Sex, Lies and Literature!

This post probably deals more with sex and literature than with lies. I put the word "lies" in the title because it sounds cool and is a little more scandalous!

What would literature be without sex? Pretty darned dull, I think, anyway. And yet many still complain that all the books being published today have too much sex in them (the same is equally said about movies and television). Yet from the time of Shakespeare (probably even earlier) till today, sex has remained a popular theme in many literary works.

Why sex?
Perhaps the simple question above can be answered with a very familiar phrase: Sex sells. As true as that might be, it only gives a very shallow reason why sex is, and has been, so popular in literature. I think the answer to that question goes down to the very core of human nature.

Sex is ingrained in all of us so that we faithfully reproduce so our species can live on. But all animals have that "reproductive" instinct. What sets humans apart than, from dogs, for example? As far as I know humans are the only species to get physical/psychological pleasure from sex (if anyone differs on this view, please let me know with more than just anecdotal evidence).

Thus, as one of the most basic instincts, an instinct that is very pleasurable to say the least, sex is very much part of the human psyche. With that said, I think it’s safe to say that it is very natural to include sex in literature because it is so much a part of us. Whether or not we go overboard is a very different question and up for debate – a different post for a different day.

Sex in the time of Shakespeare
No, no and no! Thomas Middleton, for example, was a contemporary of Shakespeare’s and it is believed that he revised Macbeth and other well-known plays. But Middleton was also a playwright himself and wrote many plays that, even by today’s standards, would make even the most liberal of minds cringe.

I was lucky enough to read his play The Second Maiden’s Tragedy while in college. I often refer to this play as an example of how perverse literature could be, even during the Jacobean era. The story centers around a Tyrant’s (yes, that’s his name) obsession for the lover of his rival. Aside from his perverted antics, he also has bad case of necrophilia (a sexual attraction to corpses). The end of the play has the Tyrant crowning a dead woman queen. The play has been banned on more than one occasion.

The above is an extreme example of sex in early literature. But one doesn’t have to be a scholar to find even more examples of perverted minds from that era, or even every other era after that. The poems of John Donne (one of my favorite poets) are filled with characters who express their sexual urges in unusual ways. Although with Donne, he’s not quite as graphic about it as Middleton tended to be.

The question remains: Literature without sex?
First, let me start off by saying that not every story, play, novel, poem and any other work of literature must be dripping with sex scenes. No. But as a whole, taken in its entirety, I don’t think literature can be literature without sex. It’s that simple.

Why? I think sex works so well in literature because it shows the vast range of the human condition. It can display the tender love between a young couple. Or, on the other end of the spectrum it can show the cruel, inhumane way one human treats another by committing an act of rape. Sex can portray humans in a variety of different stages of emotion, physical need, and even stages of life. It’s one of the few things I can think that is totally natural, yet can also be used in the most unnatural ways.

One of the first things I learned about literature in college is that it’s supposed to help unveil the human condition. Sex plays a significant role in achieving this. When reading a steamy passage in a novel, you can say it’s nothing but sensationalism, only included to help sell books (which might have some truth to it). Or you can look at it on a deeper level: What does it mean for the characters? What does it show about them? And finally, what does it show about us, society, as a whole? Answering those questions will make sex a little more than just a marketing gimmick in literature.

Sex is a HUGE topic
Despite everything I said in this post, I haven’t really said much at all. I say that for two reasons: First, I’ve covered just some "basic" things about sex in general, about human nature, and about sex in literature. Second, this only covers a microcosm of the issues sex brings up. People devote their entire study of literature to the question of sex. Surely there are entire blogs devoted to this subject and even websites (although some of those websites have more sex than actual literature, if you know what I mean).

I think that those of you who read this blog are smarter than the average person, and much more enlightened. However, there are still people who will walk out of a movie theater or throw away a book if two characters do anything more than a simple kiss. Why? Everyone has their reasons, but I think a big reason is because they don’t understand how sex in the arts can illuminate humanity in a way nothing else can.

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• Follow-up: Sex in Literature
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Read More: Classic Literature