" Sex is really only touch, the closest of all touch. And it's touch we're afraid of. We're only half-conscious, and half alive. We've got to come alive and aware. Especially the English have got to get into touch with one another, a bit delicate and a bit tender. It's our crying need."-- Lady Chatterly's Lover, Mellors.

I find this bit from D.H. Lawrence's, Lady Chatterly's Lover to be very representative of not only the novel 's theme, but also of the time and sexual climate during which he wrote this masterful story. It is as though he spoke though the character of the gamekeeper his own feelings, and his awareness that this novel might be met with resistance.

As he'd expected, publishers refused this novel , unless Lawrence agreed to make changes to show it was a "work of literary merit apart from all the sex and four-letter words". If pornography is in the eye of the beholder, then early 20th century England was terribly depraved. Blinded by their own "crying need" perhaps, many were unable to see that this novel personified literary merit in addition to the exceptionally beautiful, though somewhat detailed sexual encounters. In the end, he refused to give in to the "censor morons", choosing instead to keep his work true and in tact.

"I might as well try to clip my own nose into shape with scissors. The book bleeds"--D.H. Lawrence.

This literary classic, now found in libraries all over the world was first published by an Italian book seller and sold on the black market...

Ok, already, what's it about!

Constance Chatterly, is the Lady of Wragby Manor in Midlands. Married to Clifford, who is unable to satisfy her physical needs due to injuries sustained in the Great War, she has become disenchanted with her life. Though she takes lovers, she is uninspired until she begins a journey of both self and sexual discovery in the arms of her husband's servant-Mellors, the gamekeeper.

I am not one for giving away plots, and with this particular book singular events are are much less important than the beauty of realization between and within the characters. Lawrence so fully develops each player with such detail that for me, understanding their motivation and feeling is the crux of the read, and therein lies the enjoyment.

Connie (Lady Chatterly) begins the journey seemingly unaware of how unhappy she is. As she becomes more aware of the importance of her own sexuality, she is also able to realize her discontent with the life of leisure and the abscence of feeling she's had with Clifford. The societal and intellectual aspects of her life can never be enough once she experiences sexual and emotional fullfillment.

Clifford, however believes himself to be happy. He is immersed in the world, and in spite of the lack of feeling between he and his wife, he considers the marriage very important. That he is aware of her daliances, and would even allow her to bear another man's child is very telling as to what is important to Clifford. But Lawrence allows Clifford more complexity than that. He is not made of stone, and to reassert that emotional contact is human need, Clifford transfers this need to his nurse.

Mellors is likely the most complex of all the characters in this book. A roughly hewn, ex-army lieutenant who is employed as the gamekeeper for Wragby Manor. He prefers his solitude and is "done with the world". Money, advancement and future are alien to his way of thinking, and he is pleased that he no longer feels a need for them. He's managed to convince himself he is also done with 'life' and feeling, so much so that he curses the flames of passion that threaten when he encounters Constance. Through Constance he is "broken open" and life has begun again.

Cons?

If this story is occasionally hard to follow, it it only because of the times for when it was written. Use of Mellors' unusual vernacular is sometimes difficult to wade through, but essential for his character. Readers of Harlequin Romance might not be be as apt to appreciate the love scenes, not only because of the detail and language, but because often they lack the sometimes
unrealistic 'hearts and flowers' theme, they may appear crude. Lady Chatterly's Lover is not a harlequin romance, no more than it is pornography. It is a brilliantly written, literary classic by defined, established criteria: A complelling plot, memorable characters, and has withstood the test of time-as it has continued to capture the interest and appreciation of readers all over the world for so long.

Parting Shot

"...and I can't put my arms around you, and wrap my legs around you, yet I've got something of you. My soul softly flaps in the little pentecost flame with you, like the peace of f ucking. We f ucked a flame into being. Even the flowers are f ucked into being between the sun and the earth, but it's a delicate thing and takes patience and the long pause."

Beautiful

I submit to you: if you find that to be pornographic, then you will not enjoy the true pleasure of this book. (and you must be a perv!)



Recommended: Yes