Nihil Obstat

A Familiar Script

Cate Blanchett and Dame Judi Dench star in the recently released psychological thriller, “Notes on a Scandal.” Judi Dench plays Barbara Covett, a history teacher with closet lesbian inclinations. She wants what she sees in the school’s new art teacher, Sheba Hart (played by Blanchett) until she catches her in a sex act with a 15 year old student. The ferocity of the response by Dench’s character is so reminiscent of the out-of-the-blue nastiness–the destructive love–frustrated, righteous, and ultimately self-delusional women often mete out to the object of their desire.

Here is a lesbian character not often showcased on HBO or featured in Afterellen.com, but very familiar to most of us.