Where This Passage Comes From

Recent bills passed by both houses of the U.S. Congress threaten to prosecute anyone who uses electronic networks to transmit "indecent" material. Although the bills claim only to restrict access to minors, the open structure of current electronic networks means that the restrictions would apply to all publicly offered content. And since electronic networks reach everywhere, a prosecutor anywhere in the country--even the most conservative community--could decide to prosecute us.

Taken out of context, the passage we quoted would appear frightening to many, and a jury could well be persuaded that it is "indecent." But in context, its impact is deeply emotional, even heart-warming.

The passage is part of a scene where a father is getting his four- or five-year-old daughter ready for bed. No sexual overtones are implied. But a lot is going on behind the passage, of course.

The man has recently married a woman with a daughter from a previous marriage. Now the woman is in labor, delivering the man's first child. He has not thought deeply about his relationship to his wife, much less what it will mean to have his own child.

So the man is overwhelmed with thoughts that are suddenly assailing him. Meanwhile, the little girl has not been prepared for the birth either. But she knows that something scary is happening to her mother, and she insists on seeing her. The man wants her to leave the mother alone and to try to forget about her fears.

All that is going on behind the passage, showing why Lawrence is considered one of the major writers of the twentieth century. The Rainbow is full of such psychological insights and sensitivity. Naturally, it was attacked by the Exons of England when it came out, with a campaign to ban it in both the press and the Parliament. Lawrence didn't get nearly as much flack for it as he did later for Lady Chatterly's Lover (which had much more explicit language) but it did go out of print within a year, and stayed out of print for the next 11 years.

The rulers of society always want to control what we think and what we feel. They want us to forget natural and healthy urges, and to turn our desires and anger to carefully chosen targets. Now, as in 1915, we must fight this repression and strike a blow for the freedom of the human spirit.

Author: Andrew Oram
cyber-rights @ cpsr.org

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Last updated: 22 November 1995