Sapphic Conceptions Of The Muse

Abstract

From Dante to Gertrude Stein, some of the most prominent artists have found inspiration in another. This thesis explores what it is to be a muse and the role compulsory heterosexuality has in the conception of the passive muse in text as well as narrative cinema. Utilizing Audre Lorde's biomythography Zami a New Spelling of my Name and the film Portrait of Lady on Fire, I explore how these artists conceive of their muses. The difference between the passive muse conception and the various conceptions of these artists is necessary. Since the parameters of the passive muse conception do not account for women as content creators, much less lesbians as content creators, these artists cannot participate it in seeing as the convection doe not encompass them. Moreover, in this text and film, the muses experience the antithetical process to that of the passive muse. Which is to say they go from being an object in many regards to a subject. These works rely heavily on overarching themes of solidarity and the artists’ conception of their muses as extensions of themselves.