the Barrow girl
I've been thinking a lot about the characters in the Johannes Cabal series, which I do a lot, and their coded sexuality, which I do a lot anyway.
So I feel like Cabal can be read as a fairly asexual, almost exclusively heteroromantic character (I think he could bend for a guy, but that dude would have to be so incredibly smart and charming and way, way less of an asshole than Cabal but also totally capable of being patient and tolerant of Cabal's darker urges. So basically no one, and definitely not anyone that I think Howard would ever write).
Following the latest book, my assessment of Horst is that he is regretfully, very heterosexual.
Leonie I'm not so sure about. I was thinking about her, and I think there are actually lots of different ways to read her, because we just don't know that much. I think an ace reading is valid for her, like it is for Cabal, partly because Howard's prose is so asexual, but I also realized I just really love the idea of Leonie having and insisting on really healthy sexual relationships and knowing how to set boundaries and liking it but not letting it run her life, and that relationships need to be about more than sex for her. Though, again, I understand others may find a totally ace reading of her more legitimate for them and I think that's more than fair, too.
But again, her sexuality? I was thinking about it earlier, and I would almost characterize it as "she's literally never thought about it before", because I really, truly believe that even if she was into girls, growing up in a small town, during what's implied to be a somewhat conservative time period, it just never would have occured to her? She never would have been propositioned by another girl, and she never would have had to confront her feelings on it beyond her initial surprise and kind of natural caution. And I like to think she'd be really conflicted and need to parse through her feelings, at least, if she was taken out of that environment.
(And actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize that, since we just don't know anything about Leonie's sexuality, there's also a case to be made for her being a lesbian, which would be so extraordinarily interesting, as much as I really like shipping her with male characters in the series. Like, I'm bi, so my gut instinct is always going to be to see bi stories where there might be queer stories. But I realize the idea of that kind of cute prudish girl growing up in a fairly conservative small town and time period, not turning repression of her sexuality into self-loathing, but into something productive and seeming to not be interested in sex just because she's not interested in men, because expressing herself sexually was never an option, also has a lot of legitmacy. Granted, I've NEVER known a queer person who hasn't been hurt in profound, immeasurable ways by needing to repress their feelings as children, so I'm not sure how realistic it is that Leonie would be as emotionally healthy as she is if that were the case, because the truth of it is that it hurts a lot of people...but I also know people are tired of the same sorts of coming out stories, and there might be something to be said for that one character who's just like, "Yeah, it was never a priority for me. It was more important that I finish school and be there for my father" even knowing that about herself. Not that I'm saying that's who Leonie is. It's a stretch, but it would be really interesting. And considering the way certain parts of her story have gone, it would be a great, short-hand way of saying that she never belonged to the Devil before she signed that contract, even knowing she was gay, which would be an amazingly affirming experience for a young queer person growing up in a pretty religious environment. Granted, I like to think that it would lead to more eventually, but again, ONLY a what-if)
So I feel like Cabal can be read as a fairly asexual, almost exclusively heteroromantic character (I think he could bend for a guy, but that dude would have to be so incredibly smart and charming and way, way less of an asshole than Cabal but also totally capable of being patient and tolerant of Cabal's darker urges. So basically no one, and definitely not anyone that I think Howard would ever write).
Following the latest book, my assessment of Horst is that he is regretfully, very heterosexual.
Leonie I'm not so sure about. I was thinking about her, and I think there are actually lots of different ways to read her, because we just don't know that much. I think an ace reading is valid for her, like it is for Cabal, partly because Howard's prose is so asexual, but I also realized I just really love the idea of Leonie having and insisting on really healthy sexual relationships and knowing how to set boundaries and liking it but not letting it run her life, and that relationships need to be about more than sex for her. Though, again, I understand others may find a totally ace reading of her more legitimate for them and I think that's more than fair, too.
But again, her sexuality? I was thinking about it earlier, and I would almost characterize it as "she's literally never thought about it before", because I really, truly believe that even if she was into girls, growing up in a small town, during what's implied to be a somewhat conservative time period, it just never would have occured to her? She never would have been propositioned by another girl, and she never would have had to confront her feelings on it beyond her initial surprise and kind of natural caution. And I like to think she'd be really conflicted and need to parse through her feelings, at least, if she was taken out of that environment.
(And actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize that, since we just don't know anything about Leonie's sexuality, there's also a case to be made for her being a lesbian, which would be so extraordinarily interesting, as much as I really like shipping her with male characters in the series. Like, I'm bi, so my gut instinct is always going to be to see bi stories where there might be queer stories. But I realize the idea of that kind of cute prudish girl growing up in a fairly conservative small town and time period, not turning repression of her sexuality into self-loathing, but into something productive and seeming to not be interested in sex just because she's not interested in men, because expressing herself sexually was never an option, also has a lot of legitmacy. Granted, I've NEVER known a queer person who hasn't been hurt in profound, immeasurable ways by needing to repress their feelings as children, so I'm not sure how realistic it is that Leonie would be as emotionally healthy as she is if that were the case, because the truth of it is that it hurts a lot of people...but I also know people are tired of the same sorts of coming out stories, and there might be something to be said for that one character who's just like, "Yeah, it was never a priority for me. It was more important that I finish school and be there for my father" even knowing that about herself. Not that I'm saying that's who Leonie is. It's a stretch, but it would be really interesting. And considering the way certain parts of her story have gone, it would be a great, short-hand way of saying that she never belonged to the Devil before she signed that contract, even knowing she was gay, which would be an amazingly affirming experience for a young queer person growing up in a pretty religious environment. Granted, I like to think that it would lead to more eventually, but again, ONLY a what-if)