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Jane Bowles (/boʊls/; born Jane Sydney Auer; February 22, 1917 – May 4, 1973) was an American writer and playwright.

Early life

Born into a Jewish family in New York City on February 22, 1917 to Sydney Auer (father) and Claire Stajer (mother), Jane Bowles spent her childhood in Woodmere, New York, on Long Island. She developed tuberculous arthritis of the knee as a teenager after falling off her horse at a school in Massachusetts, and her mother took her to Switzerland for treatment, where she attended boarding school. At this point in her life, she developed an intense love for writing and literature along with many obscure insecurities and obsessions. As a teenager she returned to New York, where she gravitated to the intellectual bohemia of Greenwich Village. This is also about the time when Jane discovered her bisexual nature, and met her husband to-be.

She married composer and writer Paul Bowles in 1938. Jane and Paul had some similarities; that they were both only children, did not want children, and were fluent in French. But besides these similarities, Jane and Paul were almost complete polar opposites. While Jane was quite emotional, dependent, outgoing, and fearful, Paul was parental, adventurous, and reserved. While Jane was an entertainer throwing mass parties, Paul observed. Jane was jealous, self-doubting, a heavy drinker, and promiscuous, Paul was confident, level-headed, heavy into drugs (which he deemed responsible for his creative moments), and private about his sex life. Jane was sloth-like and preferred the familiar, Paul loved the unknown and was passionate about his work. These differences set a complex stance on their marriage, but both mainly looked at each other a business partners who kept each other company, and made good travel companions. The location of the honeymoon, Central America, and Jane's eccentricity inspired the setting and theme for her novel Two Serious Ladies.

Love Life

Bowles had a rich love life from the start. In 1937, she met Paul Bowles and went on a trip to Mexico with him, but hated it. This was not so great for their future relationship, but in the following year (1938), they were married and went on a honeymoon in Central America. The reasons for this marriage were partially so Paul could annoy his anti-Semitic father, in which he hated, and so Jane, quite ambitious at the time, could break into the literary and musical world through marrying a well-established and connected man. They went on to travel together. Jane visited lesbian bars while they traveled together in Paris. The marriage was a sexual marriage for about a year and a half. After the initial year, Jane and Paul were platonic companions, but had completely separate sexual lives. They both were bisexual, and mainly preferred to have sex outside of their marriage and had agreed upon being sexually free before marriage. They were unashamed of their bisexuality, and marriage allowed them to express it. However, Jane would stay out late at night, sometimes even into the morning, with whatever lady she could find, which, like a parent, worried Paul.

But without Marriage, Paul and Jane would not have been able to travel together, and they balanced each other out. Both agreed that the sexual freedom enabled them to a better relationship; “I cannot imagine a better time really than being in a place we both liked and each of us being free and having adventures.” .But Jane's adventure could ruin these happy moments. To many, Paul and Jane were like brother and sister than husband and wife.

After these escapades, Jane and Paul went to Mexico where Jane later met Helvetia Perkins, who became her lover, her inspiration, and to some her demise.

Career

In her entire career, Jane only published one novel, one play, and a collection of short stories; all were met with contradicting reviews. Many found her writing pointless and lazy, while others found it ingenious. In 1943 her novel Two Serious Ladies was published to mixed reviews. Many, including Jane herself, found the novel careless, dramatic, and inscrutable. Those in favor of the novel argued it was worth the language of the text. The Bowles' lived in New York until 1947, when Paul moved to Tangier, Morocco; Jane followed him in 1948. While in Morocco, Jane had an intense and complicated relationship with a Moroccan peasant woman named Cherifa. Most of Jane's friends disliked Cherifa, and said she was odd and was stealing Jane's money; which was the case. She also had a close relationship with torch singer Libby Holman. While in Morroco, Jane published the short story "Camp Cataract" with the same mixed reviews. Jane wrote a few other short stories that were never quite popular. Some said that Jane hated writing to the point of physical pain, and she needed to be alone in her office if she were to write or accomplish anything.

Jane Bowles wrote the play In the Summer House, which was performed on Broadway in 1953 to mixed reviews. Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, and John Ashbery, all friends of Jane, all highly praised her work.

Camp Cataract

"Camp Cataract" was one Jane's only other works. "Camp Cataract" is written in shifting 3rd person point of view, mostly going back and forth between sisters Harriet and Sadie. "This is an odd story with slightly crazy main characters. They are eccentric, dysfunctional, and stunted; a refection of Jane Bowles. Harriet has been "sent" away to convalescent camp; Sadie comes to visit despite the fact that all family is supposed to stay away for the duration of Harriet's stay. Sadie has an unhealthy attraction and need to be near her sister. The story starts with a letter begging Harriet not to get wanderlust."

This Short story, like most of Jane's work, was met with contradicting reviews.

In the Summer House

In the Summer House was her only full-length play. It was first performed in 1951 in the Hedgerow Theater in Moylan, Pennsylvania (Blogspot) starring Judith Anderson. The Broadway play opened at the Playhouse Theatre December 29, 1953 with music by Paul Bowles, her husband, where it ran for two months to mixed reviews and low attendance (The New York Times ). Around 1963, the play was revived. The play was revived again in 1993 At the Vivian Beaumont Theater with incidental music by Philip Glass. In 1994, the revival was nominated for outstanding director of a play, set design, supporting actress, JoAnne Akalaitis, George Tsypin, Frances Conroy, respectively (Playbill).

The overarching plot is the comparison of an overbearing mother and gentle daughter and a gentle mother and an overbearing daughter. The plot is driven by character interaction and not action. The play begins with a monolog by Ms. Gertude Eastman Cuevas, an isolated widow from southern California who marries a rich Mexican (with a singing and dancing comrades), who is oppressive towards her daughter. The other widow is Ms. Constable and her challenging daughter. The daughters are both unstable. Miss Cueva has a suitor which makes the mother feel like she needs to be more overbearing. The first act closes on Ms. Cuevas and her new husband reading newspaper silently. The second act occurs in a restaurant named The Lobster Bowl and uses intensive food imagery. Bowles' complex relationship with her mother could have been inspiration for the plot.

Death

Bowles, who was an alcoholic, suffered a "near-fatal" stroke in 1957 at age 40. Similarly, Jane's father suffered a life ending stroke when he was a bout the same age. The stroke affected her sight and capacity to imagine, however, she pushed through her health issues and continued to write, but to no avail.

"Jane suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and serious loss of vision, became suicidal, and tried to slash her wrists. She was manic-depressive, had epileptic fits, and endured a series of electroshock treatments. She continued to drink heavily to alleviate depression and took pills for hypertension and epilepsy. She had two abdominal operations, Doctors couldn’t help her, morphine failed to ease the pain, and she screamed all night. "

Her health and marriage continued to decline, due to Paul having to give up almost everything to care for Jane, and despite various treatments in England and the United States, she had to be admitted to a clinic in Málaga, Spain, where she died in 1973 at the age of 56. Her death rocked Paul's world, as she was his muse, and helped him express his emotions. Along with other things, Paul lost a part of his imagination, only wrote a few more short stories, then stopped writing altogether and switched professions to translating in Arabic.

Legacy

In Paul Bowles' semi-autobiographical novel The Sheltering Sky, the characters Port and Kit Moresby were based on him and his wife. Debra Winger played Kit in the film adaptation of the novel. Jane was later described as “the most important writer of prose fiction in Modern American letters” (Tennessee Williams); a “modern legend” (Truman Capote); and a “mistress of the elliptical, an angel of the odd” (Joy Williams). Despite her tragic life, she inspired many people with her unexpected personality and witty humor. Jane is remembered today as a modern-classical writer and a literary genius.

References

• Dillon, Millicent. "Jane Bowles: A Short Biography". www.paulbowles.org. Estate Bowles. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
• Dillon, Millicent (1981). A Little Original Sin: The Life and Work of Jane Bowles. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21193-6.

Further reading

Jane Bowles was often known for her strong beliefs in the importance of development and growth. As seen by one of her writings, “The challenges that you face when transitioning will allow you to grow, which may also lead to a more exciting view of the world”.

Archival sources

• Jane Bowles Papers, 1966–1967 (37 items) are housed in the Special Collections Department of the University of Virginia Library.
• Millicent Dillon Papers, 1905–1990 are housed in the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Contains notebooks and manuscripts written by and about Jane Bowles.

External links

• The Authorized Paul Bowles Web Site, the official Jane Bowles Web site.
• Works by or about Cybulskia3/sandbox in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Jane Auer Bowles Collection at the University of Texas
• Sprague, Claire. "Jane Bowles", Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia
• Meyers, Jeffery. “The Oddest Couple: Paul and Jane Bowles.” Michigan Quarterly Review, University of Michigan Library, 2011

Category:1917 births Category:1973 deaths Category:20th-century American novelists Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century women writers Category:Bisexual women Category:Bisexual writers Category:LGBT Jews Category:American LGBT writers Category:People from Greenwich Village Category:People from Málaga Category:People from Woodmere, New York Category:People from Staten Island Category:People from Tangier Category:Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Category:Beat Generation writers Category:American women dramatists and playwrights Category:American women novelists Category:LGBT dramatists and playwrights Category:LGBT novelists Category:LGBT people from New York (state) Category:American expatriates in Mexico