Monocles

Throughout the novel, monocles serve as a symbol for lesbian visibility. When Sylvia moves to Paris, she describes the gay bars that she frequents where women dress in suits and monocles to indicate their sexuality. While Paris, during the 1920s, does not culturally abide by heteronormative standards, the lesbian characters still use dress to express their sexuality. When Sylvia and other gay women want to express their sexual orientation, without overly stating it, they wear monocles.

Ulysses

James Joyce’s novel, Ulysses, is a narrative symbol for the danger of censorship. In the United States, politicians decry the book as smut, and it is seized by the United States Postal Service under the Comstock Act. By censoring literature, that alludes to homosexuality and speaks openly about bodies, American legislation seeks to erase the reflection of marginalized voices. Censorship not only squashes the novel, but it also...