D.H. Lawrence: Sex, Literature and Censorship Essays

by D.H. Lawrence

Book Overview

ESSAYS INCLUDING LAWRENCE'S OWN DEFENSE OF LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER; PLUS THE FULL TEXT OF JUDGE F.V. BRYAN'S HISTORIC DECISION DECLARING THE BOOK OBSCENE This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B06XH6XM8C
• Release Date: January 1953
• Publisher: Twayne
• Length: 122 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The liberation of men and women

D.H. Lawrence reveals in these important essays the kernel and the aim of his literary work, as well as his vision on mankind and society. They show us `a profound moral man' fighting for the liberation of mankind from its Victorian shackles. Literary work D. H. Lawrence's aim `is to know the feelings inside man and to make new feelings conscious. What really torments civilized people is that they are full of feelings they know nothing about. They can't live them. It is like having energy you can't use, it destroys you. And feelings are a form of vital energy.' Another form of vital energy is sex, which is inherently linked with love, `the force of creation', `a warm, natural flow like sunshine.' In `Lady Chatterley's Lover', D. H. Lawrence wants `men and women to be able to think sex, fully, honestly, and cleanly.' The lameness of one of the main characters is a symbol for the passional paralysis of most men of his sort and class. Victorian society and censorship In the Victorian age, sex was considered to be disgusting filth (see also `The Summing Up' by W. Somerset-Maugham) and the sexual organs to be producers of excrements. Conventionally, it was accepted that man was a sexless creature. Sex was hated and feared by the `Grey Puritan', a `sick man'. Censorship was rampant. `All the old words that belong to the body below the navel were judged to be obscene. Obscene means that the policeman thinks he has a right to arrest you.' Vision on mankind D.H. Lawrence's vision is optimistic. Mankind is inherently good. Man is corrupted by the system: `I am convinced that people want to be decent, more good-hearted than our social system of money. The awful fight for money hurts our good nature.' Evaluation As H.T. Moore states in his excellent introduction: `D. H. Lawrence was obsessed with life, not with sex.' And Frieda, Lawrence's wife: `Lawrence tried to raise sex from a mere animal function to a truly human all-embracing activity.' On the other side, Lawrence's vision on the real nature of mankind is rather naïve in the face of the awful fight for survival. This book is a must read for all lovers of D. H. Lawrence and of world literature.