Marc-André Raffalovich (11 September 1864 – 14 February 1934) was a French poet and writer on homosexuality, best known today for his patronage of the arts and for his lifelong relationship with the English poet John Gray.

Early life

John Gray and Marc-Andre Raffalovich with a friend

Raffalovich was born into a wealthy

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family, which moved from

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

to the French capital, Paris, in 1863. His brother,

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, became a noted Parisian financier and economist. André went up to study in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in 1882 before settling down in London and opening a

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

in the 1890s.

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

attended, calling the event a saloon rather than a salon. This is where Raffalovich met the love and companion of his life, John Gray. In 1890, his sister

Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

married the

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

politician

William O'Brien William O'Brien (2 October 1852 – 25 February 1928) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, agrarian agitator, social revolutionary, politician, party leader, newspaper publisher, author and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of ...

(1852–1928).

Writings

In 1894, Raffalovich started to contribute on the subject of homosexuality (''unisexualité'', as he called it) to the ''Archives de l'Anthropologie Criminelle'', a prestigious review founded in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Alexandre Lacassagne Alexandre Lacassagne (August 17, 1843 – September 24, 1924) was a French physician and criminologist who was a native of Cahors. He was the founder of the Lacassagne school of criminology, based in Lyon and influential from 1885 to 1914, and th ...

, a pioneer

criminologist Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

and professor of

forensic medicine Forensic medicine is a broad term used to describe a group of medical specialties which deal with the examination and diagnosis of individuals who have been injured by or who have died because of external or unnatural causes such as poisoning, assa ...

. He soon became recognised as an expert in the field, engaging in correspondence with other researchers throughout Europe. His

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

, ''Uranisme et unisexualité: étude sur différentes manifestations de l'instinct sexuel'' was published in 1896. In 1897, he started working on ''Annales de l'unisexualité'', and ''les Chroniques de l'unisexualité'' with the aim of cataloguing everything published on the subject of homosexuality. These have proved useful to historians to this day.

Conversion

In 1896, under the influence of John Gray, Raffalovich embraced

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and joined the

tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

order of the Dominicans as Brother Sebastian in honour of

Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...

. At the same time Gray was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. In 1905, Gray was appointed to the parish of

St Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigid of Kildare and Columba ...

in the working class

Cowgate The Cowgate (Scots language, Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, Edinburgh, ...

area of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Raffalovich followed and settled down nearby, purchasing No. 9, Whitehouse Terrace. He contributed greatly to the cost of St Peter's Church in Morningside, Edinburgh, of which Gray was appointed the first

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

. In Whitehouse Terrace, Raffalovich established a successful salon. His guests included

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

, Lady

Margaret Sackville Lady Margaret Sackville (24 December 1881 – 18 April 1963) was an English poet and children's author. Born at 60 Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, Sackville was the youngest child of Reginald Windsor Sackville, 7th Earl De La Warr. She was a second ...

Compton Mackenzie Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish nationalist. He was one of t ...

Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, Parody, parodist and Caricature, caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the theatre crit ...

and

Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read wa ...

Theories

There is a close link between Raffalovich's views on homosexuality and his

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

beliefs. In contrast to then-current theories of sexual inversion, according to which a man was a homosexual because he had a female soul in a male body and a woman was lesbian because she had a male soul in a female body, and which thus essentially reproduced heterosexuality, Raffalovich's view of "unisexuality" held that it consisted of attraction to the ''same'' sex, closer to the modern conception of homosexuality. He wrote of gay men, "As men, they love men; but they affirm that were they women they would love women." He made the distinction between the born and the chosen inverts. He believed the former worth considering while the latter he thought to be mired in vice and perversion. Raffalovich drew, however, a difference with heterosexuality based on the idea of vice and virtue. He regarded a heterosexual's destiny as marriage and starting a family, whereas a homosexual's duty, he believed, was to overcome and transcend his desires with artistic pursuits and spiritual – even mystical – friendships. These views led him to clash with

Magnus Hirschfeld Magnus Hirschfeld (14 May 1868 – 14 May 1935) was a German physician, Sexology, sexologist and LGBTQ advocate, whose German citizenship was later revoked by the Nazi government.David A. Gerstner, ''Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer ...

and the members of the

Scientific Humanitarian Committee The Scientific-Humanitarian Committee (, WhK) was founded by Magnus Hirschfeld in Berlin in May 1897, to campaign for social recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and against their legal Violence against LGBT people, pers ...

, with Raffalovich accusing them of being propagandists for moral dissolution and of wanting to destroy whole generations. He even supported

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Paragraph 175 Paragraph 175, known formally a§175 StGBand also referred to as Section 175 in English language, English, was a provision of the Strafgesetzbuch, German Criminal Code from 15 May 1871 to 10 March 1994. It Criminalization of homosexuality, mad ...

as a way to prevent total moral chaos. Raffalovich's failure to reconcile his homosexuality and the Roman Catholic religion he accepted as true pushed him further into his criticism of the early

gay liberation movement The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s in the Western world, that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoff ...

; in 1910, he finally stopped commenting altogether on the subject which had occupied such a place in his life. Instead, he focused on his Edinburgh salon and his support of young artists. He died in 1934, the same year as his now platonic friend, John Gray.

Bibliography

Note: Most of Raffalovich's non-fiction writings are available online from the "Archives d'anthropologie criminelle" (AAC) as *.jpg files. * 1884 ''Cyril and Lionel, and other poems. A volume of sentimental studies'', Kegan Paul & Co., London 1884, 102 pp. * 1885 ''Tuberose and meadow-sweet'' oems D. Boque, London 1885, pp. 120. * 1886 ''In fancy dress'' oems Walter Scott, London 1886, pp. 148. * 1889 ''It is thyself'' oems Walter Scott, London 1889, pp. 146. * 1890 ''A willing exile. A novel'', F. V. White & Co., London 1890, 2 voll. * 189
''Quelques observations sur l'inversion''
"AAC", n. 50, IX 1894, pp. 216–218. * 189
''L'éducation des invertis''
"AAC", n. 54, IX 1894, pp. 738–740. * 1895 ''The thread and the path'' oems David Nutt, London 1895, pp. 106. * 189
''L'uranisme. Inversion sexuelle congenitale. Observations at conseils''
"AAC", X 1895, pp. 99–127. * 1895 ''Uranism, congenital sexual inversion.'' Journal of Comparative Neurology, 5(1) pp 33–65, https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.910050103 * 189
''John Addington Symonds''
"AAC", X 1895, pp. 241–244. * 189
''L'inversion sexuelle''
"AAC", X 1895, pp. 325–332. * 189
''A propos du Roman d'un inverti et de quelques travaux récents sur l'inversion sexuelle''
"AAC", X 1895, pp. 333–336. * 189
''L'affaire Oscar Wilde''
"AAC", X 1895, pp. 445–477. * 189
''Homosexualité et hétérosexualité, trois confessions''
"AAC", X 1895, pp. 748–758. * 189
''Unisexualité anglaise''
"AAC", XI 1896, pp. 429–431. * 1896 ''Uranisme et unisexualité: étude sur differentes manifestations de l'instinct sexuel'', Storck, Lyon & Masson, Paris 1896, 363 pp. * 189
''Annales de l'unisexualité''
"AAC", XII 1897, pp. 87–102 e 185–224. (.pdf). * 190
''L'affaire du prince de Bragance''
"AAC", XVIII 1903, pp. 159–161. * 190
''A propos de l'affaire Shakespeare-Bacon''
"AAC", XVIII 1903, pp. 662–665. * 190
''Les groupes uranistes à Paris et à Berlin''
"AAC", n. 132, XIX 1904, pp. 926–936. * 190
''A propos du syndacat des uranistes''
"AAC", XX nn. 136/137, pp. 283–286. * 190
''Sur Richard Burton''
"AAC", XXI 1906, pp. 474–479. * 190
''Chroniques de l'unisexualité''
"AAC", XXII 1907, pp. 606–632 e 767–786. (.pdf). * 190
''Des mariages entre hommes''
"AAC", XXII 1907, pp. 267–268. * 190
''Chronique de l'unisexualité''
"AAC", XXIV 1909, pp. 353–391. * 191
''L'amour homosexuel''
& ''The origine icand development of the moral ideas, par E. Westermarck (chap. XLIII)'', "AAC", XXV 1910, pp. 291–295 e 295–305.

References

Sources

Marc-André Raffalovich
* Cardon, Patrick, ''A homosexual militant at the beginning of the century: Marc Andre Raffalovich'', "Journal of Homosexuality", XXV 1993 (1–2), pp. 183–191. * Cardon, Patrick, ''Discours littéraire et scientifiques fin de siècle : Les Archives d'Anthropologie Criminelle du Dr Lacassagne de Lyon, 1886–1914'', Université de Provence, 1984. * Cardon, Patrick, ''Discours littéraire et scientifique fin-de-siècle. La discussion sur les homosexualités dans la revue du Dr Lacassagne, Les Archives d’anthropologie criminelle (1886–1914) – autour de Marc-André Raffalovich –'', Paris: Orizons, 2008, collection « homosexualités » * Cardon, Patrick, ''Un pionnier de l'homoliberté. Avec Marc-André Raffalovitch, l'homosexualité cessait d'être une inversion monstrueuse de l'hétérosexualité''. Numéro 389 du 12 octobre 1989 du journal Gai Pied Hebdo (France) * McCormack, Jerusha Hull, "John Gray: Poet, Dandy, & Priest", University Press of New England, Hanover, N.H., 1991. * McCormack, Jerusha Hull, ''The Man Who was Dorian Gray'', St. Martin's Press, New York, 2000. * Rosario, Vernon, ''L'Irrésistible ascension du pervers'', EPEL "les grands classiques de l'érotologie moderne", 2000 (chapitre 3). * Sewell, père Brocard (dir.), ''Two friends: John Gray and André Raffalovich: essays. Biographical and critical'', Saint Albert's Press, Aylesford (Kent) 1963. * Sewell, père Brocard, ''Footnote to the Nineties: a memoir of John Gray and André Raffalovich'', Cecil and Emilia Woolf, London 1968. . * Aldrich R. & Wotherspoon G., ''Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History, from Antiquity to WWII'', Routledge, London, 2001

External links

Raffalovich Papers
at

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, Manchester. {{DEFAULTSORT:Raffalovich, Marc-Andre 1864 births 1934 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism English Roman Catholics Lay Dominicans French gay writers French people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Gay Jews Gay poets French LGBTQ rights activists LGBTQ Roman Catholics 19th-century French Jews French LGBTQ poets French male poets French emigrants to the United Kingdom 19th-century French LGBTQ people 20th-century French LGBTQ people