D.H. Lawrence, part 3

Anais Nin wrote her first book in 1932: D.H. Lawrence, An Unprofessional Study.

There is a chapter in it I love called "In Controversy." Many people think of Lawrence as a man who wrote only about explicit, sexual material. I remember in high school, studying the classics, and both Lady Chatterly's Lover and Sons and Lovers were on the list - the teacher warned us of their nature. I'm not sure if anyone chose these classics on which to do their book report. As for me, I chose Dicken's Great Expectations....

Is it "pornography?" Is Lawrence "enslaved by sex?" These days, on network TV, it is allowed to show scenes of a very violent nature and yet, women's breasts and buttocks of men and women are not allowed to be shown. What does this say about our culture? It the human body something that should be hidden? Is the expression of love something that should not be public? Is sensuality a bad thing?

The chapter closes with a reference to Lawrence's Fantasia of the Unconscious and the concept of the open road. Leave fate to the open road. That's the only way the soul comes into its own. By taking the open road. Not by fasting or by meditating or by exploring the heavens or by ecstasy. Take to the open road, and you will find your soul.