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Desert of the Heart
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Desert of the Heart is a 1964 novel written by Jane Rule. The story was adapted into the 1985 film Desert Hearts, directed by Donna Deitch. The book was originally published in hardback by Macmillan Canada. It was one of the very few novels addressing lesbianism that was published in hardback form; most books during this period with female homosexuality as a topic were considered lesbian pulp fiction until 1969.

Key Information

At the time the novel was published, Rule was a lecturer at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and because the novel dealt with sapphic romance, her job was threatened.[1]

Desert of the Heart was first republished in paperback form by Talonbooks in 1977.

Background

[edit]

Rule's family lived in Reno, Nevada, where the book is set, and although she was not a resident, she visited them. One summer, Rule worked in a casino to research for the book and was impressive in her competence.[2] Rule completed the book in 1961 and spent three years trying to find a publisher for it, eventually sending it to about 25 American publishers. Rule remembered that one publisher told her, "If this book isn't pornographic, what's the point of printing it? ... if you can write in the dirty parts we'll take it but otherwise no".[2]

Plot summary

[edit]

Evelyn Hall is an English professor from the University of California. She arrives in Reno to establish a six-week residency to attain a quick divorce, which Nevada was known for at that time. After being married for 15 years, she is overwhelmed with guilt for feeling as if she is ruining her husband's mental health. While in Reno, she stays in the guest home of Frances Packer with other women awaiting their divorces. Frances also lives with Walter, her 18-year-old son and her late lover's 25-year-old daughter, Ann Childs. Evelyn and Ann are startled at how alike they are in appearance, despite their 15-year age difference.

Ann works as a change operator at a local casino and as a relatively successful cartoonist. Ann is revealed to reject significant relationships in her life, and although she is romantic with both men and women, she refuses to become attached to anyone. She is ending a relationship with her boss, Bill, that was significant enough to make her friends believe they were to be married. Ann's best friend is Silver, who works with her at the casino as a dealer, and is also a sometime lover.

Evelyn and Ann begin a friendship that evolves into a romantic relationship in which Evelyn must deal with her guilt after being asked by her husband's doctor to divorce him for his own good. Despite the symptoms of his deep and chronic depression, Evelyn takes the responsibility for the failure of the marriage and his depression upon herself, but after divulging how caustic she is to Ann, she is relieved to realize that the responsibility is not hers to take. Ann must subsequently deal with committing to a relationship wholeheartedly. Being employed by the casino, she is rather well-paid, but is stifled within the atmosphere there, though she continues to work despite her abilities.

Ann is fired from the casino after a slot machine is stolen on her shift when she is distracted by Evelyn being at the casino. Ann's previous split with Bill is not amicable, despite Bill beginning to date another of his employees. There is some suspicion that Bill is spying on Ann and Evelyn, and he threatens to contact Evelyn's husband's lawyer to notify him of Ann and Evelyn's lesbian relationship, but the divorce is finalized without his interference. Immediately after the final hearing, Evelyn and Ann decide to live together "for a while."

Origin of the title

[edit]

The story is set in Reno, Nevada, around which spreads an expanse of desert that initially strikes fear into Evelyn upon her arrival and has been a comfort to Ann during her existence there. It is used to describe Evelyn's lack of knowledge of what real love is, when she tells Ann that she lives "in the desert of the heart." After she falls in love with Ann, the desert surrounding Reno ceases to terrify her. Simultaneously, the desert also ceases to comfort Ann as a place to run to be alone.

Along with the desert climate as a symbol, the setting of the casino in which Ann works and Evelyn visits is also considered a desert of morality. Ann is witness to what the addiction of gambling does to people of all walks of life, including the employees. Being fired from the casino frees Ann from her refusals to care about what happens to the gambling addicts, dealers, other change aprons, and the casino management, and allows her to commit to a more refined life with Evelyn.

The title is taken from a poem by W.H. Auden, his elegy for Yeats. "In the desert of the heart, Let the healing fountain start." Evelyn is a professor of English literature, and she quotes from some of Yeats' poems.

Reception

[edit]

Rule's first novel received warm praise from literary critics who described it as "an intelligent novel, not afraid of ideas, and not committed to them overdiagrammatically."[3] Rule's prose did not sensationalize the relationship between Evelyn and Ann, choosing a detached method of writing. One reviewer noted, "Miss Rule is so arbitrary in her depiction of the major characters' psyche-searching and so sketchy in her description of minor figures that the reader is apt to have little empathy with anyone."[4] One reviewer cautioned potential readers that despite the lack of sensationalism, "The Desert of the Heart is not recommended to those who find sexual perversion an uncomfortable subject."[5]

Desert of the Heart was highly recommended by Gene Damon in The Ladder, who called it "a symbolic delight."[6]

Rule remembered the mail she got from women who read the book. "I got a huge amount of fan mail which I didn't expect. I thought movie stars got fan mail. People were writing things like you are the only person in the world who could possibly understand who I am, how I feel, if I'm not able to talk to someone I'm going to kill myself...it just felt to me overwhelming and depressing that there was so much fear and so much self-hatred and so much loneliness."[7]

It tied for 10th place on a list of top ten gay novels by Bibliofemme, an Irish book club.[8]

Editions

[edit]
  • 1964 – Toronto: Macmillan Canada
  • 1964 – London: Secker and Warburg
  • 1965 – Cleveland: World
  • 1975 – New York: Arno
  • 1977 – Vancouver: Talonbooks
  • 1983 – Tallahassee, FL: Naiad
  • 1991 – Vancouver: Talonbooks
  • 1995 – London: Silver Moon

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Desert of the Heart

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from Grokipedia
Desert of the Heart is a 1964 novel by Jane Rule depicting the romance between Evelyn Hall, a 42-year-old English from the East Coast arriving in , to secure a , and Ann Childs, a 22-year-old slot-machine attendant at a local . Set in the late , the narrative explores the women's evolving relationship amid the arid Reno landscape, which symbolizes emotional transformation and the shedding of societal constraints. Rule's debut novel, written when she was in her early thirties, was published in hardback by a at a time when depictions of faced legal and social , including laws in the United States and . Unlike many contemporaneous works featuring characters that concluded in tragedy or punishment, Desert of the Heart offers a resolution emphasizing mutual acceptance and potential for ongoing happiness, marking an early instance of affirmative representation in the genre. The book's release prompted backlash against Rule, including threats to her academic employment due to its content, reflecting broader institutional intolerance toward open discussions of same-sex relationships. Despite this, it garnered recognition within literary circles for its psychological depth in portraying character motivations and interpersonal dynamics without resorting to or condemnation. In 1985, the novel was adapted into the independent film , directed by , which amplified its cultural impact by visually rendering the story's themes of desire and liberation for a broader . The work remains a foundational text in , valued for challenging conventions of romantic narrative and individual autonomy in the face of conformity.

Author and Historical Context

Jane Rule's Life and Influences

Jane Vance Rule was born on March 28, 1931, in , to a family that relocated frequently due to her father's military service, including stints in the American Midwest and . She earned a degree from Mills College in , in 1952, after which she spent a year in before returning to the for brief further studies. From 1954 to 1956, Rule taught English and biology at , a private school in . In 1956, Rule relocated to , , where she began an intermittent lecturing role at the and formed a lifelong with Helen Sonthoff, an English instructor at the institution; the two lived together from the late 1950s until Sonthoff's death in 2000. Rule resided primarily on , , in later years, continuing her writing career focused on themes of same-sex relationships amid societal constraints. She died on November 27, 2007, at age 76, from complications of at her home on . Rule's literary influences stemmed primarily from her personal experiences as a navigating mid-20th-century social norms, which directly shaped the exploration of unconventional love in works like Desert of the Heart (1964), her debut novel depicting a romance between an older divorcée and a younger woman in . This autobiographical undercurrent emphasized authentic relationships over conforming to heteronormative expectations, reflecting the isolation and hostility faced by lesbians during the and , a period when such themes were rarely addressed openly in mainstream literature. Her commitment to depicting same-sex bonds as viable and transformative, drawn from her partnership with Sonthoff, positioned her as an early voice challenging legal and cultural prohibitions on in both the U.S. and .

Socio-Cultural Milieu of Mid-20th Century America

The post-World War II era in the United States, spanning the and early , was characterized by unprecedented economic prosperity and social conformity. Following the war's end in , the nation experienced low rates below 5% for much of the decade, minimal inflation, and rising wages that fueled a consumer boom, with middle-class families purchasing automobiles, appliances, and homes at record levels. This affluence supported rapid , as the enabled millions of veterans to access low-interest mortgages, leading to the construction of over 13 million new homes between and 1960, predominantly in suburban developments emphasizing units. The heightened national anxieties, fostering a cultural emphasis on , , and institutional loyalty, exemplified by McCarthy-era investigations that purged suspected subversives from government and cultural spheres. Family structures reinforced traditional roles, with rates peaking and the average age of women at first dropping to 20 by the late , coinciding with a that saw birth rates double from pre-war levels to over 25 per 1,000 population in 1957. Societal ideals promoted men as sole breadwinners and women as homemakers devoted to child-rearing and domestic duties, a model propagated through media like television shows and women's magazines that idealized the suburban . Despite this facade of stability, underlying tensions emerged, as evidenced by Alfred Kinsey's 1948 and 1953 reports revealing widespread , extramarital affairs, and non-heteronormative behaviors that contradicted public moral standards, though these findings faced backlash from conservative religious and civic groups. Sexual norms remained rigidly conservative, with criminalized under sodomy laws in every state and classified as a psychiatric disorder by the until 1973. The , paralleling the , led to the dismissal of thousands of federal employees suspected of following a 1950 Senate report deeming them security risks prone to blackmail, resulting in over 5,000 purge actions by 1959. Lesbian and gay individuals operated in clandestine networks, with early advocacy groups like the (founded 1950) and (1955) forming amid pervasive stigma, where public exposure risked job loss, institutionalization, or social ostracism. This repressive environment persisted into the early 1960s, prior to the sexual revolution's acceleration with the pill's approval in 1960 and broader cultural shifts, maintaining a milieu where deviations from heterosexual were pathologized and marginalized.

Publication and Development

Writing Process

Jane Rule composed Desert of the Heart, her , while residing in , , after relocating there in from the . Living with her longtime partner, Helen Sonthoff, who held a faculty position at the (UBC), Rule drafted the manuscript amid her own role as a in English and at UBC. The work, initially titled Permanent Resident, was completed by 1962, reflecting Rule's intent to depict a psychologically nuanced romance set against Reno, Nevada's culture and its six-week residency requirements for legal dissolution of marriage. Rule's approach emphasized first-principles character development to subvert prevailing literary stereotypes of lesbians as tragic, pathological, or sensationalized figures, drawing critique from earlier works like Radclyffe Hall's (1928) and tropes of inevitable misery or erotic excess. She crafted protagonists Evelyn Hall, a divorcing English , and Ann Childs, a gambling-machine operator, to embody agency and mutual , avoiding didacticism or while prioritizing causal realism in their emotional and relational dynamics. This method involved iterative refinement to ensure the narrative's literary respectability, targeting mainstream hardcover outlets over mass-market pulp, though the process extended over several years amid her teaching commitments. Challenges during composition included navigating mid-20th-century cultural pathologization of , informed by Rule's personal experiences as a in a pre-Stonewall era lacking visible networks. Despite these constraints, Rule maintained a commitment to positive relational outcomes, later reflected in her resistance to the publisher-mandated change from Permanent Resident to Desert of the Heart, derived from W.H. Auden's , which she viewed as less fitting but acceded to for release. The novel's drafting in 1961, as corroborated by contemporaneous accounts, underscores Rule's deliberate pacing to achieve thematic depth over expediency.

Initial Publication Details

Desert of the Heart was first published in 1964 by The Macmillan Company of Limited in , marking the initial edition that preceded all subsequent releases. This Canadian first edition established the novel's debut in print, with the publisher handling distribution primarily within before international editions followed. The novel's path to publication involved significant challenges, as author Jane Rule faced rejection from 22 publishers prior to acceptance by Macmillan . Despite these setbacks, the 1964 edition appeared without major alterations from the submitted , reflecting Rule's persistence in securing a venue for her exploration of relationships during an era of limited mainstream acceptance for such themes. The first printing details, including exact run size, remain undocumented in primary records, though surviving copies are noted for their hardcover format and standard trade binding typical of mid-1960s . An American edition followed later in 1964 from The World Publishing Company in and New York, but the Macmillan version holds precedence as the true first. No specific release date beyond the year 1964 is consistently verified across bibliographic sources, though the publication aligned with broader literary outputs from Canadian presses during that period.

Subsequent Editions

Following the initial 1964 publication by Macmillan of Canada, Desert of the Heart saw several reprint editions, often tied to renewed interest sparked by the 1985 film adaptation Desert Hearts. In 1985, Naiad Press released a U.S. paperback edition with 222 pages, capitalizing on the film's release to reach a broader audience amid growing visibility for lesbian-themed literature. A 1991 reprint by Talonbooks, a Canadian publisher, appeared in paperback format with 224 pages, maintaining the original text without substantive alterations and reflecting sustained Canadian interest in Rule's work. This edition, published on February 19, 1991, was part of Talonbooks' efforts to reissue Canadian literary classics. In 2005, Bella Books issued a reprint edition on July 1, targeting niche markets for lesbian fiction, with 216 pages in paperback; this version emphasized the novel's foundational role in the genre. The Virago Press UK edition followed in 2010, released on October 7 as part of the Virago Modern Classics series, in a 242-page paperback that introduced the work to contemporary British readers through a feminist publishing lens. Digitally, Open Road Media published a Kindle edition on June 18, 2013, expanding accessibility via e-books without physical print limitations. These later editions preserved Rule's unaltered prose, focusing on republication rather than revision, and aligned with periodic revivals in literary studies. No major textual variants or editorial overhauls have been documented across these releases.

Narrative Structure

Key Characters

Evelyn Hall is the novel's central protagonist, depicted as a 42-year-old English literature professor from Vancouver who travels to Reno, Nevada, in the summer of 1957 to secure a divorce after 16 years of an unfulfilling marriage. Her character embodies intellectual restraint and emotional suppression, shaped by societal expectations of mid-20th-century femininity, leading her to question her identity and desires upon encountering new influences in Reno. Ann Childs, the secondary , is a 27-year-old attendant at a Reno , characterized by her independence, artistic inclinations, and unapologetic orientation, which contrasts sharply with Evelyn's conformity. Living in a run by her , Ann initiates the evolving relationship with Evelyn, serving as a catalyst for the older woman's self-examination. George Hall, Evelyn's estranged husband, appears primarily through her recollections as a once-promising academic overshadowed by her career , contributing to their marital breakdown as diagnosed by his . His passive demeanor underscores themes of conventional roles and emotional disconnection in heterosexual unions. Frances Parker, Ann's stepmother and the proprietor of the Reno where Evelyn resides, functions as a pragmatic, maternal figure who tolerates diverse lifestyles while managing her establishment amid the transient seekers. Her interactions provide and highlight the 's role as a microcosm of social experimentation.

Plot Synopsis

is set in , during the summer of 1958, where rapid divorces attract residents fulfilling a six-week legal requirement. The central character, Evelyn Hall, a literature professor approximately 42 years old, arrives seeking to dissolve her 13-year to George, a union marked by intellectual compatibility but profound emotional disconnection and absence of children. Evelyn resides at a operated by the reticent Frances Parker, who provides lodging to other women in similar predicaments. At the , Evelyn encounters Ann Childs, Frances's 27-year-old adopted daughter, employed as a change girl in a and pursuing cartooning. Ann, characterized by her directness and unapologetic , notices a physical resemblance to Evelyn and initiates contact, initially viewing the encounter as a potential conquest but soon recognizing deeper mutual interest. Evelyn, shaped by her academic reserve and prior homoerotic but unconsummated friendship during , initially recoils from Ann's advances amid the era's legal and social prohibitions on . Their interactions progress through shared excursions into the surrounding desert, philosophical exchanges, and Ann's demonstrations of uninhibited living, fostering Evelyn's attraction despite the 15-year age gap and class differences. The relationship culminates in a physical affair that compels Evelyn to reassess her conformity to heterosexual norms and professional identity, interwoven with subplots involving Ann's past lovers like Silver and associates, as well as Evelyn's divorce proceedings. The narrative traces Evelyn's transformation from isolation to potential self-acceptance, highlighting tensions between desire and societal expectation in mid-20th-century America.

Literary Elements

Origin of the Title

The title of Jane Rule's 1964 novel Desert of the Heart derives directly from a line in W. H. Auden's elegy "In Memory of W.B. Yeats," published in 1940 as part of Auden's collection Another Time. The relevant stanza from the poem's third section reads: "In the deserts of the heart / Let the healing fountain start, / In the prison of his days / Teach the free man how to praise." This evokes emotional or spiritual barrenness yielding to renewal, paralleling the novel's exploration of personal isolation and transformative love amid societal constraints. Auden's poem, written shortly after Yeats's death on January 28, 1939, reflects on mortality, creativity, and human resilience, themes that resonate with Rule's portrayal of protagonists Evelyn Hall and Ann Childs navigating , desire, and self-discovery in . Rule, an English literature professor, likely drew from her familiarity with , though no direct statement from her elaborates on the selection beyond the evident textual echo. The phrase's inversion from plural "deserts" to singular "desert" in the title emphasizes a focused inner void, central to the narrative's psychological depth.

Thematic Analysis

The novel Desert of the Heart centers on themes of emotional isolation and human connection, with the arid Nevada landscape serving as a metaphor for the protagonist Evelyn Hall's internal desolation stemming from a conventional, unfulfilling marriage. Evelyn arrives in Reno in the late 1950s to secure a divorce, embodying a pilgrimage not toward spiritual redemption but toward self-reclamation through unexpected intimacy. This isolation extends to broader existential barrenness, where characters grapple with suppressed desires amid societal constraints on sexuality. A core theme is the fluidity of and the primacy of authentic desire over fixed labels, as both Evelyn, an English with prior heterosexual relationships, and Ann Childs, a younger worker experienced with both genders, discover mutual fulfillment without prior same-sex commitments. Rule portrays their bond as psychologically layered, incorporating Freudian elements like maternal dynamics and conquest motifs that evolve into reciprocal love, emphasizing current emotional needs rather than innate orientations. This approach counters earlier pulp fiction tropes by presenting lesbianism as a realistic, viable path grounded in rather than or . The narrative inverts traditional Christian pilgrim motifs, transforming the from a site of ascetic trial leading to heteronormative conformity into a realm of sexual liberation and moral reevaluation. Through Evelyn's arc—from guilt-ridden convention to embracing female sexuality—Rule critiques biblical epistemologies of desire, intertwining with erotic awakening in scenes like the picnic that symbolize rupture from patriarchal norms. This realism in depiction, avoiding tragic or redemptive endings, underscores themes of personal agency and relational balance, where catalyzes growth without simplistic resolution.

Stylistic Techniques

Jane Rule's prose in Desert of the Heart is characterized by a straightforward, unsentimental approach that emphasizes psychological realism and human relationships, deliberately eschewing the sensationalism and formulaic tropes prevalent in mid-20th-century pulp lesbian fiction. This style enables a depiction of lesbian love as ordinary and viable, free from self-pathologizing or exile narratives that dominated earlier works like Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness. By focusing on in-depth character treatment rather than coded language or modernist obfuscation, Rule achieves a balance between literary sophistication and broad accessibility, positioning the novel as a bridge to mainstream respectability for queer-themed literature. The narrative employs a measured tone with sensitivity in handling intimate themes, avoiding or to portray relational dynamics as familiar and non-exotic. This restraint extends to character development, where figures like the Evelyn challenge bisexual or promiscuous stereotypes through grounded, non-archetypal behaviors, reinforcing the novel's commitment to causal realism in emotional over contrived . Such techniques underscore Rule's intent to normalize experiences empirically, drawing on observable human motivations rather than ideological impositions.

Reception and Critique

Contemporary Reviews

Kirkus Reviews offered a skeptical assessment, likening the novel's Reno setting and romantic entanglement to "a little oasis near the moisturized by sentiment," implicitly critiquing its optimistic treatment of love against the backdrop of more tragic precedents in . In niche outlets attuned to its themes, reception was more affirmative; a review in the British periodical Arena Three in April 1964 commended Rule's "boldness" in depicting a consensual relationship without , highlighting the "vividly-drawn" protagonists and their emotional depth. Author Jane Rule later recalled receiving criticism in for accurately diagnosing societal ills but failing to prescribe conventional remedies, suggesting some reviewers faulted the narrative's resolution for lacking overt conflict or condemnation toward the central same-sex romance.

Long-Term Critical Assessment

Over six decades since its publication, Desert of the Heart has been evaluated in scholarly contexts as a pivotal early text in lesbian fiction, distinguished by its portrayal of a consensual, enduring romantic relationship between women that avoids the obligatory tragic endings common in mid-20th-century pulp novels, such as those by . This affirmative resolution—where protagonists Evelyn Hall and Ann Childs commit to a shared future after navigating personal inhibitions—marked a departure from conventions associating same-sex desire with inevitable or isolation, influencing subsequent narratives toward themes of mutual fulfillment and agency. Literary analyses, including those in , commend the novel for complicating essentialist views of identity and sexuality, portraying love as a transformative force unbound by societal or , which prefigures later deconstructions of fixed categories in works like those of . For instance, examinations of Rule's fiction highlight its resistance to by emphasizing relational ethics over victimhood, a stance that contrasts with more grievance-oriented frameworks in post-1970s . Such assessments, drawn from peer-reviewed studies, underscore the book's enduring relevance in discussions of narrative survival and autonomy, evidenced by its republication in 1977 by Naiad Press amid rising feminist publishing and its role in neoliberal-era queer visibility through small-press revivals. Critics have noted stylistic limitations, including a restrained prose that prioritizes psychological introspection over vivid sensory detail, potentially muting the erotic or social tensions inherent to the Reno divorce-mill setting of 1950s Nevada. This approach, while enabling broad accessibility—selling steadily post-1964 without blockbuster sales—has led some reviewers to classify it as competent but not stylistically innovative, valuing its thematic boldness over literary artistry. Despite this, the novel's adaptation into the 1985 film Desert Hearts, which amplified its cultural footprint, has prompted reassessments affirming its foundational status, though academic queer studies occasionally overemphasize representational "firsts" at the expense of contextualizing Rule's universalist humanism amid era-specific censorship pressures.

Achievements and Shortcomings

Desert of the Heart achieved pioneering status in by presenting a romance between women that culminates in mutual commitment rather than tragedy or self-destruction, diverging from precedents like Radclyffe Hall's (1928), which emphasized misery and exile. Published first in and the in 1964 and in the United States in 1965 by the after over 20 rejections from mainstream houses wary of its theme, the novel avoided sensational pulp archetypes and pathologizing portrayals, instead depicting protagonists Evelyn Hall and Ann Childs as fully realized individuals navigating personal liberation. This approach earned praise for its sensitivity and honesty, with early reader correspondence highlighting its resonance in fostering visibility and affirmation within isolated communities. Thematically, the work excels in probing moral tensions between societal convention and innate desires, exemplified by Evelyn's transformation from a repressed academic divorcing in , to embracing love with the free-spirited Ann, symbolized effectively through the stark desert landscape representing emotional desolation and renewal. Stylistically, Rule employs unaffected dialogue infused with literary allusions and a focus on relational dynamics over explicit sexuality, contributing to its classification as a thoughtful of human bonds rather than didactic propaganda. Its enduring influence is evident in its republication by Naiad Press in the and adaptation into the 1985 film , which amplified its cultural footprint despite the original's modest initial sales. Notwithstanding these merits, the novel encountered commercial shortcomings, with poor initial sales leading to remaindering at 28 cents per copy by 1966, underscoring publishers' skepticism toward its market viability amid homophobic and class-based biases in mid-20th-century literary gatekeeping. Critically, while the resolution affirms value in personal authenticity, some assessments question the compatibility of Evelyn's conventional with Ann's impulsive "moment-living" , potentially straining the romance's plausibility without deeper reconciliation of their philosophical divides. Rule herself acknowledged a negative in for accurately diagnosing social ills yet opting for an optimistic denouement deemed implausible by the critic, reflecting occasional perceptions of overly tidy closure in contrast to the story's realistic setup. These elements, combined with the era's constraints on explicit , limited its immediate mainstream traction, though they did not diminish its retrospective significance as a foundational text.

Adaptations and Legacy

Film Adaptation: Desert Hearts

Desert Hearts is a 1985 American independent drama film directed by in her feature directorial debut, adapting Jane Rule's 1964 novel Desert of the Heart. The screenplay by Natalie Cooper presents a loose adaptation set in , in 1959, where Vivian Bell (), a straitlaced English from Reno, arrives to establish residency for a quick divorce and encounters the free-spirited casino worker Cay Rivvers (), leading to an unexpected romantic and sexual awakening. Supporting roles include as the owner Frances Parker and Andra Akers as Silver Dale, emphasizing an ensemble largely composed of women. The production operated on a shoestring budget, independently financed and executed primarily by women, which allowed for authentic portrayals of female desire and relationships without mainstream studio interference. Filming occurred in Reno and , capturing the desert landscape as a for emotional barrenness and renewal, mirroring the 's thematic use of setting. Deitch, inspired by Rule's during her own coming-out period, prioritized sensual visuals and emotional intimacy, blending elements of pulp romance with polished to depict the protagonists' evolving bond. While faithful to the core narrative of a repressed academic's liberation through a younger woman's influence, the film streamlines the novel's ensemble and subplots, shifting emphasis to the central romance and updating subtle period details to for visual appeal. This condensation heightens the focus on physical and emotional transformation, including explicit scenes of intimacy that were groundbreaking for mainstream visibility of relationships without tragic endpoints. Upon release, the adaptation received acclaim for its sincere depiction of love, earning a 77% approval rating on from critics who praised its tenderness and avoidance of stereotypes. It grossed over $2.5 million domestically on a modest budget, marking a commercial success for independent cinema and influencing subsequent representations by providing a model of affirmative, non-pathologized narratives. Jane Rule herself endorsed the film, appreciating its emotional fidelity despite deviations.

Influence on Literature and Culture

Desert of the Heart (1964) by Jane Rule exerted a foundational influence on by presenting one of the earliest depictions of a fulfilling, non-tragic romantic relationship between women in a mainstream hardcover novel. Unlike prior works that often portrayed as pathological or doomed—such as Radclyffe Hall's (1928), which ended in despair—Rule's narrative concludes with the protagonists Evelyn Hall and Ann Childs embracing a hopeful future together, challenging prevailing stereotypes of inevitable suffering or madness. This affirmative approach provided a template for subsequent authors seeking to normalize desire without reliance on or redemption through . The novel's impact extended to the burgeoning field of LGBTQ+ publishing in the post-Stonewall era, where it was republished by presses like Naiad Press, helping to establish a market for reflective, psychologically nuanced fiction. Rule's understated style and focus on emotional authenticity influenced writers who prioritized character-driven stories over , contributing to a shift toward diverse representations of lives in the and . As the first lesbian-positive novel published in , it also played a role in fostering early North American literary discussions on relationality outside urban gay male narratives. Culturally, Desert of the Heart subtly advanced pre-liberation conversations on female autonomy and desire amid conformity, though its influence was constrained by limited initial distribution and the era's censorship norms. By centering ordinary women's self-discovery in —a site associated with and reinvention—it underscored themes of personal transformation that resonated in feminist literary circles, indirectly informing later cultural reevaluations of gender roles. Its legacy persists in academic analyses of narrative evolution, where it is cited as a pivot from to possibility, enabling more expansive explorations of identity in contemporary works.

Ongoing Debates and Reassessments

Recent scholarly analyses have reassessed Desert of the Heart through interdisciplinary lenses, including , emphasizing the desert landscape as a for sexual liberation and the normalization of same-sex desire, challenging earlier criticisms focused primarily on alone. In this framework, the novel's barren setting facilitates the protagonists' embrace of "animality" and mutual love, reframing ecological sterility as a site of potential rather than desolation. Political reassessments highlight tensions between the novel's integrationist approach—portraying lesbian love as compatible with mainstream —and critiques from feminists who viewed it as insufficiently radical for lacking explicit or . Jane Rule's rejection of self-punishing tropes in prior , opting instead for a of mutual fulfillment without , positioned the work as a bridge to broader audiences, yet drew ire for diluting confrontation with heteronormativity. This debate persists in evaluations of Rule's oeuvre, underscoring her belief that narratives could "cross the aisle" beyond insular communities. Critics note the novel's enduring significance in countering pathological views of from traditions, offering instead psychologically nuanced characters who subvert exile and self-hatred stereotypes. However, its initial publication struggles—over 20 rejections citing market unviability masking homophobia—inform ongoing discussions of class biases in publishing and the challenges of achieving literary respectability for works outside pulp genres. These reassessments affirm the book's role in early visibility while questioning its alignment with later identity-based movements.

References

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  24. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/pride-in-the-1950-s.htm
  25. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-and-sexual-revolution/
  26. https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/bitstream/handle/1828/14612/Hughes_Christine_MA_2022.pdf?sequence=1
  27. https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2021/07/26/desert-of-the-heart-jane-rule-1964/
  28. https://www.burnsiderarebooks.com/pages/books/140946577/jane-rule/the-desert-of-the-heart
  29. https://www.abaa.org/book/1615243841
  30. https://quillandquire.com/authors/2015/04/14/80-years-of-qq-notable-titles-from-cookbooks-to-lgbt-classics/
  31. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/timeline/lgbtq2
  32. https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Desert-Heart-Rule-Jane-World-Publishing/31886410124/bd
  33. https://openlibrary.org/works/OL4797022W/The_desert_of_the_heart
  34. https://www.amazon.com/Desert-Heart-Jane-Rule/dp/0889223017
  35. https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/111999-desert-of-the-heart
  36. https://xtramagazine.com/culture/books-desert-of-the-heart-by-jane-rule-16840
  37. https://www.virago.co.uk/titles/jane-rule/desert-of-the-heart/9781844086788/
  38. https://49thshelf.com/Books/D/Desert-of-the-Heart
  39. https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2022/09/05/book-review-jane-rule-desert-of-the-heart/
  40. https://www.cbsd.com/9780889223011/desert-of-the-heart/
  41. https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Lesbian-Realism-In-Jane-Rules-Desert-Of-PKJAUWMUY4F
  42. http://www.glbtqarchive.com/essays/breen_narratives.pdf
  43. https://talonbooks.com/meta-talon/a-valentine-for-desert-of-the-heart
  44. https://salempress.com/Media/SalemPress/samples/cilgbtq_samplepgs%5B1%5D.pdf
  45. https://www.proquest.com/docview/198669424/8E965B2A97704FEBPQ/90
  46. https://www.cbc.ca/artsprojects/superqueeroes/jane-rule
  47. https://journals.uclpress.co.uk/ljcs/article/id/2346/
  48. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qg9sx
  49. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26161818
  50. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25112609
  51. https://repository.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:1006744/datastream/PDF/download
  52. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/community.28041159.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fbasic_search_gsv2%252Fcontrol&
  53. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3849709
  54. https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2020/06/the-rule-of-jane/
  55. https://www.damemagazine.com/2017/07/07/i-just-cant-quit-you-desert-hearts/
  56. https://afterellen.com/donna-deitch-timeless-lesbian-love-story-desert-hearts/
  57. https://www.enotes.com/topics/jane-vance-rule/critical-essays/christopher-salvesen
  58. https://abcbookworld.com/essay/essay-15602/
  59. https://www.criterion.com/films/29139-desert-hearts
  60. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089015/
  61. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089015/fullcredits/
  62. https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/5118-desert-hearts-the-thrill-of-it-all
  63. https://web.library.yale.edu/film/notes/fn00116
  64. https://www.thelightleaks.com/article/queer-womens-stories-desert-hearts-history
  65. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/desert_hearts
  66. https://lambdaliterary.org/2012/10/listen-to-the-2006-jane-rule-interview-with-women-stirred-radio/
  67. https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/creating-a-literary-culture-a-short-selective-and-incomplete-history-of-lgbt-publishing-part-ii
  68. https://www.thestranger.com/news/1999/09/02/1892/everything-but-the-girl
  69. https://www.academia.edu/88541763/Narratives_of_queer_desire_deserts_of_the_heart
  70. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/36/
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