Two Brief Notes on Sources
In this story, I do not wish to unintentionally make any implications about Thomas Eakins’ intimate tastes. The records show that he was a man who passionately believed in the beauty of the nude form of both genders. By all accounts, his marriage was a very happy one. He was also, by historic coincidence, a great friend of Walt Whitman’s.
As to the Shakespeare:
Caius: By gar, I am cozened: I ha’ married un garçon, a boy; un paysan, by gar, a boy…
—Merry Wives of Windsor, Act Five, Scene Five
Try reading that one five times fast.