Jᴀᴄᴜʀᴜᴛᴜ - Tʜᴇ Cᴀsᴛ Oᴜᴛ

Jodorowsky's Acolyte wrote:It makes me wonder, though. How come some classic sci-fi authors have incorporated so much insane sexual content, some of which can be too insane for comfort, into their writings? How did the explicit sex scenes served Herbert's purpose in Heretics and Chapterhouse? How do the incestuous scenes in To Sail Beyond the Sunset and other works serve Heinlein's purpose?

That seems to just happen as they get older. The longer a SF series goes on the more it devolves into the author's sexual wish fulfillment fantasies. My personal opinion is that the Fannish/convention lifestyle (which back in the 70's was pretty different than it is now) just kind of "refocused" all of those guys on the cock'n'quim aspects of things. IOW, they got horny between major conventions and that came out in their writing. Of course, that's just my own opinion, but the part about this happening to many major writers in SF is pretty much the truth.

And Larry Niven is one to talk. Ever read the fourth Ringworld book? It's one big vampire orgy from one end of the Ringworld to the other. Talk about benefitting from some editing. Sheesh!

I like both of your explanations. It's good to hear from you again, Omphalos. I have yet to read the Ringworld books. There's a lot of fantasy and sci-fi that I need to catch up on.

Read For Us the Living and the first volume of the Heinlein biography to get some insight into what influenced the sexual mores that Heinlein used as themes.



Rob

Robspierre wrote:Read For Us the Living and the first volume of the Heinlein biography to get some insight into what influenced the sexual mores that Heinlein used as themes.



Rob

Cool thx!

The idea of open marriages/relationships was planted in Heinlein's thoughts by an encounter he had with a married woman on a train, her attitude and behavior really made him rethink his attitudes.

He was married three times, the first marriage ending in divorce after less than a year, turns out the bride slept with the best man right before the wedding.

His second marriage ended due to Leslyn's alcoholism and mental health. He loved her but all his efforts to get her help failed. Both Heinlein and Leslyn practiced open marraige.

The theme of Jealousy, in part, was due to his third wife Ginny's behavior. Her attempts to dealing with her love for Heinlein and his past all while trying to maintain a respectable image was difficult for her and she did have issues dealing with his nudist activities and her feelings.

Rob