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• 1 2021-04-19T11:16:45-07:00 A Place for Us (1969) 11 by Isabel Miller gallery 2021-04-29T15:07:53-07:00 A Place for Us (1969)
  by Isabel Miller
  The Ohio State University Rare Books and Manuscripts Library
  PS3563.I523 P3 1969
  
  When writing this novel, Alma Routsong created the pen name Isabel Miller to avoid the dangers that accompanied publishing a lesbian novel in the 1960s. A Place for Us, later renamed Patience and Sarah, discusses the real-life struggles of Mary Ann Wilson, a painter who lived with a female companion. Despite the traditional roles of a wife starting to dissipate in the 1960s thanks to various women's rights movements, marriage was still a difficult subject for LGBTQ+ women. Patience and Sarah, the two main characters in this novel, overthink their relationship several times despite their strong love for each other due to the societal disapproval of lesbian relationships. Even when nobody suspected their love, Patience and Sarah still felt afraid that they would be separated, mocked, or threatened. This is even prevalent on the cover of the novel, where you see Patience and Sarah, who look like a couple. Yet, the cover remains ambiguous, as they could be mother and daughter, two sisters, or good friends. The title itself also expresses the desire Patience and Sarah had for a normal relationship. Much like Tony and Maria's desire for a world free of ethnic tension in "There's a Place for Us" from the Broadway musical West Side Story, Alma Routsong is expressing her desire for a place where lesbian couples don't have to hide their relationship.