The stone wall : An autobiography by Mary Casal
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The stone wall by Mary Casal is an autobiography written in the early 20th century. It offers an unflinching, taboo-breaking account of a New England woman’s life from childhood into later years, centering on sexuality, secrecy, and the damage done by social silence. Born in 1864 and raised a tomboy, the narrator describes coercion and abuse by men, her disdain for rigid femininity, and a lasting emotional and romantic pull toward women.
The opening of this autobiography declares a mission to tell truths long hushed, then traces a spirited New England childhood shaped by boys’ games, a mother’s punitive secrecy, and early, coerced sexual encounters that teach concealment and distrust. She argues for frank sex education while recounting predation by a neighbor, a menarche misunderstood through silence, and later harassment by an elderly lodger. Alongside this, she finds joy in sports and dancing, tenderness and nonsexual intimacy with girls, and a single, overpowering but thwarted encounter with a notorious local charmer. As a teen she endures an assault by a brother-in-law, accepts a chaste engagement she doesn’t truly feel, and heads West for college, where she is socially successful, shares kisses with a president’s daughter, recalls unexpected arousal on horseback, and is again coerced by a revered relative. These opening chapters frame a double life: publicly the cheerful, capable “good girl,” privately a survivor who questions Victorian taboos and searches for a love that fits her nature. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Casal, Mary, 1864-1935 |
|---|---|
| Title | The stone wall : An autobiography |
| Original Publication | Chicago: Eyncourt Press, 1930 |
| Credits |
Thanks to Adam Buchbinder, Jens Sadowski, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | HQ: Social sciences: The family, Marriage, Sex and Gender |
| Subject | Autobiography |
| Subject | Lesbians -- United States -- Biography |
| Subject | Casal, Mary, 1864-1935 |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77938 |
| Release Date | Feb 15, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 259 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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