TheChocolateMelted t1_j9b8o7y wrote on February 20, 2023 at 5:36 PM

The standards for vulgarity were quite a lot more restrictive 100 years ago than they are nowadays. Being blunt worked against writers. It's worth noting that readers were actually warned about the presence of bodily fluids/functions in this novel. Vague memory that the rejection of religion was a groundbreaking subject, but don't quote me.

The concept that comes to mind is a touch removed from your Joyce one. It's actually from Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. The narrator describes censorship laws banning anything as explicit from kissing in Indian cinema at the time of the story. But then a filmmaker circumvented this by having two lovers kiss an apple and pass it back and forward between each other. Just a beautiful image. It's been popping up every so often for twenty years.

ddotcole OP t1_j9bgg9m wrote on February 20, 2023 at 6:26 PM

I tend to not research literary classics before reading them, thus I was unsure how this book fit within the literary world. I felt the rejection of religion within the book would have stood out at the time it was written as well while reading it (only half way though currently). I also like how it shows the juxtaposition of the churches teachings versus how people tend to (or want to) live. It shows the struggle of Stephen's actions and thoughts versus religions beliefs of how one should act quite well.

Its interesting how you say the Indian filmmaker would have the actor's kiss an apple in leu of kissing each other to get around laws about showing such stuff. Goes to show people will find a way to circumvent dumb, thoughtless laws, creating art in the process.