Dæse Şyna
Dæse Şyna | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 10 June 1890 Antánas, Xevden |
| Died | 10 April 1976 (aged 85) |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1910–1976 |
Dæse Şyna (10 June 1890 – 10 April 1976) was a Gylian writer, socialite, activist, and politician. She was Alscia's most successful writer, her works being considered emblematic of the "hurried province". She was also famed as a witty conversationalist, a salonnière, an LGBT rights activist, and in her final years, a member of the Gylian Senate.
Early life
Dæse Şyna was born on 10 June 1890 in Antánas. She was the only daughter of a working class family. Her father died of alcoholism soon after her birth, and her mother remarried.
She received a clandestine education, and moved to Alscia in 1908. Throughout her life, she spoke little of her childhood, and to this day little is known about her early life.
Career
Dæse briefly tried to attend the Imperial University of Etra, but lost interest in her studies and dropped out. Now settled in Etra, she lived in what became the city's main art colony, and embraced a colourful bohemian lifestyle, which brought her attention.
Prodded by her friends, she published her first short story in 1910, and her first novel in 1912. She subsequently rose to fame and became Alscia's best-known writer. A gifted storyteller and writer, her writing was characterised by a flippant, chatty style infused with modernist elements, and a keen eye for observation. She mostly wrote comic romances, and was praised for her representation of queer sexuality and capturing the prosperous optimism of the "hurried province".
Dæse's fame as a writer was complemented by an equal reputation as a public figure. She was an open lesbian, who revelled in attracting both men and women, and cultivated an androgynous image, preferring to dress in masculine clothes with oversized bows. She was a celebrated salonnière and part of the mauve circle, having a great romance with Adela Stein.
She was a lifelong friend of Milena Živanović, Alscia's most famous madam, who looked to her image as an inspiration for her own. The friendship earned Dæse an invitation to the first Crociera delle Stelle in 1922, which produced one of her most celebrated works, the novella Landicrocia.
A prominent LGBT rights activist, she became the first president of the Gender and Sexuality Rights Association of Alscia, and had a significant impact on its internal culture. One of her best-known activities was regularly visiting Alscian schools to read stories and chat with young children, whom she was very fond of. She was also a member of the Anarchofuturist Association of Alscia.
As one of Alscia's most famous women, the public embraced her as an exemplary lesbian artist—a grande dame of Alscian literature. The success encouraged her to depend on her flamboyant personality and talents as a raconteuse. She was granted the title Countess by the UOC in 1925, and received the Order of Arts and Letters, Order of Civic Virtue, and Order of Merit.
She led an indulgent lifestyle, drinking heavily and becoming addicted to heroin. She went through several detoxification attempts, none successful. However, she baffled contemporaries by remaining in reasonably good health and having a remarkable tolerance for alcohol — Tamara Łempicka liked to joke that "Dæse has a liver of solid steel". She successfully underwent surgery for breast cancer in 1938.
Later life
Dæse remained active as a writer after Alscia's accession to the Free Territories, but her most productive period had ended, and she increasingly focused on her public figure. She continued working as a salonnière and activist, and got involved in politics through communal assemblies.
She was included on the honoured citizens list, reflecting the high esteem she was held in.
The challenges of wartime helped her defeat the heroin addiction she'd suffered from in Alscia, although she never managed to entirely quit drinking. By the end of the Liberation War, she was practically retired as a fiction writer — "content to live off her legend", according to one biographer, and her output now mainly consisting of letters to her friends.
Dæse was a tongue-in-cheek supporter of the newly-established Gylian Senate, likening it to a retirement home for respected political pensioners. She was a candidate in the 1962 federal election for Arxaþ and won a seat as an independent, retaining it in 1969. Her Senate work was mainly concentrated on cultural policy and LGBT rights. She was a member of the fine arts salon. Arlette Gaubert, a fellow Senator and renowned Alscian figure, described Dæse as "one of the most regal of Senators" — she now walked with a measured gait, wielded a sceptre-like walking stick, and observed most Senate sessions with a "playfully inscrutable smile".
In 1971, she appeared on What Do I Do?, an episode considered a highlight of the show. Aged 81, she had lost none of her mental sharpness and epigrammatic wit, and regaled the panelists with anecdotes from her life and career.
Death
She died on 10 April 1976 in her old apartment in Etra.
Legacy
Dæse was considered a gifted writer and raconteuse during her life, celebrated for the easygoing charm of her books and her flamboyant personality. Her work represents a significant milestone for Gylian literature and its representation of sexuality, being an influence on subsequent authors like Anaïs Nin and genres like telefoni bianchi and orgone films.
Her novella Landicrocia is credited for originating a depiction of Epicurean ideals that focuses on gaining wisdom through hedonistic excess — indeed, Dæse used William Blake's "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom" as the novella's epigraph. The narrative device of "enlightenment through excess" has been used in many Gylian works, such as Esua Nadel's depiction of advocate Mitsuki in The Case of the Facts.
She is seen as a foremost representative of the Alscian era LGBT culture, and thus her image has been influential in subsequent Gylian pop culture, being imitated, parodied, and referenced by works that contain similarly flamboyant and gregarious characters.