Jane Rule

Jane Rule – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Discover the life and legacy of Jane Rule (1931–2007), the groundbreaking novelist, essayist, and activist who shaped lesbian literature and fought for freedom of expression.

Introduction

Jane Vance Rule (March 28, 1931 – November 27, 2007) occupies a special place in 20th-century literature as one of the pioneering voices in lesbian writing and queer visibility. Born in the U.S. but living most of her life in Canada, she crafted stories with emotional honesty, demanding respect for lesbian lives as ordinary, meaningful, and worthy of art. Her best-known novel, Desert of the Heart (1964), gained cult status and was adapted into the film Desert Hearts in 1985. Over her lifetime, Rule also became an outspoken defender of free speech and a mentor for writers.

In this article, we explore her early life, her journey into writing, her activist role, the themes she grappled with, some of her memorable quotes, and the lessons her life leaves us.

Early Life and Family

Jane Vance Rule was born on March 28, 1931 in Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S.

Her father served in the U.S. Navy, which meant that Jane’s childhood involved frequent moves to different military bases. dyslexia and pronounced height (she reportedly reached about six feet by age 12).

During adolescence, Rule discovered The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall — a then-controversial novel about lesbian identity. She later recalled that reading it made her suddenly aware of her own difference.

Rule’s early schooling was disrupted by family moves. At one point she was expelled from school (five months short of graduation) for writing an article protesting school funds used for “charm school” instruction and for cheekily mocking the walking-instruction class. This episode cemented her rebellious spirit toward authority and convention.

Youth and Education

Despite the obstacles, Jane Rule pursued her passion for literature. She enrolled in Mills College (a women’s liberal arts college in California), graduating in 1952 with a BA in English.

After graduation, she spent time in London, where she attended classes at University College London as an occasional student (though not necessarily enrolling in a full degree there).

Later, she briefly taught at Concord Academy in Massachusetts, where she met Helen Sonthoff, a teacher of creative writing and literature who would become her life partner.

In 1956, at a time when McCarthyism’s pressures and political conformity loomed large in U.S. culture, Rule relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, partly following her literary critic friend John Hulcoop. University of British Columbia (UBC) — first as assistant director of International House, and then later lecturing in English and creative writing.

Her move to Canada marked a turning point: she embraced Canadian citizenship in the early 1960s and made Canada her home.

Career and Achievements

Publication Struggles & Desert of the Heart

Jane Rule wrote her first novel, Desert of the Heart, by around 1961, but faced steep resistance from publishers. It is reported she was rejected by approximately 22 publishers before it was accepted.

When Desert of the Heart was finally published in 1964 (by Macmillan Canada), it attracted attention — both acclaim and controversy.

The novel’s ending is notably hopeful — it does not punish the lesbians but allows them dignity — a bold choice at the time.

In 1985, Desert of the Heart was adapted into the film Desert Hearts, directed by Donna Deitch — now regarded as a landmark in queer cinema.

Later Works, Themes & Roles

After her breakthrough, Rule published a number of novels, essay collections, and short story volumes. Among her titles are This Is Not for You (1970), Against the Season (1971), The Young in One Another’s Arms (1977), Contract with the World (1980), Memory Board (1987), and After the Fire (1989). Lesbian Images (1975), a critical work examining lesbian themes in literature.

Rule’s writing is marked by emotional subtlety, moral seriousness, and careful psychological insight. Her characters often wrestle with belonging, identity, secrecy, relational tension, and the cost of authenticity.

From her platform, she also became a staunch advocate for free expression and anti-censorship, speaking out when gay or lesbian books were under threat from moralistic or governmental censorship. Writers’ Union of Canada, helping shape literary policy and support for writers.

Her influence extended beyond books: in 1995, a documentary, Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule, was released, directed by Lynne Fernie and Aerlyn Weissman. The film won the Genie Award for Best Short Documentary.

Recognition & Later Years

• In 1998, she was appointed to the Order of British Columbia.

• In 2007, shortly before her death, she was named to the Order of Canada (CM).

• She also received the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement from Publishing Triangle in 2002.

In her later years, chronic arthritis impacted her ability to write. liver cancer. She declined any radical treatments, instead choosing to remain at home on Galiano Island, where she had built a life with Helen Sonthoff.

Rule died on November 27, 2007, at age 76, at her home on Galiano Island, British Columbia.

Her memoir manuscript, Taking My Life, was discovered posthumously and published in 2011, offering deeper reflections on her life, identity, and choices.

Historical Milestones & Context

Queer Literature in a Conservative Era

When Rule embarked on her writing career in the early 1960s, homosexuality was still criminalized in many jurisdictions and widely considered immoral or pathological. Desert of the Heart, published in 1964, predates the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada (1969) and thus stands as a bold cultural statement.

Rule’s resistance to sensationalizing queer themes, her insistence on psychological integrity, and her commitment to realistic portrayals helped shift the terrain of lesbian literature from marginalized pulp to serious art.

Canada’s Literary & Social Landscape

In moving to Canada and aligning with Canadian literary institutions, Rule became part of a broader intellectual and cultural shift. She participated in debates over censorship, writers’ rights, and national identity.

Her appointment to national honors — in her later years — symbolized Canada’s recognition not only of her literary contributions, but of the legitimacy of queer voices within its cultural foundation.

The film adaptation of her work and the documentary about her life further helped bring queer narratives into public awareness.

Legacy and Influence

Jane Rule’s legacy is multifaceted:

• Literary impact: She is considered a foundational figure in lesbian and queer literature in North America, influencing ensuing generations of writers who explore sexual identity, emotional authenticity, and relational complexity.

• Cultural change: Her insistence that lesbian relationships be treated with normalcy and respect challenged prevailing stereotypes and contributed to changing perceptions.

• Mentorship & advocacy: Through her role with the Writers’ Union of Canada and her public voice for freedom of expression, she supported the rights of writers (especially marginalized ones) to be heard.

• Representation: Rule demonstrated that queer stories need not be exceptional or tragic — they can be full, diverse, and morally serious.

• Enduring relevance: Her novels remain in print; Desert Hearts continues to be celebrated in queer film festivals; her posthumous memoir offers rich material for scholars and readers alike.

Jane Rule’s life is a testament to the power of steadfast integrity: she never compromised her principles for ease, yet she gently but firmly expanded what literature and society could accept.

Personality and Talents

Jane Rule was known by friends and colleagues as witty, generous, forthright, and lively. On Galiano Island, she and Helen Sonthoff were beloved neighbors — giving low-interest loans, teaching children to swim, and engaging with local life. She carried a strong sense of social obligation and kindness.

Her voice was described as husky, her presence tall and commanding.

Her talents lay in:

• Emotional precision: She could evoke interior life — desires, fears, compromises — with subtlety and grace.

• Moral seriousness: Her fiction engages questions of integrity, agency, and relational responsibility without preaching.

• Critical insight: In essays such as Lesbian Images, she mapped the landscape of representation, contesting both invisibility and distortion.

• Courage in voice: She refused to bow to censorship or to reduce the queer dimension of her work to mere symbolism or metaphor.

• Consistency of principle: She lived the values she espoused — even in declining radical medical treatments in favor of staying where she belonged.

Famous Quotes of Jane Rule

Here are some memorable lines from Jane Rule, with reflections:

“Love is the terrible secret people are suspected of unless they’re married; then one always suspects they don’t.” A wry recognition that love outside conventional containers is both invisible and suspect.

“My private measure of success is daily. If this were to be the last day of my life, would I be content with it?” A measure of integrity: live so you would not regret each day.

“If we don’t bear witness as citizens, as people, as individuals, the right that we have had to life is sacrificed. There is a silence, instead of a speaking presence.” An insistence on the importance of voice, presence, and refusing to remain invisible.

“Writing is far too hard work to say what someone else wants me to. Serving it as a craft … seems to me to be a beautiful way to live.” Rule asserting the necessity of artistic integrity over pandering to external expectations.

“People genuinely happy in their choices seem less often tempted to force them on other people than those who feel martyred and broken by their lives.” A deep insight into how self-acceptance affects how we relate to others.

These quotes resonate not just for LGBTQ readers but for anyone confronting questions of authenticity, courage, and moral selfhood.

Lessons from Jane Rule

From Jane Rule’s life and work, we can draw several valuable lessons:

1. Speak truth with care — Her fiction models how to engage delicate emotional terrain without sensationalism, yet without evasion.

2. Be principled, not performative — She refused to compromise her voice for acceptance, even when it cost her security.

3. Embrace complexity — Identity, love, power, and freedom are never simple; Rule’s work holds many tensions without collapsing them.

4. The personal is literary — She recognized that writing about one’s inner life can shift cultural stories about marginalized identities.

5. Courage is incremental — Rule wasn’t always a public activist; her activism grew from the authority of her art and the conscientious choices she made daily.

Conclusion

Jane Rule’s life bridged margins and nations, literature and activism, silence and speech. She took the “terrible secret” of queer love and made it legible, beautiful, and inclusive in fiction. She insisted on moral seriousness without self-righteousness, and she lived her convictions — in public, in relationship, in community.

Her legacy continues: new readers discover Desert of the Heart, scholars revisit her essays, and writers stand on her shoulders. Her insistence that queer lives deserve full expression helps challenge lingering stigma.