So. I am a straight male. One of my main characters (one could argue the main character) is gay and in the "closet". He's a very pious young man and a follower of a very sex negative religion. He's grown up practicing this religion and almost everyone around him has too. This religion views sex merely as a means of reproduction, and frowns upon sex in general. Although not one of the founding tenets, homosexuality is very frowned upon. This stems from the "sex = reproduction only" doctrine.
This character is very repressed and often lies to himself about his sexuality. When he has thoughts about other men he feels dirty, guilty, and ashamed. He hasn't told anyone about his orientation because he fears what they may think. He's constantly terrified at his feelings because of his beliefs regarding the afterlife. Throughout the course of the story, he finds himself in a brothel (which are tolerated where he's from but are considered "havens of iniquity and degeneracy") where he hires a prostitute, thinking that it will 'cure' him.
My dilemma is this then: My character thinks of himself as unnatural and an abomination. He considers this often in the text. However, I (of course) don't think he is unnatural or an abomination. What I fear is that when he thinks these thoughts about himself in the narrative some readers may misinterpret that as my views on homosexuality. Now, I know there's no way to please everyone and someone is bound to misinterpret it. I guess my question is: do you think the average fantasy reader is understanding enough to see that it is the character's opinion and not mine? I mean, deep third-person is common in the genre, but I'd like to run it by everyone to make sure.
Thanks!
This character is very repressed and often lies to himself about his sexuality. When he has thoughts about other men he feels dirty, guilty, and ashamed. He hasn't told anyone about his orientation because he fears what they may think. He's constantly terrified at his feelings because of his beliefs regarding the afterlife. Throughout the course of the story, he finds himself in a brothel (which are tolerated where he's from but are considered "havens of iniquity and degeneracy") where he hires a prostitute, thinking that it will 'cure' him.
My dilemma is this then: My character thinks of himself as unnatural and an abomination. He considers this often in the text. However, I (of course) don't think he is unnatural or an abomination. What I fear is that when he thinks these thoughts about himself in the narrative some readers may misinterpret that as my views on homosexuality. Now, I know there's no way to please everyone and someone is bound to misinterpret it. I guess my question is: do you think the average fantasy reader is understanding enough to see that it is the character's opinion and not mine? I mean, deep third-person is common in the genre, but I'd like to run it by everyone to make sure.
Thanks!