1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910791949803321

Autore

Mason Diane Elizabeth

Titolo

The secret vice [[electronic resource] ] : masturbation in Victorian fiction and medical culture / / Diane Mason

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Manchester ; ; New York, : Manchester University Press, c2008

ISBN

1-78170-108-3

1-84779-179-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (193 p.)

Disciplina

823.8093538

Soggetti

Masturbation in literature

Masturbation - Great Britain - History - 19th century

English fiction - 19th century - History and criticism

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [167]-184) and index.

Nota di contenuto

9780719077142; 9780719077142; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1 'It is more than blackguardly, it is deadly'Masturbation in the male; 2 'A beauty treatment that leaves us glowing'? Female masturbation and its consequences; 3 'The languor which I had long felt began to display itself in my countenance 'Vampires, lesbians and masturbators; 4 'That mighty love which maddens one to crime' Masturbation and same-sex desire in Teleny; 5 'His behaviour betrays the actual state of things' Onanism and obsessive behaviour in Our Mutual Friend

6 'Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man's face' Conflicting signifiers of vice in The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Mystery of Edwin DroodAfterword; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

The secret vice: Masturbation in Victorian fiction and medical culture provides a unique consideration of writings on self-abuse in the long nineteenth century. The book examines the discourse on masturbation in medical works by English, Continental and American practitioners and demonstrates the influence and impact of these writings, not only on Victorian pornography but also in the creation of fictional characters by canonical authors such as Bram Stoker, J. S. Le Fanu, Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde. The book also features the first detailed and



balanced study of the largely overlooked li