Miss Ogilvy Does Not Find Herself: The Repression of Queer Expression Post World War l
Faculty Mentor
Jonathan Johnson
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
4-14-2026 9:00 AM
End Date
4-14-2026 9:20 AM
Location
PUB 319
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Creative Writing
Abstract
World War l was a historical period of intense societal change, and although it brought upon a lot of devastation, there were also groups of people that experienced liberation because of the war. Radclyffe Hall’s short story “Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself” is an example of the ways in which the war offered relief for queer women who had previously been expected to exist within rigid gender roles. Through an uncommon perspective readers are able to get a sense of the ways in which gendered societal expectations shifted during the war and the positive outcomes this brought about. Although these hopeful changes the war caused were not permanent, these experiences are still important to highlight as they are demonstrative of the harms that traditional norms or expectations can cause certain individuals or minority groups. This paper examines Hall’s short story through the lenses of feminist and queer theory and also contrasts the sentiments expressed by Hall with the writings of wartime poets such as Siegfried Sassoon.
Recommended Citation
Krieger, Kennedie, "Miss Ogilvy Does Not Find Herself: The Repression of Queer Expression Post World War l" (2026). 2026 Symposium. 1.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2026/op_2026/o2_2026/1
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Miss Ogilvy Does Not Find Herself: The Repression of Queer Expression Post World War l
PUB 319
World War l was a historical period of intense societal change, and although it brought upon a lot of devastation, there were also groups of people that experienced liberation because of the war. Radclyffe Hall’s short story “Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself” is an example of the ways in which the war offered relief for queer women who had previously been expected to exist within rigid gender roles. Through an uncommon perspective readers are able to get a sense of the ways in which gendered societal expectations shifted during the war and the positive outcomes this brought about. Although these hopeful changes the war caused were not permanent, these experiences are still important to highlight as they are demonstrative of the harms that traditional norms or expectations can cause certain individuals or minority groups. This paper examines Hall’s short story through the lenses of feminist and queer theory and also contrasts the sentiments expressed by Hall with the writings of wartime poets such as Siegfried Sassoon.
