1.12.2011

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence


Lady Chatterley's Lover has been a banned book since it's publication in 1928. Even then it was only published privately in Italy. It wasn't until 1960, after Penguin was acquitted from The Obscene Publications Act of 1959, that the book was published in the UK. After this scandal the book became widely popular. Purchasers eagerly paged through the novel in search of the dirty bits, as shown below:



The publication history of this novel is almost as interesting as the novel itself. Not only does Lady Chatterley's Lover examine the love between and man and a woman and the bond it creates - with a focus on the woman's perspective as it relates to her sexual experience; how she perceives good sex verses bad sex, and what it is she yearns for - but it also touches on the cultural implications of industrialization and modernization; namely acting as a threat to modern aestheticism, taking away from the human condition and lending itself to greed - an idea that seems particularly relevant today.

But back to the sex. There were certainly raunchy bits, but they weren't written of colloquially. In fact the dirty parts were written in such a formal tone that is actually made it comical, as sex is usually anything but formal.
Whilst all her womb was open and soft, and softly clamoring, like a sea-anemone under the tide, clamoring fr him to come in again and make a fulfillment for her. She clung to him unconscious in passion, and he never quite slipped from her, and she felt the soft bud of him within her stirring, and strange rhythms flushing up into her with a strange rhythmic growing motion, swelling and swelling til it filled all her cleaving consciousness.
But maybe Lawrence did this intentionally to suggest Lady Chatterley understood these acts of passion to be admirable and dignified as a way of justifying her affair. As Lady Chatterley's lover tells her, "You love fucking alright: but you want it to be called something grand and mysterious, just to flatter your own self-importance."

D. H. Lawrence also has a knack for relating the real and honest aspects that come along with sharing your nakedness with another person. Not only does he communicate the romantic aspect of this excitement, he also highlights the silliness of it; the touching and the exploring of an anatomy that is opposite to ours. I especially laughed when Connie (Lady Constance Chatterley) commented on the "mystery" of a certain part of male anatomy - a sentiment that I happen to share with her:
And the strange weight of the balls between his legs! What a mystery! What a strange heavy weight of mystery, that could lie soft and heavy in one's hand! The roots, root of all that is lovely, the primeval root of all full beauty.
But in all seriousness, I enjoyed Lady Chatterley's Lover very much. It's more than a book with a lot of sex in it. It's a book that explores the significance of the physicality in a relationship - the sexual bond between a man and a woman. Lady's Chatterley's husband, Clifford, and her lover, Mellors, function as foils to one another to highlight the importance of this bond in sustaining a healthy and happy relationship. It's also a sort of "Awakening" tale; the disillusioned woman who is stuck in a loveless relationship finds a new beginning and her true self when she ventures outside of that relationship and explores a new one. According to 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, this novel "remains one of the few novels in English literary history that addresses female sexual desire". Well, even though it was written by a man, D. H. Lawrence was spot on.

I should also mention this novel takes a bit of patience to read. It is wonderfully written but things unfold rather slowly and there are lengthy sections of dialogue that discuss the (then) current state of culture and gender roles. While this made the book all the more interesting, it also made it slow going. But I promise your patience will pay off. Lady Chatterley's Lover is well worth the read. I'm even hoping to add more D.H. Lawrence to my nightstand.

Publisher: Barnes and Noble Classics, 1928

26 comments:

  1. I picked up a copy of this at a used bookstore a couple of months ago and I was thinking about reading it for the banned books component of the "Classics Challenge."

    I also like that Lawrence critically read and studied the work of Thomas Hardy, who is a favorite of mine. Sometime in the near future I hope to also read his essays on Hardy's novels.

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  2. everybook, I actually did read this one for the banned book section of The Classics Challenge. Since I posted a breakdown of what I would read for each section I opted out of posting it with each review as well. Maybe I should though, I don't want to confuse people.

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  3. This is a fabulous review. I wish more reviews included historical background on novels, especially when they are classic or historical works. I'll be bookmarking this review on the off chance I read this book (which I will eventually) so I can link it from my blog.

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  4. Amy, Thanks! I don't usually include a lot of historical background in reviews but this one seemed particularly interesting and was what brought the book to my attention. If you do read it let me know what you think.

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  5. Love those photos! Nothing like a little banning to pique interest.

    did you ever see the miniseries with Sean Bean? It was on masterpiece theatre-- it was good, of course, but then I like everything on masterpiece theatre. Haven't read the book so can't compare the two.

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  6. Lesa, I know the photos are great! And no I have never seen the miniseries but I would like to!

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  7. I also love the photos in this post! I agree that the publication history is interesting and wonder if it would have been so controversial if it was about a man's sexual desire?

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  8. Great review!! You make me wanna read it next!

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  9. I loved this book too and was shocked at its raunchiness. When I reviewed this on my blog a lot of people left comments saying that they didn't find it raunchy because of the old fashioned language. The comments said that in this day and age we are exposed to sex in more modern language that is much sexier than Lawrence's writing. I have to disagree though, I think the way in which he describes the sexual act and sexual act is much ranuchier because by using the language that he does is more able to really explore what happens sensually without focusing on what happens on the surface. I hope that makes sense!

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  10. Hopefully my classic book club will read this book this year.

    WONDERFUL review.

    http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

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  11. HAHA those exerpts were hilarious :) I have this on my nook I should read it! Thanks for your review!

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  12. Wow, you're on a tear Brenna! You'll get close to a hundred books in 2011 if you continue like this.

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  13. I have this one on my night stand now. I've not started it, but your review has made me bump it up on the list! I'm also just glad to hear some good things about it-- I've been hearing mostly negative things lately.

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  14. Sam, I loved the photos too. I think if I were alive in 1960 I'd be one of those women :)

    Leica, Thanks! Let me know if you do!

    Becky, It does make sense and you're right. I'm glad you enjoyed the novel as well.

    Man, I hope so too! And thanks :)

    L.L., Me too!

    Danielle, Read it! It's great.

    Ben, You're right, however I know I won't continue like this. It just happened to be a low key few days in which I could read a lot. If only the whole year could be like that.

    historyofshe, I'm happy to hear my review made you bump it up! The book deserves a bump!

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  15. Brenna, thanks for all the background on this! I knew it was a controversial title, but never knew the details. Love the photos, too. I've had my eye on this for a while now, but I'm definitely itching to read it soon. It fits in with my goal to read more classics, too!

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  16. I've been meaning to read this for a long time. This is such a geat review!

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  17. If you haven't read Lawrence's "Lady Chatterly's Lover"--well, you must. Personally, I think "Sons and Lovers" and "Women in Love" are better novels of his, but that is my opinion. Someone, above, mentioned Lawrence's admiration of Thomas Hardy. So true, in fact, Lawrence wrote a long (winded) essay that sort of analyzed his impressions of Thomas Hardy's contributions to the literary establishment of Lawrence's time.

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  18. Kerry, I don't normally include a lot of background info but this one was particularly interesting.

    Avid Reader, Thanks!

    Christopher, I am hoping to read Sons and Lovers next. Since I finished Lady Chatterley's Lover I've been reading about D.H. Lawrence - just things online - and found out this novel was loosely autobiographical. I find him fascinating and will add it to my TBR soon!

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  19. This was a super interesting review! I never knew most of this. Actually, I didn't know much about the book besides I got it free from B&N on my Nook...

    Your review makes me want to pick it up now and slog my way through it. Women's sexuality in fiction and in reality has always been an interesting topic of discussion and I am curious to read first hand what Lawrence had to say on it.

    Thanks for the awesome post!

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  20. The last time I read Lady Chatterley, I was house sitting for a friend (kids, pets, etc.) She had a king-sized waterbed and a copy of this book. Wonderful combination...I felt so decadent and spoiled!

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  21. Great review. I've always been interested in Lady Chatterley's Lover, because, well, it was banned, and I want to know what the fuss is about. On a different note, I love the photos in this post. :)

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  22. Julia, Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad I made you more interested to read it.

    Bybee, That sounds like the perfect setting to read this book!

    Darlyn, That is one of the main reasons I picked this up - the controversy behind it.

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  23. This one and Madame Bovary have been on my shelf for a long time. I have read a few of D.H Lawrence's short stories and loved them. Yours was a wonderfully insightful review.

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  24. I loved this book. One of the first classics I ever read (last year.) I expected it to be way trashier. It was actually pretty beautiful.

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  25. I agree. I read it twice. This is the only book I ever felt reading repeatedly....I love the way you review the books and also your choice of your books.....

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