The Other Victorians
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| ''[[The Other Victorians|The Other Victorians, A Study of Sexuality and Pornography in Mid-Nineteenth Century England]]'' is a 1964 [[social history]] book by [[Steven Marcus]]. Its subject matter is [[obscenity]] and [[pornography]] juxtaposed to [[Victorian morality]]. The book was first published in 1964 by [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]] and was researched with the cooperation of the [[Kinsey Institute]]. | ''[[The Other Victorians|The Other Victorians, A Study of Sexuality and Pornography in Mid-Nineteenth Century England]]'' is a 1964 [[social history]] book by [[Steven Marcus]]. Its subject matter is [[obscenity]] and [[pornography]] juxtaposed to [[Victorian morality]]. The book was first published in 1964 by [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]] and was researched with the cooperation of the [[Kinsey Institute]]. | ||
| - | The books central characters, the "other" Victorians, are the British medical doctor [[William Acton]], the anonymous author of the [[erotic memoir]]s ''[[My Secret Life]]'' and the [[bibliomania]]c [[Henry Spencer Ashbee]]. | + | The book's central characters, the "other" Victorians, are the British medical doctor [[William Acton]], the anonymous author of the [[erotic memoir]]s ''[[My Secret Life]]'' and the [[bibliomania]]c [[Henry Spencer Ashbee]]. |
| The study is [[Psychoanalytic literary criticism|psychological]] in nature — relying much on the work of [[Sigmund Freud]], and Marcus invents a word to describe the sexual activities in pornographic literature, “[[pornotopia]]”. Marcus describes “pornotopia” as being like a place where “all men … are always and [[infinitely]] [[potent]]; all women [[fecundity|fecundate]] with [[lust]] and flow inexhaustibly with [[sap]] or [[juice]] or both. Everyone is always ready for everything” (p. 276). Given the [[libido]]s of the [[Fictional character|characters]], the comment is apt. Because of the often unrealistic description of sexual activities and positions in ''The Romance of Lust,'' Marcus uses the word [[vector (geometric)|vector]] to describe the [[mechanical]] sex acts. He also speaks of emotional deprivation in conjunction with the work, because the characters do not interact with one another as real, thinking, and feeling persons would do. | The study is [[Psychoanalytic literary criticism|psychological]] in nature — relying much on the work of [[Sigmund Freud]], and Marcus invents a word to describe the sexual activities in pornographic literature, “[[pornotopia]]”. Marcus describes “pornotopia” as being like a place where “all men … are always and [[infinitely]] [[potent]]; all women [[fecundity|fecundate]] with [[lust]] and flow inexhaustibly with [[sap]] or [[juice]] or both. Everyone is always ready for everything” (p. 276). Given the [[libido]]s of the [[Fictional character|characters]], the comment is apt. Because of the often unrealistic description of sexual activities and positions in ''The Romance of Lust,'' Marcus uses the word [[vector (geometric)|vector]] to describe the [[mechanical]] sex acts. He also speaks of emotional deprivation in conjunction with the work, because the characters do not interact with one another as real, thinking, and feeling persons would do. | ||
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The Other Victorians, A Study of Sexuality and Pornography in Mid-Nineteenth Century England is a 1964 social history book by Steven Marcus. Its subject matter is obscenity and pornography juxtaposed to Victorian morality. The book was first published in 1964 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and was researched with the cooperation of the Kinsey Institute.
The book's central characters, the "other" Victorians, are the British medical doctor William Acton, the anonymous author of the erotic memoirs My Secret Life and the bibliomaniac Henry Spencer Ashbee.
The study is psychological in nature — relying much on the work of Sigmund Freud, and Marcus invents a word to describe the sexual activities in pornographic literature, “pornotopia”. Marcus describes “pornotopia” as being like a place where “all men … are always and infinitely potent; all women fecundate with lust and flow inexhaustibly with sap or juice or both. Everyone is always ready for everything” (p. 276). Given the libidos of the characters, the comment is apt. Because of the often unrealistic description of sexual activities and positions in The Romance of Lust, Marcus uses the word vector to describe the mechanical sex acts. He also speaks of emotional deprivation in conjunction with the work, because the characters do not interact with one another as real, thinking, and feeling persons would do.
See
Bibliography
- Marcus, Steven. The Other Victorians: A Study of Sexuality and Pornography in Mid-Nineteenth-Century England. New York: Basic Books, (1966)
