Forbidden Fictions: Pornography And Censorship In Twentieth-century French Literature

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French culture has long been perceived by the English-speaking reader as somehow more ‘erotic’ than its Anglo-Saxon equivalent. Forbidden Fictions is the first English-language study devoted exclusively to the wide spectrum of French literary pornography in the twentieth century. John Phillips provides a broad history of the genre and the associated moral and political issues. Among the texts examined in detail – all selected for their literary or sociopolitical importance – are landmark works by Apollinaire, Louÿs, Bataille, Réage, Robbe-Grillet, Arsan, and Duvert. Phillips challenges current politically correct trends in literary criticism and stereotyped censoring discourses about pornography to provide a new reading of each text and to illustrate the genre’s potential for social subversion. Forbidden Fictions addresses the most controversial issues of contemporary sexual politics, such as objectification, sadomasochism, homoeroticism and paedophilia, with particular emphasis on the feminist debate on pornography. In the light of current controversy over the control of pornography, this is a timely and scholarly review of the ethical, moral and social arguments surrounding the censorship of sexually explicit material.

E-Book Content

Forbidden Fictions Pornography and Censorship in Twentieth-Century French Literature John Phillips Pluto P Press LONDON • STERLING, VIRGINIA Disclaimer: Some images in the original version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. First published 1999 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA and 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA20166–2012, USA Copyright © John Phillips 1999 The right of John Phillips to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 7453 1222 5 hbk Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Phillips, John, 1950– Forbidden fictions: pornography and censorship in twentieth -century French literature / John Phillips. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0–7453–1222–5 (hbk.) 1. French literature—20th century—History and criticism. 2. Erotic literature, French—History and criticism. 3. Pornography—France. 4. Censorship—France. I. Title. PQ673.P55 1999 840.9'3538'0904—dc21 98–45087 CIP Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Chase Production Services, Chadlington, OX7 3LN Typeset from disk by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton Printed in the EC by T.J. International Ltd, Padstow Contents Acknowledgements Note on Translations 1 2 The Erotic Novel and Censorship in Twentieth-Century France vii ix 1 Pornography, Poetry, Parody: Guillaume Apollinaire’s Les Onze Mille Verges 25 Sexual and Textual Excess: Pierre Louÿs’s Trois Filles de leur mère 43 Masochism and Fetishism: Georges Bataille’s Histoire de l’œil 60 5 ‘O, Really!’: Pauline Réage’s Histoire d’O 86 6 Emmanuelle and the Sexual Liberation of Women 104 Progressive Slidings of Identity: Alain RobbeGrillet’s Projet pour une révolution à New York 129 8 Homotextuality: Tony Duvert’s Récidive 149 9 ‘Enfin, une érotique féminine?’: Two Contemporary Novels by Women 173 3 4 7 Notes Bibliography Index 194 227 235 Acknowledgements A shorter version of Chapter 2 was read at a research seminar in the School of European and Language Studies of the University of North London in 1997. Chapters 3 and 5 are expanded versions of papers given in French at the conferences of the Conseil Internat
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