Mysteries of Pittsburgh
English 209
Paper #2
Love Sees No Gender, Only Truth
The novel The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon revolved around the life of a man named Arthur Bechstein. Arthur, often referred to as “Art” is a new graduate from the University of Pittsburgh who seems to be sexually confused throughout the novel. He first falls in love with a beautiful young woman named Phlox and later ends up revealing his love for his friend Arthur Lecomte. Chabon never openly says who Arthur is truly in love with and leaves the readers to figure this mystery out for themselves. It is clear that from the beginning of the novel Arthur Bechstein is in love with his best friend Arthur Lecomte. Arthur Bechstein is a very interesting character. Although he seems to lead a pretty average life, he definitely has some skeletons in his closet that are exposed throughout the novel. His father is part of the gang scene in Pittsburgh and is one of the biggest names in the money laundering business. Despite this fact Arthur tries to lead an average life with a job at the bookstore that his father does not approve of. He battled with his sexuality even before his college years. In the novel there is a point where Arthur reminisces on his sexuality during his teen years:
There had been a time in high school, see, when I wrestled with possibility that I might be gay, a torturous six-month culmination of years of unpopularity and girllessness. At night I coolly informed myself that was gay and that I had better get used to it (Chabon, 156).
Nothing ever came out of his attempt at forcing himself to be homosexual. In fact, he soon had sex with multiple women which seemed to cure him of his confusion even though he states that he never forgot about that period in his life. At one point in the novel Cleveland speaks with Art about being homosexual when Art receives his letter from Phlox, “As a matter of fact Bechstein, I don’t think you are. In my corroded opinion, I think you’re
Paper #2
Love Sees No Gender, Only Truth
The novel The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon revolved around the life of a man named Arthur Bechstein. Arthur, often referred to as “Art” is a new graduate from the University of Pittsburgh who seems to be sexually confused throughout the novel. He first falls in love with a beautiful young woman named Phlox and later ends up revealing his love for his friend Arthur Lecomte. Chabon never openly says who Arthur is truly in love with and leaves the readers to figure this mystery out for themselves. It is clear that from the beginning of the novel Arthur Bechstein is in love with his best friend Arthur Lecomte. Arthur Bechstein is a very interesting character. Although he seems to lead a pretty average life, he definitely has some skeletons in his closet that are exposed throughout the novel. His father is part of the gang scene in Pittsburgh and is one of the biggest names in the money laundering business. Despite this fact Arthur tries to lead an average life with a job at the bookstore that his father does not approve of. He battled with his sexuality even before his college years. In the novel there is a point where Arthur reminisces on his sexuality during his teen years:
There had been a time in high school, see, when I wrestled with possibility that I might be gay, a torturous six-month culmination of years of unpopularity and girllessness. At night I coolly informed myself that was gay and that I had better get used to it (Chabon, 156).
Nothing ever came out of his attempt at forcing himself to be homosexual. In fact, he soon had sex with multiple women which seemed to cure him of his confusion even though he states that he never forgot about that period in his life. At one point in the novel Cleveland speaks with Art about being homosexual when Art receives his letter from Phlox, “As a matter of fact Bechstein, I don’t think you are. In my corroded opinion, I think you’re