06-14-2015, 12:39 PM
This thread is for sharing the gems discovered in the book Ideal Marriage: its Physiology and Technique, written in 1926 by doctor Th. H. Van de Velde, who was the head of the Gynecological Institute at Haarlem (Netherlands, not NY).
Having only just flipped through it, I will say that it is a fascinating mix of absolute genius and amusingly dated misogyny. There is a LOT of focus on sex and the psychology/physiology of same.
Caveat: anything I post here is for provocation only, in the sense that it will be something I found interesting enough to share and discuss. It is in no way meant to reflect personal views unless I say so.
Interesting notes:
Apparently this book was fucking HUGE back in the day, blockbuster style sales both in Europe and the States. Also banned by the Catholic church and considered pornographic by conservative secular leaders, unsuitable for anyone outside the medical profession. Also, the book is considered the first genuine "self-help" relationships book, so it essentially fathered (mothered?) the entire industry of Chicken-soup and Talk shows we currently inhabit. The copy I have from 1932 is the 42nd full printing of 46. Something like half a million copies sold.
I did a quick check online for readable copies, didn't find it at project gutenberg but it is available for purchase and most libraries appear to have it also. That's if anybody wants to read along. If I find a good free link I'll post it.
Having only just flipped through it, I will say that it is a fascinating mix of absolute genius and amusingly dated misogyny. There is a LOT of focus on sex and the psychology/physiology of same.
Caveat: anything I post here is for provocation only, in the sense that it will be something I found interesting enough to share and discuss. It is in no way meant to reflect personal views unless I say so.
Interesting notes:
Apparently this book was fucking HUGE back in the day, blockbuster style sales both in Europe and the States. Also banned by the Catholic church and considered pornographic by conservative secular leaders, unsuitable for anyone outside the medical profession. Also, the book is considered the first genuine "self-help" relationships book, so it essentially fathered (mothered?) the entire industry of Chicken-soup and Talk shows we currently inhabit. The copy I have from 1932 is the 42nd full printing of 46. Something like half a million copies sold.
I did a quick check online for readable copies, didn't find it at project gutenberg but it is available for purchase and most libraries appear to have it also. That's if anybody wants to read along. If I find a good free link I'll post it.
Thank god I am oblivious to the opinions of others while caught in the blinding splendor of my own cleverness.