they might have raised an objection regarding such transparency in life.
Then and now, it is understood that the privacy of those who exist with some manner of celebrity is inherently subjective. The price of fame is paid in tabloid articles and leaked photographs. for the most part, this is something that we as a society have all deemed ‘fair game’ - you exist in the public and thus you belong to the public. Mary Butts existed as a notable figure in her time; be it because of her upbringing, her writing, or her closeness to figures such as Jean Cocteau. That her life would be closely watched, even after her passing, would not have been something Mrs. Butts would be ignorant of. We can even say definitively that the voyeuristic pleasure of reading someone’s personal correspondence had been on Butts’ mind. Her novella “Imaginary Letters”, so named for its presentation of a one-sided series of messages, never intended to be sent, digs into the dark excitement of reading something not meant for your eyes; in equal parts discomfort and deliciousness.
What is said can never be unsaid, what is written can never be unwritten, and what
