CLASSICAL CORNER

264: GREAT SEXPECTATIONS

(Abundance of translated sources in Fant & Lefkowitz’s Women’s Life in Greece & Rome, 1982, and Lattimore’s Themes in Greek and Latin Epitaphs, 1962)

Gay Marriage, LGBTQI, E-Harmony/Tinder, Trolling/Tweeting, Seeking the Perfect Mate – what have these to do with the ancients or our master Fort? Marriage and its constituents aren’t topics of Fort’s books – no pertinent references in Henry Schlanger’s Index. But, a frequent theme of his short stories, e.g. “Ruckus”, listed and readable on Mr X’s website. Fort (1896) married English servant Anna Filan (aka Filing), who survived him until 1937. No children. According to first-hand testimonies, a union of opposites that worked. A, p947) spotlight one extraordinary marital dossier. The first wife of oilman WA Baker hanged herself (1924). His second (1931) was killed by a mysterious explosion that blew her bed to the ceiling – investigating experts were baffled.