevor, who had a notion of himself as a kind of amateur psychoanalyst, tried to probe into Dashâs promiscuous habits and reluctant boyfriend, but had little success.
It was also during these discussions that Dash revealed that his interest in Shakespeareâs sexuality had turned primarily into a fascination with the authorship question. Trevor was confused by the switch, and again the conversation was a drunken one. But one night at the bar, Dash apparently frightened some young wet-behind-the-ears undergraduates from the Department of Difference by banging on the table and yelling, âItâs de Vere. I know itâs de Vere! I canât stand the lies anymore! I have to expose the lies.â
Once Trevor had calmed down the undergrads and had found a private corner on the patio, he was able to get Dash to explain that âthe lie about a heterosexual Shakespeare is actually less appalling than the lie about Shakespeare himself.â On further probing Dash said, âDe Vere was definitely a fag, but what drives me crazy is the way the academic establishment refuses to discuss him. . . .â Or something to that effect.
Trevorâs revelations concerning his drunken talks with Dash shed a glaring light on Dashâs disappointment in the writing addressed to his advisor. Itâs obvious that Dashâs depression over the conference may have been the cause of his disillusionment with academia, and may be related to his tragic romantic life. Here is the passage:
Antonio:
I want to relate something that is really upsetting. You may think that I am blowing it out of proportion but I want you to know that I am not. At least, itâs important to me, very important, and something we really must talk about. Or you simply have to listen. Here, let me write this to you. Iâm sorry Iâm not being very articulate. But Iâm deeply, deeply angry. Iâm going to tell you the whole story. It all has to do with organizing the conference. I might as well tell you right off the bat that Iâm not going to try to organize a Shakespeare conference. Iâve given up. As far as Iâm concerned thereâs no point; all my enthusiasm has gone. The first thing I want to say is that I apologize. I feel terrible for getting everyone together and asking for advice and then copping out. I wouldnât be pulling out if I wasnât so discouraged and upset. As you know, in my spare time I have been reading a lot about the authorship question. Youâve been very kind about it, as you are always kind about things â and you havenât seemed particularly disturbed about my pursuit of these ideas. Iâm new to academia, as you know, and I thought that even though the ideas I am interested in are considered radical by some, controversy might be important to a conference.
Well, Iâm beginning to understand that specialization is all-important, and
It was also during these discussions that Dash revealed that his interest in Shakespeareâs sexuality had turned primarily into a fascination with the authorship question. Trevor was confused by the switch, and again the conversation was a drunken one. But one night at the bar, Dash apparently frightened some young wet-behind-the-ears undergraduates from the Department of Difference by banging on the table and yelling, âItâs de Vere. I know itâs de Vere! I canât stand the lies anymore! I have to expose the lies.â
Once Trevor had calmed down the undergrads and had found a private corner on the patio, he was able to get Dash to explain that âthe lie about a heterosexual Shakespeare is actually less appalling than the lie about Shakespeare himself.â On further probing Dash said, âDe Vere was definitely a fag, but what drives me crazy is the way the academic establishment refuses to discuss him. . . .â Or something to that effect.
Trevorâs revelations concerning his drunken talks with Dash shed a glaring light on Dashâs disappointment in the writing addressed to his advisor. Itâs obvious that Dashâs depression over the conference may have been the cause of his disillusionment with academia, and may be related to his tragic romantic life. Here is the passage:
Antonio:
I want to relate something that is really upsetting. You may think that I am blowing it out of proportion but I want you to know that I am not. At least, itâs important to me, very important, and something we really must talk about. Or you simply have to listen. Here, let me write this to you. Iâm sorry Iâm not being very articulate. But Iâm deeply, deeply angry. Iâm going to tell you the whole story. It all has to do with organizing the conference. I might as well tell you right off the bat that Iâm not going to try to organize a Shakespeare conference. Iâve given up. As far as Iâm concerned thereâs no point; all my enthusiasm has gone. The first thing I want to say is that I apologize. I feel terrible for getting everyone together and asking for advice and then copping out. I wouldnât be pulling out if I wasnât so discouraged and upset. As you know, in my spare time I have been reading a lot about the authorship question. Youâve been very kind about it, as you are always kind about things â and you havenât seemed particularly disturbed about my pursuit of these ideas. Iâm new to academia, as you know, and I thought that even though the ideas I am interested in are considered radical by some, controversy might be important to a conference.
Well, Iâm beginning to understand that specialization is all-important, and
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