T H E S I S

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representations or descriptions of ultimate sexual
acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, masturbation,
excretory functions, and lewd exhibition of the genitals.”(9)
Mr« Gerald Gardiner, opening address for the defence in the
trial, gave this complementary definition:
•’Pornography means literally the writings of prostitutes,
but it is now(in I960) used in a much more general sense,
and you may think the best definition is ’dirt for dirt’s
sake' - 11 (TTL 27)
Lawrence began his essay by discussing the two words which
compound the title;
”What they (pornography and obscenity) are depends, as usual,
entirely on the individual. What is pornography to one
man is the laughter of genius to another.”(PAO 60)
And a little further on, we find his short definition;
’’Pornography is the attempt to insult sex,to do dirt on it.”
(PAO 69)
Pornography in itself, as something dirty, unpleasant, or
calculated to arouse lewd sexual excitations, Lawrence’s puritan-
ism could not admit. He says, as I have already quoted: ’Like a
real prude and Puritan, I have to look the other way«”(PAO 65)
He confesses he is a ’real Puritan”.
What is an ’unreal" Puritan?
The ’grey puritan” who is polarized with the pornographer, because
he uses sex appeal for everything and keeps the ’dirty little secret”,
i.e., furtive sex, because of fear. The puritan pornographer
is unpardonable because Lawrence finds pornography unpardonable,
be it picture post-cards, the books they sell in the un-
der-world, nudism, or even dirty jokes, which show a profound
disgust for the creative flow of sex and an attempt to identify
it with the reverse ’flow” of excrement«, He adds the point that