My study explores Lillian Smith\u27s autobiographical relationship to her fiction, particularly two novels, Strange Fruit, and One Hour. The focus of this work is Smith\u27s challenge to the category of sexual orientation and her related use of fiction as a source of social commentary and self-reflection. Smith\u27s uses veiled and encoded language and other kinds of tabooed love to study her own lesbian love. She also assumes a male persona to understand and express her erotic attraction to women. I approach Smith\u27s life and literature in chronological order with an emphasis upon characterization, symbolism, narrative technique, and metaphors of nature. My fictional interpretations are supported by excerpts from Smith\u27s letters and essays
