During his teens, he fell in love with a young woman who was a little older than him, Mary Chaworth. However he overheard her remarking “Do you think that I could care for that lame boy?” which hurt him desperately. During his years at Harrow though he also had many emotional attachments to other boys… which may have had a sexual component. He went later to Cambridge and also formed close friendships with young men of his own class. Although he was sexually attracted to some women, he did not seem to like women very much and found more pleasure in the companionship of his men friends.. His bad relationship with his mother may have accounted for this ambivalent attitude towards women.
He developed liberal political views and sought out friends who shared them. He also continued to enjoy sports such as boxing and horse riding which he pursued eagerly.
At college he was happy but annoyed his mother by gambling and spending too much money. In 1809, he followed tradition by going on a Grand Tour, which was the custom for rich young men and which was supposed to educate them in the ways of foreign countries. The ongoing Napoleonic wars restricted where he could travel.. He started out from Portugal and planned to go to the Eastern Ottoman Empire.
No comments:
Post a Comment