John Andrew Frey (August 29, 1929 – August 22, 1997) was an American philologist.

Early life

John "Jack" Andrew Frey was born on August 29, 1929, the son of George Henry Frey and Marie Berter. Frey was a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

. In 1955 he collaborated to ''The Stylistic Relationship Between Poetry and Prose in the Cántico Espiritual of San Juan de la Cruz, Volumes 52-55''. He graduated in 1957 and his thesis was ''Motif symbolism in the disciples of Mallarmé'', which he published in 1969.

Career

John Frey became a professor of Romance Languages at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. He was a specialist in 19th century French literature, and was an author of books on French symbolism (''The aesthetics of the Rougon-Macquart'', 1976),

Emile Zola Emile or Émile may refer to: * Émile (novel) (1827), autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life * Emile, Canadian film made in 2003 by Carl Bessai * '' Emile: or, On Education'' (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a treatise o ...

, and

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

(''Les Contemplations of Victor Hugo: The Ash Wednesday Liturgy'', 1988, and ''A Victor Hugo Encyclopedia'', 1999). He also wrote magazine articles on

François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who influenced French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocratic family from Bri ...

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

, and Andre Gide. Frey criticized the use of medieval imagery in symbolist writing: "The whole representation of the Middle Ages, the captive princess, the enchanted castles, fairies, ghosts, and knights-errants... is oriented towards a sensualism. One is reminded of Swinburne making use of the Pre-Raphaelities in England... It is the cloaking of earthly desires in a mantle of aristocracy, of manor houses, gilded ladies, estates swarming with peacocks and swans, of boat and garden parties, and the perpetual games of love."

Personal life

John Frey and Peter Louis Morris, an expert in French cuisine, were together 43 years. They met while they were both students at

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

. Though fellow students, they met at what was at the time

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, most popular gay venues, the Chicken Hut, a piano bar/restaurant on H Street near Lafayette Park. The

Mattachine Society The Mattachine Society (), founded in 1950, was an early national gay rights organization in the United States, preceded by several covert and open organizations, such as Chicago's Society for Human Rights. Communist and labor activist Harry Ha ...

sponsored biweekly Sunday afternoon gay dances. Morris was born on December 29, 1929, in

Peekskill, New York Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, north of New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

, the son of Louis Morris and Dorothea Chaplin. Frey died on August 22, 1997, Morris died on August 29, 2010. They are buried together at Congressional Cemetery and their tomb consists of two benches and an inscribed table.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frey, John Andrew 1929 births 1997 deaths Catholic University of America alumni George Washington University faculty American gay writers 20th-century American philologists 20th-century American educators 20th-century American male writers